Jayawardene tells Lankans to toughen up

6 Jan 2013, 7:06 pm   -   Source: AAP

Departing Sri Lanka cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene has urged the team's youngsters to toughen up and assume more responsibility.

Mahela Jayawardene has told the next generation of Sri Lankan cricketers to toughen up following a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Australia in his last Test series as captain.

The miserable tour was not for lack of trying from Jayawardene, who scored a pair of brilliant half centuries in the third Test in Sydney which concluded on Sunday.

But despite his best efforts, the back-up wasn't there - with the team's veterans underperforming and the captain-in-waiting Angelo Mathews virtually nonexistent.

The Sri Lankans don't play another Test until December when they face Pakistan, by which point Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan will be 37, while Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene himself will be 36.

They need their young stars to stand up immediately.

Mathews has been described by Jayawardene as the man most likely to take over the reins but has yet to stamp himself as a Test-quality player.

Against Australia the 25-year-old scored 175 runs at 29, and took just two wickets.

Jayawardene said talent alone won't get the likes of Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne to the top.

"The talent alone will not carry them forward," Jayawardene said.

"It's a much tougher thinking process. You need to identify your weaknesses.

"You need to know your game better and go out and see what the opposition is doing.

"Guys like Thirri, Dimuth, Angelo and Chandi all have talent and they've shown that. That's why they're here.

"As long as they're willing to learn and work hard, they'll make those big scores and they'll be the future of Sri Lankan cricket.

"It's tough to say `this is what you need to do' but they themselves have to realise what they need to do and where they need to toughen up. It's not just technical, it's mental as well."

While the potential is there, Jayawardene does not believe the work ethic and application is at the same level just yet.

That resulted in a series sweep and a humiliating two-and-a-half day loss in the Boxing Day Test.

"We need to sit down as a team and see where we need to push forward as a team," he said.

"As a unit we did not play good enough cricket here or play to our potential or push ourselves."

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