[Article] Gehan Mendis
Vicky B. Vigneswaran
BY SA'ADI THAWFEEQ
The tragedy of GEHAN Dixon MENDIS was that he ended his illustri-
ous cricket career, which spanned 20 years without playing a Test
match.
During his 12 seasons with Sussex when he accummulated 11,337
runs (avg. 34.99) with 22 centuries and eight with Lancashire
when he scored 9,673 runs (avg. 39.16) with 18 centuries, he was
on the brink of being selected for England, but was rather un-
lucky not to have.
There was a time in his career when he had the option of playing
Test cricket for either Sri Lanka - the country of his birth, or
England, where he now lives as a citizen - having migrated there
in 1968 as a twelve-year- old.
"If I chose to play for Sri Lanka I would become an overseas
cricketer which would complicate my county career. When I was
there in 1980 some people thought I was snubbing them by not
playing for Sri Lanka,'' Mendis was once quoted by a British
newspaper. Twice Mendis had turned down invitations to play for
Sri Lanka in the World Cup one-day competitions in 1975 and 1979.
"Everyone has tipped me to play for England, bar the selectors.
Obviously I am disappointed not to have done so. But I can't take
it as my biggest goal in life any more. In case it never happens
I can't stake everything on something which may never come
about,'' the newspaper quoted Mendis.
The England selectors looked at him only once to play for a TCCB
XI (Test and County Cricket Board) against ironically, Sri Lanka
at Nottingham in 1981. He made 65 sound and attractive runs in
the first innings tempering his natural aggression in an effort
to impress those who had chosen him. But that was as far as he
went.
`Wisden', the cricketers' `bible' paid him a fine compliment when
it said: "Paul Parker and Gehan Mendis were the leading run-
getters and likely, though unsuccessful candidates for the tour
of India. Mendis, a dashing batsman, gave Sussex one enterprising
stand after another, relishing fast bowling and being no
respecter of reputations''.
In another quote from `Wisden': "Barclay and Mendis proved a
dependable opening pair. Mendis was particularly impressive
against fast bowling and played some gritty innings against speed
merchants of the hostility of (Wayne) Daniel of Middlesex, hur-
ling the ball down the Hove slope. Mendis fractured a thumb
shortly before the Gillette Cup final and it was broken again in
the third over of his innings at Lord's, but he battled on with
Barclay to give his side a great start''.
Mendis' best opportunity to play for England came in 1982 when
five opening batsmen - Graham Gooch, Geoffrey Boycott, Wayne Lar-
kins, Bob Woolmer and Dennis Amiss were banned for three years
for going on an illegal cricket tour of South Africa.
When Gooch received his ban from the TCCB he himself selected
Mendis as his likely successor. "Gehan has impressed me as a very
good player of fast bowling and the one I Iike to see come in. I
like the way he plays and thought he would be picked for Eng-
land".
If ever Mendis was to have gained selection for England it should
have been during the 1985 season, his last with Sussex. He was at
his prolific best accumulating 1756 runs (avg. 47.45) inclusive
of six centuries, four of them scored in six innings. Therein
lies an unhappy story. Mendis came close to joining the small
number of batsmen who have scored five first-class centuries in
six innings. He was on 96 against Hampshire at Portsmouth when
John Barclay, the Sussex captain declared. Mendis had faced only
four balls in the preceding five overs.
`Wisden' said: "The Sussex captain explained that he was scheming
to beat Hampshire and that a declaration was due, but Mendis was
upset at missing such a rare opportunity''.
That evening Mendis decided to leave Sussex, breaking a 12-year
relation with the county whom he had served since 1974. During
that period he played in the exalted company of players in the
calibre of Pakistanis Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, and South
Africans Kepler Wessels and Garth le Roux and Englishmen Tony
Greig and Geoff Arnold.
Mendis' sequence of scores in that near record equalling feat in-
cluded a century in each innings of a match (103 and 100 not out)
against Lancashire at Hastings followed by 21 and 111 (not out) v
Warwickshire at Hove, and 109 and 96 (not out) v Hampshire at
Portsmouth.
For Sussex, Mendis crossed the 1000-run in a season mark on six
occasions, receiving his county cap the first time he did so, in
1980, which prompted `Wisden' to comment: "Gehan Mendis somewhat
belatedly received his county cap. This committed player with a
liking for playing the quick bowlers, joined the talented band of
batsmen who have scored double centuries when he hit 204 out of
Sussex' 482 for 3 against Northamptonshire at the Saffrons''.
