There were strong rumours that Jayasuriya's six-month-old marriage to Sumudu Karunanayake was under strain since the very beginning. The rumours were, however, denied by Sumudu in a couple of newspaper interviews. But confirmation came with reports last week that Jayasuriya recently filed for divorce.

It is not clear what caused the rift between the couple almost immediately after the marriage but if grapevines are to be believed, one of them was not able to sever ties with a friend from before marriage. A source close to Jayasuriya said he was ``shattered'' that he could not salvage the marriage.

``He comes from a really conservative, rural background and all the publicity to his personal life is bound to upset him even more,'' the source said. The couple had reportedly been living apart from a few days aftertheir five-star wedding in May this year.

Sumudu was conspicuous by her absence during Sri Lanka's victorious tour of England. She told a newspaper then that the rumours of a rocky marriage were baseless and that she had not accompanied her husband on the tour as she did not wish to distract Jayasuriya and had instead used the opportunity to spend time with her mother.

Jayasuriya's friends have closed ranks around him at what is certainly a traumatic period in his life. Journalists were even requested not to take note of the development as that would affect him adversely. But, a Sinhala newspaper carried the news on its front-page on weekend.

Cricket fans are worried about the impact of Jayasuriya's broken marriage on his form, which has been erratic of late. With neither Aravinda de Silva nor Muthiah Muralitharan likely to travel to Australia for the one-day series in January, everyone wants Jayasuriya to be in his best form for the upcoming tour and of course, for the World Cup later nextyear.

However, Jayasuriya seems determined not to let his troubles affect him. The organisers of the CEAT Cricketer of the Year award were doubtful whether Jayasuriya would show up for a dinner organised recently in his honour. He not only did, but also signed scores of autographs for fans and looked his usual self. He was spotted a few hours later at a nightclub with a cricketer friend.