Angelo Mathews

Angelo Davis Mathews (ඇන්ජලෝ මැතිව්ස්; அஞ்செலோ மத்தியூஸ்; born 2 June 1987) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain of the national cricket team in all formats.

Mathews currently plays all formats for Sri Lanka.

Mathews made his List A debut for Sri Lanka Under-23 against New Zealand A at Police Park Ground, Colombo in September 2005.

He captained the Sri Lankan cricket team in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka.

He later made his first-class debut for Colombo Cricket Club in November 2006.

Mathews was born in Colombo, to Tamil father Tyronne Mathews and Burgher mother Monica Mathews.

Mathews is Roman Catholic and was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo.

Mathews is married to his long time partner, Heshanie Silva.

Mathews began his international career in late 2008 with ambitions of becoming a genuine allrounder, but has since given primacy to his batting (to diminish his workload and avoid injuries), and effectively plays as a specialist batter in the Test side.

However, for the balance of the team, he still plays as a batting allrounder in limited-overs cricket.

A more than useful strike rate of 84.06 has made him a damaging prospect in the final overs of the Sri Lankan innings.

He made his international debut in a One Day International against Zimbabwe in November 2008 and made his Test debut against Pakistan at Galle in July 2009.

Angelo Mathews made his Test debut in Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, in 2009.

The Test also marked the debuts of Abdur Rauf, Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal.

He scored his maiden half-century in the third Test of the series, played at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.

His maiden ton came against Australia in September 2011 in the same venue.

Mathews has an average record in Tests in countries such as Australia, South Africa and India, but up to now he has had limited opportunities to improve on it.

His brilliant records at home and in countries like England and UAE make up for that.

After Kumar Sangakkara stepped down as ODI captain following the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Mathews was widely tipped to be Sri Lanka's next limited-overs captain.

However, short tenures of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene followed.

After Sri Lanka's loss in the final of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, the skipper Jayawardene stepped down as captain of the T20I side.

The wedding reception was held on 18 July 2013 at Cinnamon Grand Hotel with the presence of former president Mahinda Rajapakse.

They have one son and one daughter.

In February 2013, Mathews became Sri Lanka's youngest-ever Test captain at 25, after having been groomed for the post for two years.

Considered as one of the best allrounders in his generation, Mathews was a key member of the team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that made the finals of 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

An occasional bowler who can deliver swinging match-winning spells, Mathews and Lasith Malinga hold the record for the highest ninth wicket partnership in ODI cricket.

In July 2022, Mathews played in his 100th Test match for Sri Lanka.

As captain, Mathews led his national team to be the winners of the 2014 Asia Cup.

On 7 November 2023, Mathews became the first player in the history of international cricket to be declared timed out without facing a delivery, as it happened during a group stage match between Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh at the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.

Two of his four centuries came in England – against a high-quality pace attack consisting of James Anderson and Stuart Broad – in the famous Sri Lanka tour of England and Ireland, 2014.

He has also flourished with the added responsibility of captaincy, averaging 86.62 in 13 matches.

He captained the Lankan team in its monumental Test series win in England (2014).

In the Indian Premier League cricket, he played for Delhi Daredevils in the 2017 Indian Premier League season.

He is one of the most sought out players in the Premier League world, having been bought by the Pune Warriors for US$950,000.

In March 2018, he was named as the captain of Kandy's squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.

The following month, he was also named as the captain for Kandy's squad for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.

In August 2018, he was named as the captain of Kandy's squad the 2018 SLC T20 League.

In October 2020, he was drafted by the Colombo Kings for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.

In July 2022, he was signed by the Colombo Stars for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.

His highest Test score (200 off 428 balls) came in the first match vs Zimbabwe 2020.