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England ready to face ambidextrous spinner

England will face one of the rarest talents in cricket in the first match of their Sri Lankan tour - ambidextrous spinner Kamindu Mendis.

England will open their tour of Sri Lanka by facing one of the rarest talents in world cricket - ambidextrous spinner Kamindu Mendis.

The tourists will take on a strong Board XI at Colombo's P Sara Stadium on Friday, with Sri Lanka's one-day captain Dinesh Chandimal getting an early look at his opponents in the forthcoming five-match series.

But the most intriguing prospect by far is that of 20-year-old Mendis, who is capable of bowling both slow left-armers and right-arm off-breaks.

The Galle native shot to attention in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup when he switched bowling actions during matches, alternating depending on whether he was facing left or right-handed batsmen.

One video captured during the competition in Bangladesh has garnered more than 430,000 views on YouTube, with viewers marvelling at this remarkable versatility.

All-rounder Mendis went on to captain his country at this year's edition tournament.

Speaking to ICC.com about his unusual talent in January he said: "I just tell the umpire and let the batsman know.

"Sometimes they look at me like... what are you going to do now?".

Also in action in the warm-up match are ODI squad member Sadeera Samarawickrama and Test call-ups Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis and Kasun Rajitha.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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