Mathews' versatility stands out in a brilliant Test career

Months after Dimuth Karunaratne called it quits from Test cricket, Angelo Mathews is set to follow suit after the first Test against Bangladesh in Galle, beginning Tuesday, June 17. That leaves a significant void in the Sri Lankan batting line-up, and perhaps marks the beginning of a new era with the commencement of the fourth edition of the World Test Championship. Mathews, who in 2013, became the youngest to lead Sri Lanka in Tests, will now bow out as their third-highest run-scorer in the format.

Here's a detailed look at one of the finest Test careers in recent times:

Most Test runs for Sri Lanka

Mathews' 118 appearances is the fourth-most for Sri Lanka in Tests, after Mahela Jayawardene (149), Kumar Sangakkara (134) and Muttiah Muralitharan (132).

Career progression

Mathews career took off with scores of 95 at Galle and his maiden hundred (105*) at SSC, Colombo during the 2011 home Test series against Australia, two years after his debut. He averaged 53.66 between 2011 and 2015, his hundreds in England in 2014 resulting in a famous 1-0 series win for Sri Lanka. Later that season, he scored 91 in the first innings against Pakistan at Galle, and a quickfire 25* off 13 in fading lights in Galle to secure a seven-wicket win. This was after he had started that year with 91 & 157* against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. Overall, he aggregated 1314 runs in 2014, the second-most for Sri Lanka in a calendar year after Sangakkara's 1493 in the same period.

Most Test runs for Sri Lanka in a calendar year

Since 2009, there have been 63 instances of a batter scoring 1000-plus runs in a calendar year, only two have done that at a higher average than Mathews' 87.8 in 2014: Michael Clarke (1595 at 106.33 in 2012) and Kane Williamson (1172 at 90.15 in 2015).

There was a slump between 2016 and 2019, but his two hundreds in that timeframe came in vastly different conditions - on a spin-friendly Delhi track against India in 2017 and a year later in Wellington - both in hard-fought draws.

In that Wellington Test, he added 274* in 108.4 overs with Kusal Mendis for the fourth wicket, bailing Sri Lanka out after they had been reduced to 13/3 in their second innings by stumps on Day 3, having conceded a first innings lead of 296. In Test cricket, only two other pairs have batted more overs together in the third or fourth innings of an away Test: Wally Hammond and Douglas Jardine (147.1 overs) at Adelaide in 1929 and Bill Edrich and Paul Gibb (130.4 overs) in Durban in 1939 (where ball-by-ball data is available).

Mathews' Test career progression

The incredible versatility

The key to Mathews' success in Test cricket has been his brilliance across conditions and parameters. In 66 home Tests, he scored 4323 runs at 45.03 with seven hundreds. His first Test appearance in a SENA country came against South Africa in Centurion in December 2011. Since then, 16 subcontinent batters have aggregated at least 1000 runs in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia combined. Among those, Mathews average of 37.79 is bettered only by Virat Kohli (3781 runs at 41.54).

Mathews in Test cricket (by host countries)

He has been one of the rare subcontinent batters with success against both pace and spin with a sizeable sample size. Since 2009 (his debut year in Tests), nine players have aggregated 4000-plus runs against both pace and spin. He is one of the six to have averaged 40-plus against both, the other five being Alastair Cook, Steven Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli.

Mathews in Tests (by bowling types)

Moreover, Mathews batted at six different batting positions in Tests, never in the top-three, his success largely spread across No. 4, 5 and 6. In a rather unique feat, he is one of the only four batters in Test cricket history to aggregate 2000-plus runs from three different batting positions, alongside Allan Border (No. 4, 5 and 6), David Gower (No. 3, 4 and 5) and Joe Root (No. 3, 4 and 5).

By batting positions

Captaincy stint

Mathews captained Sri Lanka for the first time against Bangladesh in Galle in 2013. At 25y 279d, he became the youngest to lead Sri Lanka in Tests. He captained in 31 straight Tests between March 2013 and August 2016, the second-longest sequence for Sri Lanka after Sanath Jayasuriya (38 between September 1999 and November 2002).

The highlights include the 1-0 win against England in 2014 (away), 3-0 clean-sweep against Australia in 2016 and 2-0 wins against Pakistan and West Indies in 2014 and 2015 respectively - all at home.

Most Test wins as captain (Sri Lanka)

Mathews had improved numbers as a batter during his captaincy stint, aggregating 2802 runs at 50.94 with six hundreds, his average significantly higher than in matches he didn't lead the side (5365 runs at 41.91). He is among the nine visiting captains to have scored hundreds in back-to-back Tests in England (having done that in 2014), a list that features Sir Don Bradman (1938), Sir Garfield Sobers (1966), and Graeme Smith (2003) among others.

Other records

2206 runs by Mathews at Galle is the fourth most for anyone at a single ground in Tests in a list dominated by Sri Lanka batters. Eight batters have aggregated 2000-plus runs at a venue till date, the latest entrant being Dimuth Karunaratne earlier this year.

2000-plus runs at a venue in Tests

1 - Mathews is the only batter to be dismissed for 99 as well as 199 in Test cricket. He fell one short of a hundred against India at Brabourne (Mumbai) in 2009, accounting for one of the 16 instances of a player being run-out on 99 in Tests till date, second for Sri Lanka after Mahela Jayawardene against West Indies in Galle in 2001. Then, in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2022, he became the 12th batter to be dismissed for 199 in Tests, only the second Sri Lankan after Sanath Jayasuriya against India at Colombo (SSC) in 1997.

83 - Mathews is one of the seven batters in Test history to have a sequence of consecutive 80-plus innings without a duck, having not got any between June 2012 and August 2017. David Gower holds the record at 119, followed by Richie Richardson (96), Sachin Tendulkar (91*), Allan Border (89), Alec Stewart (86) and Kumar Sangakkara (85).

89 - Mathews has hit 89 sixes in Tests, a Sri Lankan record, well clear of the next best Mahela Jayawardene, who hit 61. Overall, only seven other batters have hit more maximums in the format.

4 - Mathews bagged four Player of the Series awards in Tests, a number matched by Aravinda de Silva, Sangakkara and Karunaratne and exceeded only by Rangana Herath (5) and Muralitharan (11) among Sri Lankans.