Rex Clementine in London

British people are quick to appreciate good sportsmen. They cheered every run that Pathum Nissanka scored at The Oval that resulted in a sensational come from behind win on Monday. Pathum arrived in England as a little known top order batter, but by the end of the tour, the British press had dug out much information about the little man. They even now call him ‘Silva’ which is actually his surname, not known to many even in Sri Lanka. Journalists from Sri Lanka keep telling the Brits that we are happy to call him Pathum or Nissanka because there are so many Silvas back home.

England’s aggressive brand of cricket where they go after the bowling has been praised in many quarters but it was Pathum Nissanka who gave them a taste of their own medicine. Having started off his knock with some elegant straight drives, he soon started cutting and pulling and by the end of it there were a couple of hook shots that sailed over Ben Duckett at long-leg for six. It was indeed a treat to watch.

What has this guy been doing for two years, the Poms wonder. Well, the story is that Pathum has been nursing a back injury from his young age. When you walk into the Test team, for the first few series, your fielding position invariably is short leg. Fielding at short leg aggravated the injury. Then the selectors decided not to play him in Test match cricket with the 50 over and T-20 World Cup coming around. So, they waited till both events were over before bringing him onto the fold.

But, as Michael Atherton wondered, what was he doing without playing the first Test at Old Trafford. Well, there were some technical glitches that the management were working on before they decided to play him at Lord’s.

“It was a little bit demanding adjusting to red ball. Spent lot of time at training. Trusted my game plan and glad it all worked off. Just had to work on my mindset nothing to do with the skills and then I felt I was ready,” Pathum told journalists.

Having crashed an elegant 64 off 51 balls in the first innings, Pathum was at it again in the second essay stroking a fabulous 127 not out off just 124 balls.

“However much you play well in England, you might get a good ball. At home, you feel set after spending time, but in England, it always does a bit even when you have scored a hundred. What I needed was trust my strengths which is playing aggressively. What has worked for me all these years and when I trust that it works.

“It gives you lot of confidence when you score a hundred in England. I hope it will help me in the future. I changed my game a bit compared to the Lord’s Test. I wanted to have the same mindset that I have when I am playing white ball cricket. Not thinking of too many things. If the ball is in my slot, I will go for it. The good thing is when you know the team management is backing you it becomes easy.”

Sri Lanka were written off in the game after losing at Lord’s by 190 runs but they fought back well in the final Test to return home with a win and more importantly points in the World Test Championship.

“Happy about contributing to the win at The Oval. We always feel good when we win overseas. Regret we could not win the series. I thought we gave England a close enough fight but not good enough to win.”

Former captain Kumar Sangakkara, now a commentator with Sky, has been giving a few tips to Sri Lankan players and has hinted Nissanka as one player who could break his record for most runs for Sri Lanka – 12,400.

“He was great and it was a good learning experience. He has played a lot of cricket here and he gave tips not just to me but for all our players and we benefited immensely. I hope I am able to get to his milestones one day, but he is streets ahead compared to me.”