Fourth-innings giant and a subcontinent star

When Sri Lanka took the field at McLean Park in Napier for the first match of the two Test series against New Zealand in March 1995, they went in as clear underdogs - in 58 previous Tests spanning 13 years they had only won four; in 31 overseas games during this period they hadn't won a single one, losing 17 and drawing the rest.

That was when Chaminda Vaas decided to announce himself on the world stage for the first time. In helpful conditions, he scythed through the New Zealand batting line-up, not once, but twice in the match. So effective was he that Muttiah Muralitharan wasn't required to bowl in the first innings, as Vaas returned figures of 5 for 47. He improved on that marginally in the second, taking 5 for 43, and Sri Lanka had won their first match abroad, which soon became their first series win abroad when they drew the second Test.

In 106 more matches, Vaas, who played the last Test of his career today, bettered that performance only once, but throughout his 15-year career, but his consistency and perseverance has stood out through the entire period.

The table below illustrates the fact - he started his Test career superbly, then fell away slightly, but through his last 81 Tests, he averaged 29.19 and was the perfect foil to Muralitharan.

Bowling was obviously his main suit, but Vaas was much more than a new-ball bowler, especially towards the latter part of his career. In his first 72 Tests he averaged less than 20, but that number rose spectacularly to nearly 34 in his last 39 Tests. That was also the period when he notched up his first, and only, Test match century, an unbeaten 100 against Bangladesh at the SSC a couple of years ago. Apart from that, he also had seven fifties, one more than the tally in his first 72 games.

The bulk of Vaas' career was spent bowling on subcontinental pitches, and he obviously relished that challenge, finishing with 236 wickets in 74 games in Asia. Only one bowler - Kapil Dev - has taken more wickets in Asia. Vaas' 236 came at an excellent average of 27.88, which was better than his overall average of 29.58. Like many fast bowlers from the subcontinent, he preferred bowling in these conditions, and his best performance came at home too - innings hauls of 7 for 120 and 7 for 71, and match returns of 14 for 191 at the SSC against West Indies in 2001.

Vaas' clever variations and his ability to generate reverse swing came in handy in subcontinental conditions, and the same skills brought him plenty of success on wearing pitches in the fourth innings of Tests. He took 58 wickets in the last innings, at an outstanding average of 20.43; in the first three innings, he averaged 32.09, 29.73 and 32.70.

In fact, his aggregate of 58 wickets in the last innings is among the highest among fast bowlers - only Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh and Wasim Akram have more - while his average ranks among the best as well.

Muralitharan has obviously been Sri Lanka's greatest matchwinning, but Vaas is a clear second, with 166 wickets at 22.63. In matches that Sri Lanka lost his average went up to 33.88, while in draws it was 37.91. Both his ten-wicket hauls - against New Zealand in Napier and against West Indies at the SSC - fetched his team victories.

Vaas' contributions with the bat since 2004 were so significant that he had genuine claims to being an allrounder - over the last five years he averaged more than 33 with the bat and less than 29 with the ball, and the difference between his batting and bowling average was 4.67. Among allrounders who scored 750 runs and took 75 wickets, only four have better numbers.

Vaas and Murali played 95 Tests together, during which they had a combined tally of 895 wickets. In the 16 matches that Vaas played without Murali, though, his stats decreased significantly, with his average going up to 40, and his strike rate dropping to more than 86 balls per wicket. He did have a couple of memorable performances, though, taking 6 for 29 in the fourth innings against South Africa at the SSC in 2004 to ensure that Murali's absence wasn't felt at all, and grabbing 5 for 31 against Australia in Darwin earlier that year.

The one disappointment in an otherwise glittering career was Vaas' performances in Australia, South Africa and England. His overall overseas average was 32.34, but in these three countries it ballooned to 52.16, with a strike rate of a wicket every 17 overs. In 17 Tests in these countries Vaas took 37 wickets, and only twice managed three or more wickets in an innings.