The 31-year-old, though, isn’t quite ready to be slotted as merely a batsman who succeeds in Tests. “I started off as a one-day cricketer. People think I am more suited to Test cricket, but in the last 12 months, I did really well in a domestic T20 tournament, and was the leading scorer there. I have changed my game a little bit,” he says.

The man who changed Samarweera’s approach to the game happens to be the ‘A’ team coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, who explains the turnaround. “Once when Samaraweera was dropped, I had asked the then Sri Lankan coach, Tom Moody, about what he could do to make a comeback. He had said Samaraweera needed to improve his strike rate,” said Hathurusinghe.

So before the start of the season, a target was set for the batsman. “Previously his strike rate was in the 30s and I asked him to get to about 60,” recalled the Lanka ‘A’ coach. Things changed as Samaraweera changed gears and more importantly retained his consistency. A call to the West Indies saw him continue his form.

“The most important thing is runs because of the confidence factor. I scored heavily in the domestic competition, 650 or so in seven innings with four hundreds. When I went to the West Indies, there was a little bit of pressure before the first Test match because I was coming back after 20 months, but after I scored that 60, I settled down in the team,” the batsman said .

... contd.