Malinga Bandara offers something different

By Glenn Pearson Malinga Bandara’s ability as a limited overs bowler and his availability for the entire second half of the summer convinced Kent to swoop for the Sri Lankan leg-spinner as one of their overseas players.

The club identified the 30-year-old months ago as a player they wanted as part of their attack. This week they were finally able to announce the signing after gaining assurances he would be available for the entire second half of the county summer.

It was a major reason why they moved for the leg-break bowler, who has played eight Test matches and 31 One-Day Internationals for his country. Outside of the current set-up, he will be available to play from June until the end of the season without the interference of being called up to play international cricket.

Bandara has 391 first-class scalps under his belt during a career which has included a spell in county cricket for Gloucestershire in 2005. He will take over from Australian seamer Stuart Clark, who will line up in Kent’s bowling attack as their overseas player for the first half of the season.

Kent head coach Paul Farbrace suggested Bandara as a potential overseas player after working with him as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach. He believes the spinner’s ability and experience in limited overs cricket will be a major asset.  

“He is not a huge spinner of the ball, he is not someone that will bowl outside leg and spin it past the off stump, but he is consistent,” he said. “He does spin the ball, has good variations, his pace is good and he is experienced. 

“His record is phenomenal and while people can say ‘391 wickets in Sri Lanka – well it spins out there’ don’t forget they have some magnificent players of spin out there. 

“I think he’ll bring something different, he is very good in the one-day game which is a big strength. His English is good and he will fit into the culture of Kent very well.”

Bandara will arrive in England on May 20 and will play in a Kent 2nd XI game before making himself available for Kent’s first Twenty20 game of the season against the Essex Eagles in Chelmsford at the beginning of June. While the club see his skills bowling in pressure cooker situations in Twenty20, they also identified him early on as an overseas target because he will be able to play for the entire second half of the season.

“The other great thing about Bandara, if we’re honest, is that fact that because he isn’t currently in the Sri Lanka squad as [Muttiah] Muralitharan and [Ajantha] Mendis are in front of him, that means we will get to see more of him in the summer,” Farbrace said. “Sri Lanka have just announced a series against India in July and August and then there’s the Twenty20 World Cup as well, so before you know where you are, these players are off around the world and you haven’t seen an awful lot of them. That’s why we aimed at going for someone who we hope would be a little more consistent with his time at Kent.”

The county have also left the door open for Aussie fast bowler Stuart Clark to remain at Kent after his original spell ends at the end of May to pair up with Bandara as the county’s overseas players for the revamped Twenty20 competition.