Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas
Born January 27, 1974, Mattumagala
Current age 34 years 222 days
Major teams Sri Lanka, Asia XI, Basnahira North, Colts Cricket Club, Deccan Chargers, Hampshire, Middlesex, Worcestershire
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm fast-medium

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

107

156

2998

100*

24.17

6857

43.72

366

ODIs

322

220

2025

50*

13.68

2792

72.52

127

T20Is

33.00

80.48

First-class

185

251

5072

134

25.61

List A

380

258

2606

62*

15.15

Twenty20

13.20

86.84

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

107

187

22664

10201

348

7/71

14/191

29.31

2.70

65.1

ODIs

322

320

15775

11014

400

8/19

27.53

4.18

39.4

T20Is

132

128

2/14

21.33

5.81

22.0

First-class

185

35209

16170

648

7/54

24.95

2.75

54.3

List A

380

18334

12752

476

8/19

26.78

4.17

38.5

Twenty20

234

273

2/9

24.81

7.00

21.2

Career statistics

Test debut

Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Kandy, Aug 26-28, 1994 scorecard

Last Test

Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS), Aug 8-11, 2008 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

India v Sri Lanka at Rajkot, Feb 15, 1994 scorecard

Last ODI

Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), Aug 27, 2008 scorecard

ODI statistics

T20I debut

New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Wellington, Dec 22, 2006 scorecard

Last T20I

Australia v Sri Lanka at Cape Town, Sep 20, 2007 scorecard

T20I statistics

First-class debut

1990/91

Last First-class

Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS), Aug 8-11, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

1992/93

Last List A

Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), Aug 27, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Colts Cricket Club v Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club at Colombo (NCC), Oct 8, 2005 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Deccan Chargers v Bangalore Royal Challengers at Hyderabad (Decc), May 25, 2008 scorecard

Chaminda Vaas is easily the most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had, and he has served his country well. He swings and seams the ball with skill, his trademark delivery being the late indipper. However, he also bowls a carefully disguised offcutter, and has recently added reverse-swing to his armoury, a skill that has made him a consistent wicket-taker even on bland subcontinental pitches. He outbowled New Zealand's seamers in green conditions at Napier to give Sri Lanka their first win in an overseas Test, in 1994-95. In 2001-02 he made a quantum leap, taking 26 wickets in the 3-0 rout of West Indies, becoming only the second fast bowler, after Imran Khan, to take 14 wickets in a match in the subcontinent. He then went on to take the first-ever ODI eight-for, against Zimbabwe, which included a hat-trick. He also claimed a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup. Vaas reached the 300-wicket milestone in Tests against India in 2005-06, having passed the mark in ODIs on the tour to Zimbabwe. In 2004 he also gained overdue recognition for his talent when he was selected for the World XI at the inaugural ICC Awards. Vaas is easily Sri Lanka's second-most successful bowler - after Muttiah Muralitharan - in both forms of the game. His approach to his batting is equally sincere and in recent years he has gradually gained recognition as a useful allrounder. He waited 97 Tests for his maiden century, against Bangladesh, and soon after, became the third Sri Lankan to play 100 Tests or more.

In August 2008, Vaas crossed yet another milestone when he had Yuvraj Singh caught for a duck in Colombo to get his 400th ODI wicket and become the fourth bowler to reach the landmark.

Charlie Austin (August 27, 2008)

Aug 27, 2008

Sri Lanka celebrate Chaminda Vaas' 400th ODI wicket © AFP

Aug 27, 2008

Chaminda Vaas celebrates his 400th ODI wicket © AFP

Aug 24, 2008

Virat Kohli flicks a Chaminda Vaas delivery towards fine leg © Cricinfo Ltd

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