Mahela Jayawardene and Tatenda Taibu: strength of the middle order - ICC World Cup 2011
When the openers have crashed out, the middle order batsmen take over and consolidate the batting with their cool and positive approach. They are the backbone of any team and the fate of a match is often decided with their performance. The strength of the
middle order cannot be denied.
Two outstanding middle order batsmen are Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tatenda-Taibu-c92882 of Zimbabwe. These dynamic players have performed at the highest level for their respective countries to stabilise the innings in times of crisis. A look at these two
players is as follows:
Mahela Jayawardene was born on 27 May, 1977 in Colombo and is a right-hand batsman that can bowl right-arm medium fast occasionally. He has played for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833.
He started playing cricket from his school, joined and groomed his cricket at the famous Sinhalese Sports Club of Colombo which has produced quality world class cricketers for Sri Lanka and went on to play for the National team in1997.
Jayawardene is a prominent member of the Sri Lankan cricket team as a top performer and a player to handle a crisis when required. His cover drives and strokes off his legs are a treat to watch when he is batting at the crease. He is an agile slip and cover
fielder, as he throws himself to prevent a run. Jayawardene has also led the Sri Lankan team and became their first Captain to score a triple century when he posted 374 runs against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
He made his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe on 24 January, 1998 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Jayawardene has played 336 matches, scored a mighty 9244 runs at an average of 32.78 runs, with a highest of 128 runs with 13
centuries and 55 fifties.
He has played 28 World Cup matches and scored 796 runs at an average of 34.60 runs, best of unbeaten 115 runs with 2 hundreds and 4 fifties.
The Sri Lankan team will count on Jayawardene to produce a few match winning performances which will help them to lift the ICC World Cup 2011.
Tatenda Taibu was born on 14 May, 1983 in Harare and is a right-hand batsman that can bowl right-arm medium pace if required. He is the regular wicket-keeper of Zimbabwe. He has played for Zimbabwe, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Knight-c71599 Riders and many domestic
sides.
Taibu started his cricket when he was at school and excelled in the local matches before he caught the eye of the selectors. He was selected into the National squad at the age of 16. Taibu is short in height, but tall in cricket calibre and has produced
many match winning innings for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045. He has collected ambitious catches and many wonderful stumping behind the wickets. Taibu was appointed Captain of the Zimbabwe side when he was just 21-years-old, which is a record in cricket history.
Taibu made his debut against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 on 23 June, 2001 in Harare and has played 133 matches. He has scored 2925 runs at an average of 29.25 runs, the best of unbeaten 107 runs with 2 centuries and 17 fifties. Taibu held 107 catches and
30 stumping behind the wickets.
He has played 11 World Cup matches and scored 230 runs at an average of 32.85 runs, the best of 98 runs with 2 fifties. Taibu has collected 7 catches and 2 stumping as well.
Taibu will look ahead to dispatch a big score against Sri Lanka and hold a few more acrobatic catches behind the wickets, enabling Zimbabwe victory towards the road to the quarter-finals.
Sri Lanka will face Zimbabwe in their exciting group match of the ICC World Cup 2011 today, in Kandy. The team will be looking for a good performance on home ground and anticipate an outright victory, as Zimbabwe is an unpredictable team which can turn the
tables on any given day.
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