Mendis shared in partnerships of 209 for the second wicket with
Kepler Wessels (97) and 197 for the third wicket with Paul Parker
(122 n.o.). He went over the double century mark on one other oc-
casion for Sussex when he scored an unbeaten 209 in 420 minutes
(26 fours) against Somerset at Hove in 1984, which was his career
best knock.
It was while with Sussex that Mendis played one of his finest in-
nings against Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir when he toured
England in 1982. Qadir bewitched the Sussex batsmen on a Hove
pitch taking 13 wickets and condemning the county to an innings
and 13 runs defeat. Only Mendis played Qadir with any assurance
being top scorer in both innings with 48 and 114.
During Mendis' tenure with Sussex, the nearest the county came to
winning their maiden championship title was in 1981 when they
finished second. On eight occasions they finished in the top ten
bracket. Despite their lack of success in the longer game, Sussex
won two one-day titles when Mendis was a member. They won the
NatWest trophy in 1978 and the John Player Sunday League four
years later.
Two of Mendis's career best contributions in the three one-day
competitions was with Sussex. He scored an unbeaten 141 against
Warwickshire in a Gillette Cup (now NatWest trophy) semi-final in
1980 described by `Wisden' as: "Man of the Match Mendis batted
with tremendous zest and ability hitting one six and 22 fours in
his thrilling innings''.
Mendis' highest in the Sunday League was an unbeaten 125 against
Gloucestershire at Hove in 1981 inclusive of three sixes and ten
fours and according to `Wisden' "earned him a standing ovation''.
His highest in the Benson and Hedges Cup was also an unbeaten 125
but, for Lancashire against Northamptonshire in a quarter-final
played at Manchester in 1991.
Overall, for Sussex and Lancashire, Mendis won four NatWest tro-
phy `Man of the Match' awards and five Benson and Hedges `Gold
Cup' awards.
When Mendis joined Lancashire in 1986, `Wisden' commented: "Gehan
Mendis proved a worthwhile signing from Sussex and was the lead-
ing run scorer''. He made 1363 runs (avg. 40.08) with two centu-
ries and 10 fifties. The following year when he helped Lancashire
finish runner-up in the county championships (the highest posi-
tion the county attained during Mendis's stretch with them) scor-
ing 1390 runs (avg. 38.61), he completed the third double century
of his career.
"After Middlesex captain Mike Gatting's decision to field first
backfired, Mendis with 24 fours in 7 3/4 hours scored the first-
ever double-hundred for Lancashire against Middlesex (at Old
Trafford). The previous highest had been (Cyril) Washbrook's 182
at Old Trafford in 1946'', `Wisden' said.
In 1989, for the first time in his career Mendis headed the coun-
ty batting averages when he aggregated 1367 runs (avg. 44.09)
with two centuries and Lancahsire finished fourth.
The 1990 summer was a marvellous one for Lancashire. They became
the first county to win both Lord's finals, finished runner-up in
the Sunday League and sixth in the county championships. "Lan-
cashire were virtually invincible in all forms of the limited
overs game'', `Wisden' said.
Lancashire won the NatWest trophy and the Benson and Hedges Cup
that year to add to their Sunday League title in 1989.
With England Test opener Graeme Fowler, Mendis formed a formid-
able and long established opening partnership providing Lan-
cashire with many match- winning opening stands. In recognition
of his contribution to the county, Lancashire awarded him a bene-
fit in 1993.
In his benefit year which was to be Mendis's final season in En-
glish cricket, he and fellow opener Paul Tritchard supplied the
platform for victory by becoming the first Lancashire openers in
30 years to share a century stand in both innings of a champion-
ship match with 127 and 179. Mendis' contribution was 63 and 85
and, Tritchard's 57 and 87.
Mendis ended his first-class career at the age of 38, with 21,436
runs (avg. 36.83) from 366 matches (643 innings) and 41 centu-
ries. He also held 145 catches and affected one stumping early in
his career when he did a little wicket-keeping. The only first-
class century he made outside England was for an International XI
against Pakistan XI in a 4-day match at Karachi in 1981-2. He
also toured Jamaica in 1982-3 with the International XI and Zim-
babwe with Lancashire in 1988-9.
Born on April 24, 1955, Mendis followed his schooling at S. Tho-
mas', Mt Lavinia with a degree in mathematics at Durham Universi-
ty where he trained as a teacher. In 1979-80, he represented
Colombo Cricket Club and helped them win the division I inter-
club title. He returned the following sesason in 1980-81 and
played for Sebastianites, but not with the same success.
Produced by Lake House in collaboration with Lanka Internet Ser-
vices Ltd
Copyright; 1995 Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited
