Clovis culture and Ajantha Mendis: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox cricketer biography
The '''Clovis culture''' (sometimes referred to as the '''Llano culture'''<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/marktwain/about/history/ History of the Mark Twain National Forest] from the website of the [[Mark Twain National Forest]]</ref>) is a [[prehistoric]] [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|Paleoindian]] culture that first appears in the [[archaeology|archaeological]] record of [[North America]] around 11,500 rcbp [[radiocarbon year]]s ago, at the end of the [[last glacial period]]. Archaeologists' best guess at present suggests this is equal to roughly 13,000 calendar years ago. The Clovis culture is thought to have lasted from between 200 and 800 years, depending on the source consulted, with an average estimate of around 500 years, starting about 13,000 years ago. The Clovis culture was replaced by several more localized regional cultures from the time of the [[Younger Dryas]] cold climate period onward. Post-Clovis cultures include the [[Folsom tradition]], Gainey, Suwannee-Simpson, Plainview-Goshen, Cumberland point, and Redstone. Each of these is commonly thought to derive directly from Clovis, in some cases apparently differing only in the length of the fluting on their projectile points. Although this is generally held to be the result of normal cultural change through time,<ref name="Haynes2002">{{cite book |title=The Early Settlement of North America: The Clovis Era |last=Haynes |first=Gary |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York |isbn=0521524636 |pages=52 }}</ref> numerous other reasons have been suggested to be the driving force for the observed changes in the archaeological record, such as [[Younger Dryas impact event|an extraterrestrial impact event]] or post-glacial climate change with numerous extinctions.
| playername = Ajantha Mendis
| image =
| country = Sri Lanka
| fullname = Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis
| nickname =
| living = true
| dayofbirth = 11
| monthofbirth = 03
| yearofbirth = 1985
| placeofbirth = [[Moratuwa]]
| countryofbirth = [[Sri Lanka]]
| dayofdeath =
| monthofdeath =
| yearofdeath =
| placeofdeath =
| countryofdeath =
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| heightm =
| batting = Right-hand batsman
| bowling = Right-arm [[spin bowling|slow]]
| role = Bowler
| international = true
| testdebutdate = 23 July
| testdebutyear = 2008
| testdebutagainst = India
| testcap = 109
| lasttestdate = 8 August
| lasttestyear = 2008
| lasttestagainst = India
| odidebutdate = 10 April
| odidebutyear = 2008
| odidebutagainst = West Indies
| odicap = 134
| lastodidate = 29 August
| lastodiyear = 2008
| lastodiagainst = India
| odishirt = 40
| club1 = [[North Western Province cricket team|Wayamba]]
| year1 = 2007/08&ndash;present
| clubnumber1 =
| club2 = [[Sri Lanka Army Sports Club cricket team|Sri Lanka Army]]
| year2 = 2006/07&ndash;2007/08
| clubnumber2 =
| deliveries = balls
| columns = 4
| column1 = [[Test cricket|Tests]]
| matches1 = 3
| runs1 = 19
| bat avg1 = 6.33
| 100s/50s1 = 0/0
| top score1 = 17
| deliveries1 = 979
| wickets1 = 26
| bowl avg1 = 18.38
| fivefor1 = 2
| tenfor1 = 1
| best bowling1 = 6/117
| catches/stumpings1 = 1/&ndash;
| column2 = [[One Day International|ODI]]
| matches2 = 13
| runs2 = 54
| bat avg2 = 18.00
| 100s/50s2 = 0/0
| top score2 = 15*
| deliveries2 = 597
| wickets2 = 33
| bowl avg2 = 10.81
| fivefor2 = 2
| tenfor2 = n/a
| best bowling2 = 6/13
| catches/stumpings2 = 1/&ndash;
| column3 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
| matches3 = 22
| runs3 = 406
| bat avg3 = 12.30
| 100s/50s3 = 0/0
| top score3 = 37
| deliveries3 = 4,633
| wickets3 = 137
| bowl avg3 = 15.27
| fivefor3 = 9
| tenfor3 = 2
| best bowling3 = 7/37
| catches/stumpings3 = 10/&ndash;
| column4 = [[List A cricket|List A]]
| matches4 = 32
| runs4 = 381
| bat avg4 = 25.40
| 100s/50s4 = 0/2
| top score4 = 71*
| deliveries4 = 1,391
| wickets4 = 70
| bowl avg4 = 11.15
| fivefor4 = 2
| tenfor4 = n/a
| best bowling4 = 6/13
| catches/stumpings4 = 5/&ndash;
| date = 20 September
| year = 2008
| source = http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/142/142472/142472.html CricketArchive
}}
{{Infobox Military Person
|name=Ajantha Mendis
|lived=[[March 11]], [[1985]] -
|placeofbirth=[[Moratuwa]]
|placeofdeath=
|image=
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flagicon|Sri Lanka}} [[Sri Lanka]]
|branch=[[Sri Lanka Army]]
|serviceyears=2005 -
|rank=[[Second Lieutenant]]
|commands=
|unit=[[Sri Lanka Artillery]]
|battles=
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork=
|profession=[[Cricketer]]
}}
'''Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis''' (born [[March 11]], [[1985]] in [[Moratuwa]]) is a [[cricket]]er who plays for the [[Sri Lankan national cricket team]].


Mendis, although classified as slow-medium, bowls a mixture of deliveries, including googlies, off-breaks top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks, as well as a Carrom Ball, released with a flick of his middle finger. For Sri Lanka Army in 2007-08 he averaged a mere 10.56 and took 46 wickets in six games, his strike rate a startling 31. This gained him a call-up to the full Sri Lanka squad for the Caribbean tour in April 2008.
The Clovis people, one of the several distinct [[Paleo-Indians|Paleoindian groups]] mentioned above, were regarded as the first human inhabitants of the [[New World]] since the discovery of several Clovis sites in western North America in the 1930s. Clovis people were thought to be the ancestors of all the indigenous cultures of North and [[South America]]. However, this view has been contested over the last thirty years by several archaeological discoveries, including sites like [[Cactus Hill]] in [[Virginia]], [[Paisley Caves]] in the [[Summer Lake (Oregon)|Summer Lake Basin]] of [[Oregon]], [[Meadowcroft Rockshelter]] in [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Monte Verde]], [[Chile]].


His best bowling performance in a one-day international came in the final of the 2008 Asia Cup, where he took 6 wickets for 13 runs in just his eighth match. His 17 wickets in the tournament earned him the Man of the Series award.<ref name="Ajantha Mendis Profile Cricinfo">{{cite news|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/268739.html|title=Ajantha Mendis Profile Cricinfo|first=Cricinfo|last=Staff|accessdate=2008-06-28}}</ref>
==Description==
The culture was originally named for a small number of artifacts found in 1936 and 1937 at [[Blackwater Draw]] Locality #1, near [[Portales, New Mexico]]. People began collecting artifacts at this site in the late 1920s but artifacts and animal remains that had not moved since the Pleistocene were not recovered until 1936. The in situ finds of 1936 and 1937 included stone Clovis points, two long bone points with impact damage, stone blades, a portion of a Clovis blade core, and several cutting tools made on stone flakes. Clovis sites have since been identified throughout much, but not all, of the contiguous [[United States]], as well as [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]], and even into Northern South America.<ref>{{ cite journal | last = Pearson | first = Georges | authorlink = | coauthors = Ream, Joshua | year = 2005 | month = | title = Clovis on the Caribbean Coast of Venezuela | journal = Current Research in the Pleistocene | volume = 22 | issue = | pages = 28&ndash;31 | issn = 8755-898X | url = | accessdate = | quote = }}</ref>


Mendis made his [[One Day International]] debut against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2008 and took 3 for 39. He also plays for the [[Kolkata Knight Riders]] in the [[Indian Premier League]].
A hallmark of the toolkit associated with the Clovis culture is the distinctively-shaped fluted stone [[spear]] point, known as the [[Clovis point]]. The Clovis point is [[biface|bifacial]] and typically fluted on both sides. Archaeologists do not agree on whether the widespread presence of these artifacts indicates the proliferation of a single people, or the adoption of a superior technology by diverse population groups. It is generally accepted that Clovis people hunted [[mammoth]] as Clovis points have repeatedly been found in sites containing mammoth remains. Mammoth is only a small part of the Clovis diet; [[Bison antiquus|extinct bison]], [[mastodon]], [[Ground sloth|sloths]], [[tapir]], palaeolama, [[horse]] and a host of smaller animals have also been found in Clovis sites where they were killed and eaten. In total, more than 125 species of plants and animals are known to have been used by Clovis people in the portion of the Western Hemisphere they inhabited. Clovis sites are known from most of North America, some parts of Central America, and even into northern South America in Venezuela (see Pearson and Ream 2005).


His first [[Test Match]] was against India at [[Colombo]] on [[July 23]], [[2008]] in which he returned match figures of 8-132, thereby becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to get an eight-wicket haul on Test debut.
==Disappearance of Clovis==
{{main|Younger Dryas}}
The most commonly held perspective on the end of the Clovis culture is that a decline in the availability of [[megafauna]], combined with an overall increase in population, led to local differentiation of lithic and cultural traditions across the Americas.<ref name=Anders>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/history/seac/outline/02-paleoindian/index.htm | title=Southeastern Prehistory: Paleoindian Period |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-28}} </ref> <ref name="Haynes2002" /> After this time, Clovis-style fluted points disappear, although other fluted-point traditions (such as the [[Folsom culture]]) continue essentially uninterrupted. An effectively continuous cultural adaptation proceeds from the Clovis period through the ensuing Late Paleoindian.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ice Age People of North America |last=Lepper |first=Bradley T. |authorlink= |editor=Bonnichsen, Robson; Turnmire, Karen |year=1999 |publisher=Oregon State University Press |location=Corvallis |isbn= |pages=362&ndash;394 |chapter=Pleistocene Peoples of Midcontinental North America }}</ref> However, it has also been argued by others that Clovis ended more abruptly.


Ajantha Mendis won the Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards ceremony held in Dubai in September 2008.
Whether the Clovis culture drove the mammoth, and other species, to [[extinction]] via overhunting &mdash; the so-called [[New World Pleistocene extinctions|Pleistocene overkill hypothesis]] &mdash; is still an open, and controversial, question. The greater likelihood is that climate change<ref>{{Citation
| first1 = Dewey | last1 = McLean| author-link = | last2 = Kainlauri, E., Johansson, A., Kurki-Suonio, I., and Geshwiler, M., eds. | title = A climate change mammalian population collapse mechanism |booktitle = Energy and Environment |pages = 93-100| publisher = ASHRAE| location = Atlanta, Georgia| year = 1991| doi = | isbn = |url = http://filebox.vt.edu/artsci/geology/mclean/Dinosaur_Volcano_Extinction/pages/grhskill.html |accessdate = 2008-07-04 }}</ref> possibly potentiated by human predation, disease, and additional pressures from newly arrived herbivores (competition) and carnivores (predation) and isolation made it impossible for them to reproduce and survive. It has also been hypothesized that the Clovis culture saw its decline in the wake of the [[Younger Dryas]] cold phase. This 'cold shock' lasting roughly 1,500 years affected many parts of the world, including North America. It appears to have been triggered by a vast meltwater lake — [[Lake Agassiz]] — emptying into the North Atlantic, disrupting the [[thermohaline circulation]].


==Early years and personal life==
A recent hypothesis posits that one or more extraterrestrial bodies caused the mass extinction and triggered a period of climatic cooling.<ref>[http://allendale-expedition.net/publications/comet.pdf THE CLOVIS COMET Part I:Evidence for a Cosmic Collision 12,900 Years Ago] In the Mammoth Trumpet, Volume 23 Number 1, by Allen West GeoScience Consulting and Albert Goodyear South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. Accessed August 2008</ref> The [[Younger Dryas impact event]] proposal suggests that an extraterrestrial object such as a [[comet]] exploded in Earth's atmosphere above North America's [[Great Lakes]] region about 12,900 years ago,<ref name="Firestone2007">{{ cite journal | last = Firestone | first = R. B. | authorlink = | coauthors = ''et al.'' | year = 2007 | month = | title = Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling | journal = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|PNAS]] | volume = 104 | issue = 41 | pages = 16016&ndash;16021 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0706977104 | url = | accessdate = | quote =| pmid = 17901202 }}</ref> and significantly impacted the human Clovis culture. Though the "[[Clovis comet]]" hypothesis is not universally accepted, scholars have actively debated the controversial theory. It drew new scrutiny at a recent annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Vancouver, Canada. An apparent association of the last Clovis artifacts and an organic stratigraphic layer laid down during the Younger Dryas has been noted:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070602/fob1.asp |title=Ice Age Ends Smashingly: Did a comet blow up over eastern Canada? |accessdate=2008-05-08 |last=Perkins |first=Sid |coauthors= |date=2007-05-30 |work=Science News |publisher=}}</ref>
Born on [[March 11]], [[1985]], Mendis hails from a hamlet in [[Moratuwa]]. He is the third child in a family of five with an elder brother and a sister. He has had his basic education at St Anthony's College at Kadalana in his village where there were no facilities at all for sports. He subsequently entered Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya in the year of 2000. During a cricket coaching class, Mendis' talents were initially identified by the school coach named Mr Lucky Rogers back in the year 1998 when he was just 13 years of age. In the year 2000 he represented the school under 15 cricket team and he was selected to the first eleven team. He also deputized for the school team captain. This slow medium bowler with a variation of leg spin was adjudged the Best Bowler at the big-matches twice in 2001 and 2002.


Sri Lanka Army Cricket Committee noticed his talents when he played a cricket match against the Army under 23 Division 11 during 2003/2004 tournaments. Following this he was invited to enlist in the regular force of the [[Sri Lanka Army]], this was particularly due to the low number of cricketers from Colombo schools joining the Army in the recent years. He enlisted, partly due to the reason that his father, the bread-winner for the family had passed away the week before due to a heart attack<ref>[http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080613_04 Soldier creating history in International cricket]</ref>.
{{cquote|At sites stretching from California to the Carolinas and as far north as Alberta and Saskatchewan, researchers have long noted an enigmatic layer of carbon-rich sediment that was laid down nearly 13 millennia ago. "Clovis artifacts are never found above this black mat," says Allen West, a geophysicist with Geoscience Consulting in Dewey, Ariz. The layer, typically a few millimeters thick, lies between older, underlying strata that are chock-full of mammoth bones and younger, fossilfree sediments immediately above.}}


==Military career==
The occurrence of several types of black mats was documented by C. Vance Haynes at two-thirds of 97 North American geoarchaeological sites he examined dating to the termination of the Clovis people and the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.<ref name="Haynes2008">{{ cite journal | last = Haynes | first = C. Vance, Jr. | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2008 | month = | title = Younger Dryas "black mats" and the Rancholabrean termination in North America | journal = PNAS | volume = 105 | issue = 18 | pages = 6520&ndash;6525 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0800560105 | url = | accessdate = | quote =| pmid = 18436643 }}</ref> In his abstract Haynes notes: "Recent evidence for extraterrestrial impact, although not yet compelling, needs further testing because a remarkable major perturbation occurred at 10,900 B.P. that needs to be explained."
Following basic training he played for the army team and saw active military service as a [[Gunner (rank)|Gunner]] in the [[Sri Lanka Artillery]]<ref>[http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080613_04 Soldier creating history in International cricket]</ref>, a regiment of the [[Sri Lanka Army]]. Following the Asia Cup final, he has been promoted to the rank of [[Sergeant]]<ref>[http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=14381 Army’s Sensational Spinner Ajantha Mendis Promoted, Sri Lanka Army]</ref> on the 7 July 2008 and the next day again to [[Second Lieutenant]]<ref>[http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080709_07 Promotion for new cricketing hero, Ajantha, Ministry of Defence]</ref>.


==Domestic cricket==
Given Lake Agassiz' location just north of the Great Lakes, and the proposed impact site above the Great Lakes, it is possible that both theories are correct -- that the glaciers around the Great Lakes were impacted, spilling Lake Agassiz into those lakes, out the St. Lawrence, and into the Atlantic. john goentzel discovered the clovis people and told them how to give oral sex
Mendis has represented the Army in 23 limited over matches and 59 two/three day matches, in which he has 38 wickets and 244 wickets respectively to his credit. Mendis bowls off spin as his stock delivery and he has few more variations in his armory- leg spin, top spin and faster bowl. All this was developed during 2006/2007 domestic seasons on his own. He also extended his purple patch in the domestic season 2007/2008 under 23 division 1 tournament and was later selected to the pool of "Academy Squad" organized by Sri Lanka Cricket. There he was able to polish his cricketing skills further. He had the opportunity of touring neighboring India on an eight-day tour in June 2007 where he was given the opportunity to play two, two-day matches. In the meantime, Sri Lanka Cricket selectors could not ignore his performance in the Premier Limited Over Tournament 2007/2008 and got him selected to play in the "Provincial Tournament 2008" representing "Wayamba Province" under the National Captain. In that tournament he performed exceptionally well with the ball. Local TV commentators predicted him as the ideal replacement for spin wizard [[Muttiah Muralitharan|Muralitharan]] in time to come and nick named him as "Mysterious Bowler". His marvelous performance in the said tournament got the National Selectors to observe him further closely. In the just concluded domestic season in Premier League Tournament, he has become the Most Successful Bowler by taking 68 wickets in nine matches which is also a record in any form of domestic cricket. The accomplishments of the Gunner Ajantha Mendis hit the pot of gold by getting himself selected to "National One Day Squad" to tour West Indies in March-April 2008.


==Discovery==
==Bowling style==
The veteran West Indies cricket writer Tony Becca wrote in the Jamaica Gleaner: "Mendis bowls everything. With a smile on his face as he caresses the ball before delivering it, he bowls the offbreak, he bowls the legbreak, he bowls the googly, he bowls the flipper, he bowls a straight delivery, he bowls them with different grips and different actions, he bowls them with a different trajectory and at a different pace, and he disguises them brilliantly. The result is that he mesmerises, or bamboozles, batsmen.
{{main|Burnet Cave}}
<ref>{{cite news|url=http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20080413/sports/sports2.html|title=Thank you Chanderpaul, welcome Mendis|first=Tony|last=Becca|publisher=''jamaica gleaner'' |date=[[2008-04-13]] |accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref>
A cowboy and former slave, George McJunkin, found an [[Ancient Bison]] (an extinct relative of the [[American Bison]]) skeleton, probably with Paleoindian artifacts, in 1908 after a massive flood. It was first excavated in 1926, near [[Folsom, New Mexico]] under the direction of Harold Cook and Jesse Figgins. On August 29th, 1927 they found the first in situ [[Folsom point]] with the extinct Bison antiquus bones. This confirmation of a human presence in the America's during the PLeistocene inspired many people to start looking for evidence of Early Man. The finds at Clovis came to light very quickly after Folsom.


Jerome Jayaratne, the Sri Lanka Cricket Academy coach, said: "Mendis is unusual, freaky and has developed a ball which he releases with a snap of his fingers, ([[Carrom ball]]), which is very unusual compared to other orthodox spin bowlers." That ball is reminiscent of the former Australia spinner [[Johnny Gleeson]], who had a similar delivery.<ref name="Ajantha Mendis - The future of Sri Lankan spin">{{cite news|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/347833.html|title=The future of Sri Lankan spin|first=Sa'adi|last=Thawfeek|accessdate=2008-06-30}}</ref>
In 1929, 19-year-old James Ridgley Whiteman, discovered the Clovis Man Site in the Blackwater Draw in Eastern [[New Mexico]]. Despite earlier legitimate Paleoindian discoveries, the best documented evidence of the Clovis tool complex was excavated between 1932 and 1937 near [[Clovis, New Mexico]], by a crew under the direction of Edgar Billings Howard from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences/University of Pennsylvania. Howard's crew left their excavation in [[Burnet Cave]], New Mexico (truly the first professionally excavated Clovis site) in August, 1932 and visited Whiteman and his Blackwater Draw site. In November, Howard was back at Blackwater Draw to investigate additional finds by Whiteman.


Although the ball can be made to either turn away or into a right-handed batsman, Mendis uses it to turn away from a right handed batsman, in order to contrast it with his off-breaks and googlies. The Australian test cricketer and coach [[Peter Philpott]] actually predicted the rise of a bowler such as Mendis in a book written in 1973.[http://planetnz.com/palmheads/myhacks.php?pg=bent_finger]
There may be earlier reports of the Paleoindian layers of the dig in Burnet Cave, but it seems likely that the first report of professional work at a Clovis site concerns the Blackwater Draw site in the November 25, 1932 issue of Science News. This directly contradicts statements by some authors (Haynes 2002:56 The Early Settlement of North America) that Dent, Colorado was the first excavated Clovis site. The Dent Site, in [[Weld County, Colorado]], was simply a fossil mammoth excavation in 1932. The first Dent Clovis point was found July 7, 1933. The in situ Clovis point from Burnet Cave was excavated in late August, 1931 and E. B. Howard brought it to the 3rd Pecos Conference and showed it around (see Woodbury 1983).


<blockquote>
==Clovis First==
"...Eventually I see the Iverson method being best employed by an
{{main|Models of migration to the New World}}
orthodox off-spinner. Instead of a basic Iverson attack with occasional
The predominant hypothesis (known as "Clovis First") among archaeologists in the latter half of the 20th century had been that the people associated with the Clovis culture were the first inhabitants of the Americas. The primary support for this was that no solid evidence of pre-Clovis human inhabitation had been found. According to the standard accepted theory, the Clovis people crossed the [[Beringia]] land bridge over the [[Bering Strait]] from [[Siberia]] to [[Alaska]] during the period of lowered sea levels during the ice age, then made their way southward through an ice-free corridor east of the [[Rocky Mountains]] in present-day western [[Canada]] as the [[glacier]]s retreated. This hypothesis is rapidly losing ground as there is increasing evidence of human habitation predating the Clovis culture. the Clovis people once went to war with Chuck Norris
orthodox off-spin, there is a great future for an accurate off-spinner who
produces a difficult to detect leg spinner every now and then. I could
visualise such a bowler causing great concern amongst batsmen, and young
off-spinners might be well rewarded for experimentation in this field..."
</blockquote>


==International career==
==Evidence of human habitation before Clovis==
===One day internationals===
Archaeologists have long debated the possible existence of a culture older than Clovis in North and South America.
Ajantha Mendis made his [[One Day International]] debut against West Indies in at the [[Queen's Park Oval]], Port of Spain, on 10 April, 2008. He announced his arrival on the international stage with three for 39 off 10 overs in this game, and confounded the West Indian batsmen with his range of variations without a perceptible change in his action. Rob Steen summed up the impact of this initial performance by stating "I have just seen the future of spin bowling - and his name is Ajantha Mendis."


Ajantha Mendis, playing his eighth ODI, picked up the first six-wicket haul in the Asia Cup final against India in July 2008. His 6 for 13 is the third-best bowling performance in a tournament final, and the third-best for a spinner in ODIs. His 17 wickets is the best for an edition of the Asia Cup, and he bagged those wickets at an astounding average of 8.52. Ajantha Mendis won the man of the match award in the finals as well as the player of the tournament award for his efforts.
Predecessors of the Clovis people may have migrated south along the North American coastline. According to researchers Michael Waters and Thomas Stafford of [[Texas A&M University]], new radiocarbon dates place Clovis remains from the continental United States in a shorter time window (13,050 to 12,800 years ago)<ref>[http://dmc-news.tamu.edu/templates/?a=4202&z=15 A&M University Press Article]</ref>, while radiocarbon dating of the Monte Verde site in Chile place Clovis-like culture there as early as 13,500 years ago and remains found at the [[Channel Islands of California]] place coastal Paleoindians there 12,500 years ago. This suggests that the Paleoindian migration could have spread more quickly along the coastline south, and that populations that settled along that route could have then began migrations eastward into the continent.


====ODI five-wicket matches====
In 2004, worked stone tools were found at [[Topper (archaeological site)|Topper]] in [[South Carolina]] that have been dated by [[radiocarbon]] techniques to 50,000 years ago<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041118104010.htm New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50,000 Years Ago] from the [[ScienceDaily]] website</ref>, although there is significant dispute regarding these dates.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/17/carolina.dig/index.html Scientist: Man in Americas earlier than thought], a [[CNN]] article on the South Carolina discoveries</ref>. A more substantiated claim is that of [[Paisley Caves]], where rigorous carbon-14 and genetic testing appears to indicate that humans related to modern Native Americans were present in the caves over 1000 14C years before the earliest evidence of Clovis. A study published in Science presents strong evidence that humans occupied sites in Monte Verde, at the tip of South America, as early as 13,000 years ago. <ref>Science, May 9, 2008, Ancient Algae Suggest Sea Rount for First Americans</ref> If this is true then humans must have entered North America long before the Clovis Culture - perhaps 16,000 years ago.
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%"
!colspan=7|ODI Five-wicket Matches
|-
! width="20"|# !! width="100"|Match Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="75"|Against !! width="110"|City/Country !! width="110"|Venue !! width="50"|Season
|-
| '''1''' || 5/22 || 5 || [[United Arab Emirates national cricket team|UAE]] || [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] || [[Gaddafi Stadium]] || 2008
|-
| '''2''' || 6/13 || 8 || [[India national cricket team|India]] || [[Lahore]], [[Pakistan]] || [[National Stadium, Karachi]] || 2008
|}


===Test cricket===
The [[Tlapacoya (Mesoamerican site)|Tlapacoya]] site on the shore of the former [[Lake Chalco]] reveals bones, hearths, [[midden]]s, and a [[Obsidian use in Mesoamerica|curved obsidian blade]], presumed to date to over 21,700 years [[Before present|BP]]{{Fact|date=August 2007}}, although the dating has been disputed.
Ajantha Mendis made his debut in [[Test cricket]] against India in at the [[Sinhalese Sports Club Ground]], Colombo, on 23 July, 2008. He claimed his first Test wicket in his fifth over, bowling [[Rahul Dravid]] with a delivery now christened the carrom ball, that turned from middle and hit off stump. He went on to claim the wickets of [[Anil Kumble]], [[Zaheer Khan]] & [[VVS Laxman]] to finish with figures of 4 for 72 in his maiden test bowling performance. He followed this up with 4 for 60 in India's second inings. Ajantha Mendis' match figures of 8 for 132 are the best by any Sri Lankan bowler on Test debut, bettering Kuruppurachchi's 7 for 85 against Pakistan in 1985-86. After the game [[Muttiah Muralitharan]] stated that "When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket,". Mendis collected his first ten-wicket haul in the very next match, which Sri Lanka went on to lose. With 26 wickets (ave.18.38) in the series, Mendis has passed [[Alec Bedser]]'s world record for most wickets by a bowler on his debut in a three-Test series.<ref>Alter, Jamie, "[http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/slvind/content/story/364564.html Tailenders' batting swung match - Sangakkara]", [[2008-08-10]], Cricinfo. Retrieved on [[2008-08-11]].</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/364772.html
|title=Mendis beats a Bedser best|publisher=Cricinfo |date=[[2008-08-13]] |accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref> Ajantha Mendis won the player of the series award for his efforts.


===Coastal migration route===
====Test five-wicket innings====
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%"
Recent studies of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of [[First Nations]]/[[indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] suggest that the people of the New World may have diverged genetically from Siberians as early as 20,000 years ago, far earlier than the standard theory would suggest. According to one alternative theory, the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of North America may have been free of ice such as to allow the first peoples in North America to come down this route prior to the formation of the ice-free corridor in the continental interior. No solid evidence has yet been found to support this hypothesis except that genetic analysis of coastal marine life indicates diverse fauna persisting in refugia throughout the Pleistocene ice ages along the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia; these refugia include common food sources of coastal aboriginal peoples, suggesting that a migration along the coastline was feasible at the time.
!colspan=7|Test Five-wicket Innings
|-
! width="20"|# !! width="100"|Match Figures !! width="50"|Match !! width="75"|Against !! width="150"|City/Country width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Season
|-
| '''1''' || 6/117 || 2 || [[India national cricket team|India]] || [[Galle]], [[Sri Lanka]] || [[Galle International Stadium]] || 2008
|-
| '''2''' || 5/56 || 3 || [[India national cricket team|India]] || [[Colombo]], [[Sri Lanka]] || [[Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium|P. Saravanamuttu Stadium]] || 2008
|}


==ICC Awards==
===Solutrean hypothesis===
On September 10, 2008, Ajantha Mendis has won the “Emerging Player of the Year” award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai. Mendis was the top choice of the 25-person Voting Academy, coming in ahead of England’s up-and-coming Stuart Broad, South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel and Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma of India.
{{main|Solutrean hypothesis}}
The controversial [[Solutrean hypothesis]] proposed in 1999 by Smithsonian archaeologist [[Dennis Stanford]] and colleague [[Bruce Bradley]] (Stanford and Bradley 2002), suggests that the Clovis people could have inherited technology from the [[Solutrean]] people who lived in southern Europe 21,000-15,000 years ago, and who created the first [[Stone Age]] artwork in present-day southern [[France]].<ref>The North Atlantic ice-edge corridor: a possible Palaeolithic route to the New World. Bruce Bradley and Dennis Stanford. World Archaeology 2004 Vol. 36(4): 459 – 478. http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Conservation%20Biology/Karen%20PDF/Clovis/Bradley%20&%20Stanford%202004.pdf</ref> The link is suggested by the similarity in technology between the projectile points of the Solutreans and those of the Clovis people. Such a theory would require that the Solutreans crossed via the edge of the pack ice in the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic Ocean]] that then extended to the Atlantic coast of France. They could have done this using survival skills similar to those of the modern [[Inuit]] people. Supporters of this hypothesis suggest that stone tools found at [[Cactus Hill]] (an early American site in [[Virginia]]), that are knapped in a style between Clovis and Solutrean. Other scholars such as Emerson F. Greenman and Remy Cottevieille-Giraudet have also suggested a Northern Atlantic point of entry, citing toolmaking similarities between Clovis and Solutrean-era artifacts.


The Emerging Player of the Year Award was one of eight individual prizes given at the 2008, ICC Awards. Players eligible for this award must be under 26 years of age at the start of the voting period (August 9, 2007) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 ODIs before the start of the voting period.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/369199.html|title=Mendis named as ICC's Emerging Player|publisher=''Cricinfo'' |date=[[2008-09-10]] |accessdate=2008-09-18}}</ref>
[[University of New Mexico]] anthropologist Lawrence G. Straus, a primary critic of the Solutrean hypothesis, points to the theoretical difficulty of the ocean crossing, a lack of Solutrean-specific features in pre-Clovis artifacts, as well as the lack of art (such as that found at [[Lascaux]] in France) among the Clovis people, as major deficiencies in the Solutrean hypothesis. The 3,000 to 5,000 radiocarbon year gap between the Solutrean period of France and Spain and the Clovis of the New World also makes such a connection problematic (Straus 2000). In response, defenders of the hypothesis state that the Solutreans introduced a tool-making innovation and not necessarily cultural or artistic practices.

===Recent genetic studies===
{{main|Haplogroup X (mtDNA)}}
Mitochondrial DNA analysis (see Map in [[Single-origin hypothesis]]) has found that some members of some native North American tribes have a maternal ancestry (called [[haplogroup X (mtDNA)|haplogroup X]]) (Schurr 2000) linked to the maternal ancestors of some present day individuals in western Asia and Europe, albeit distantly.

An article in the ''[[American Journal of Human Genetics]]'' states "Here we show, by using 86 complete mitochondrial genomes, that all Native American [[haplogroup]]s, including [[Haplogroup X (mtDNA)|haplogroup X]], were part of a single founding population, thereby refuting multiple-migration models." The study also argues for a Beringian isolation and subsequent coastal migration.<ref name="">{{ cite journal | last = Fagundes | first = Nelson J.R. | authorlink = | coauthors = ''et al.'' | year = 2008 | month = | title = Mitochondrial Population Genomics Supports a Single Pre-Clovis Origin with a Coastal Route for the Peopling of the Americas | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 82 | issue = 3 | pages = 583&ndash;592 | doi = 10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.11.013 | url = http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Fagundes-et-al.pdf| accessdate = 2008-07-04| quote = }}</ref> However the study, which extrapolates from modern genetic specimens, addresses only the genetics of surviving populations and does not rule out the possibility of secondary [[Population bottleneck]] events having occurred at the time of the [[Younger Dryas]].

==Other possible pre-Clovis sites==
In approximate reverse chronological order:

* Lagoa Santa, [[Minas Gerais, Brazil]], is erroneously asserted to be Clovis age or even possibly Pre-Clovis in age. The recent discussion of this site (specifically Lapa Vermelha IV) and the ''[[Luzia]]'' skull- reportedly 11,500 years old by Neves and Hubb, makes it clear that this date is a chronological date in years Before Present and NOT a raw radiocarbon date <ref>[[Walter Neves|Walter A. Neves]] and Mark Hubbe: [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0507185102v1.pdf ''Cranial morphology of early Americans from Lagoa Santa, Brazil: Implications for the settlement of the New World'']. Laboratorio de Estudos Evolutivos Humanos, Departamento de Genetica e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidade de Sao Paulo.</ref> in eastern Brazil. Clovis sites mostly date between 11,500 and 11,000 radiocarbon years which means 13,000 years before present at a minimum. "Luzia" is at least 1,000 years younger than Clovis and Lapa Vermelha IV should NOT be considered a Pre-Clovis site.

*The [[Big Eddy Site]] in southwestern Missouri contains several claimed pre-Clovis artifacts or geofacts. In situ artifacts have been found in this well-stratified site in association with charcoal. Five different samples have been AMS dated to between 11,300 to 12,675 BP ([[Before Present]]).{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

*[[Monte Verde]] II, a site in [[Chile]], was occupied from 11,800 to 12,000 to years BP.

*Taima Taima, Venezuela has cultural material very similar to [[Monte Verde]] II, dating to 12,000 years BP.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

*A cut [[mastodon]] tusk found at Page-Ladson, [[Jefferson County, Florida]] on the [[Aucilla River]] has been dated to 12,300 years BP near a few ''[[in situ]]'' artifacts of similar age.<ref>Webb et al 2006 First Floridians and Last Mastodons, Springer</ref>

* The Schaefer and Hebior mammoth sites in [[Kenosha County, Wisconsin]] indicate exploitation of this animal by humans. The Schaefer Mammoth site has over 13 highly purified collagen AMS dates and 17 dates on associated wood dating it to 12,300-12,500 radiocarbon years before the present. Hebior has two AMS dates in the same range. Both animals show conclusive butchering marks and associated non-diagnostic tools. <ref>[http://www.woollymammoth.org/Schafer.htm Schafer] from the website of the "Friends of the Ice Age" in [[Kenosha County, Wisconsin]]</ref>

* A site in [[Walker, Minnesota]] with stone tools, alleged to be from 13,000 to 15,000 years old based on surrounding geology, was discovered in 2006. <ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070215-stone-tools.html Ancient Stone "Tools" Found; May Be Among Americas' Oldest] from the ''[[National Geographic]] website</ref>

* Human coprolites have been found in [[Paisley Caves]] in Oregon, carbon dated at 14,300 years ago. Genetic analysis revealed that the coprolites contained mtDNA haplogroups A2 and B2, two of the five major Native American mtDNA haplogroups. <ref>[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/320/5872/37 DNA from Fossil Feces breaks Clovis Barrier]</ref><ref>New Scientist 12/4/08 pg 15</ref>

* The Mud Lake site, in Kenosha County, Wisconsin consists of the foreleg of a juvenile mammoth recovered in the 1930s. Over 100 stone tool butchering marks are found on the bones. Several purified collegen AMS dates show the animal to be 13,450 rcybp with a range of plus or minus 1,500 rcybp variance. <ref>[http://www.woollymammoth.org/Mud_Lake_1.htm Mud Lake Site] from the website of the "Friends of the Ice Age" in [[Kenosha County, Wisconsin]]</ref>

*[[Meadowcroft Rockshelter]] in southwestern Pennsylvania, excavated 1973-78, with evidence of occupancy dating back from 16,000 to 19,000 years ago.<ref>"The Greatest Journey," James Shreeve, National Geographic, March 2006, pg. 64</ref>

*[[Cactus Hill]] in southern Virginia, with artifacts such as unfluted bifacial stone tools with dates ranging from c. 15,000 to 17,000 years ago.<ref>Pre-Clovis Occupation on the Nottoway River in Virginia [http://www.athenapub.com/cacthill.htm Pre-Clovis Occupation on the Nottoway River in Virginia] from the website of the Athena Review, Vol.2, no.3</ref>

==See also==
*[[Archaeology of the Americas]]
*[[Models of migration to the New World]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}
11. http://www.nation.lk/2008/08/17/sports3.htm


12. http://contentusa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/366194.html
==Further reading==
{{morefootnotes|article}}
* {{cite book |author=Dixon, E. James |year=1999 |title=Bones, Boats and Bison: Archeology and the First Colonization of Western North America |location=Albuquerque |publisher=[[University of New Mexico Press]] |isbn=0-826-32057-0 |oclc=42022335}}
* {{cite journal|last=Schurr|first=Theodore G.|year=2000|title=Mitochondrial DNA and the Peopling of the New World|journal=[[American Scientist]]|volume=88 |issue=3|pages=pp.246–253 |doi=10.1511/2000.3.246 |issn=0003-0996}}
* {{cite conference|author=Stanford, Dennis |authorlink=Dennis Stanford |coauthors=and Bruce Bradley |year=2002 |title=Ocean Trails and Prairie Paths? Thoughts About Clovis Origins. |conference=edited proceedings of The Fourth Wattis Symposium, 'The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World,' October 2, 1999 |booktitle=The First Americans: The Pleistocene Colonization of the New World (Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences, No. 27.) |editor=Nina G. Jablonski (ed.) |pages=pp.255–271 |location=San Francisco |publisher=[[California Academy of Sciences]] |id=ISBN 0-940-22849-1}}
* {{cite journal |author=Straus, Lawrence G. |year=2000 |month=April |title=Solutrean Settlement of North America? A Review of Reality |journal=[[American Antiquity]] |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=pp.219–226 |doi=10.2307/2694056 |issn=00027316}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/player/268739.html Cricinfo profile]
*{{cite web | year = 2004 | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/stoneage/
*[http://jaanlo.com/howto/how-to-bowl-carrom-ball-ajantha-mendis How to bowl the Carrom Ball]
| title = America's Stone Age Explorers
*http://www.indianexpress.com/story/330604.html
| work = [[Nova (TV series)|Nova]] | publisher = PBS TV | accessdate = 2006-06-01}}
*http://content-pak.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/359207.html
*[http://www.mexicanfootprints.co.uk 40,000 year old human footprints in Puebla, Mexico]
*http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=hub280608theslowkiller.asp
*[http://www.centerfirstamericans.com/mt.php?a=47 Clovis and Solutrean: Is There a Common Thread?] by James M. Chandler

*[http://www.bauuinstitute.com Articles on Clovis and Peopling of the Americas]
{{ Kolkata Knight Riders Squad}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/columbus.shtml Stone Age Columbus] BBC TV programme summary
*[http://www.utexas.edu/research/tarl/research/gault_intro.php The Gault site, Central Texas] - one of the most significant Clovis sites in North America
*[http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/gault/ Texas Beyond History]
* [http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/New_Clovis_Age_Comet_Impact_Theory_999.html Carbon-rich layer fortifies theory on comet impact]
* [http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070602/fob1.asp Ice Age Ends Smashingly: Did a comet blow up over eastern Canada?]


{{Lifetime|1985||Mendis, Ajantha}}
[[Category:Pre-Columbian cultures]]
[[Category:Archaeological cultures]]
[[Category:Kolkata cricketers]]
[[Category:Stone Age]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan ODI cricketers]]
[[Category:Archaeology of the United States]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Test cricketers]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Mexico]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Twenty20 International cricketers]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Army Officers]]


[[ca:Cultura Clovis]]
[[fr:Ajantha Mendis]]
[[de:Clovis-Kultur]]
[[it:Ajantha Mendis]]
[[mr:अजंता मेंडिस]]
[[es:Cultura Clovis]]
[[si:අජන්ත මෙන්ඩිස්]]
[[eo:Kulturo Clovis]]
[[ta:அஜந்த மென்டிஸ்]]
[[fr:Site Clovis]]
[[it:Clovis]]
[[he:תרבות קלוביס]]
[[lt:Kloviso kultūra]]
[[nl:Cloviscultuur]]
[[ja:クローヴィス文化]]
[[oc:Cultura Clovis]]
[[pl:Kultura Clovis]]
[[pt:Cultura Clóvis]]
[[ru:Культура Кловис]]
[[simple:Clovis Indians]]
[[fi:Clovis-kulttuuri]]
[[sv:Cloviskulturen]]
[[uk:Культура Кловіс]]

Revision as of 06:16, 11 October 2008

Ajantha Mendis
Personal information
Full name
Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis
BattingRight-hand batsman
BowlingRight-arm slow
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 109)23 July 2008 v India
Last Test8 August 2008 v India
ODI debut (cap 134)10 April 2008 v West Indies
Last ODI29 August 2008 v India
ODI shirt no.40
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2007/08–presentWayamba
2006/07–2007/08Sri Lanka Army
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC List A
Matches 3 13 22 32
Runs scored 19 54 406 381
Batting average 6.33 18.00 12.30 25.40
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/2
Top score 17 15* 37 71*
Balls bowled 979 597 4,633 1,391
Wickets 26 33 137 70
Bowling average 18.38 10.81 15.27 11.15
5 wickets in innings 2 2 9 2
10 wickets in match 1 n/a 2 n/a
Best bowling 6/117 6/13 7/37 6/13
Catches/stumpings 1/– 1/– 10/– 5/–
Source: CricketArchive, 20 September 2008
Ajantha Mendis
AllegianceSri Lanka Sri Lanka
Service/branchSri Lanka Army
Years of service2005 -
RankSecond Lieutenant
UnitSri Lanka Artillery

Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis (born March 11, 1985 in Moratuwa) is a cricketer who plays for the Sri Lankan national cricket team.

Mendis, although classified as slow-medium, bowls a mixture of deliveries, including googlies, off-breaks top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks, as well as a Carrom Ball, released with a flick of his middle finger. For Sri Lanka Army in 2007-08 he averaged a mere 10.56 and took 46 wickets in six games, his strike rate a startling 31. This gained him a call-up to the full Sri Lanka squad for the Caribbean tour in April 2008.

His best bowling performance in a one-day international came in the final of the 2008 Asia Cup, where he took 6 wickets for 13 runs in just his eighth match. His 17 wickets in the tournament earned him the Man of the Series award.[1]

Mendis made his One Day International debut against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 2008 and took 3 for 39. He also plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

His first Test Match was against India at Colombo on July 23, 2008 in which he returned match figures of 8-132, thereby becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to get an eight-wicket haul on Test debut.

Ajantha Mendis won the Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards ceremony held in Dubai in September 2008.

Early years and personal life

Born on March 11, 1985, Mendis hails from a hamlet in Moratuwa. He is the third child in a family of five with an elder brother and a sister. He has had his basic education at St Anthony's College at Kadalana in his village where there were no facilities at all for sports. He subsequently entered Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya in the year of 2000. During a cricket coaching class, Mendis' talents were initially identified by the school coach named Mr Lucky Rogers back in the year 1998 when he was just 13 years of age. In the year 2000 he represented the school under 15 cricket team and he was selected to the first eleven team. He also deputized for the school team captain. This slow medium bowler with a variation of leg spin was adjudged the Best Bowler at the big-matches twice in 2001 and 2002.

Sri Lanka Army Cricket Committee noticed his talents when he played a cricket match against the Army under 23 Division 11 during 2003/2004 tournaments. Following this he was invited to enlist in the regular force of the Sri Lanka Army, this was particularly due to the low number of cricketers from Colombo schools joining the Army in the recent years. He enlisted, partly due to the reason that his father, the bread-winner for the family had passed away the week before due to a heart attack[2].

Military career

Following basic training he played for the army team and saw active military service as a Gunner in the Sri Lanka Artillery[3], a regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. Following the Asia Cup final, he has been promoted to the rank of Sergeant[4] on the 7 July 2008 and the next day again to Second Lieutenant[5].

Domestic cricket

Mendis has represented the Army in 23 limited over matches and 59 two/three day matches, in which he has 38 wickets and 244 wickets respectively to his credit. Mendis bowls off spin as his stock delivery and he has few more variations in his armory- leg spin, top spin and faster bowl. All this was developed during 2006/2007 domestic seasons on his own. He also extended his purple patch in the domestic season 2007/2008 under 23 division 1 tournament and was later selected to the pool of "Academy Squad" organized by Sri Lanka Cricket. There he was able to polish his cricketing skills further. He had the opportunity of touring neighboring India on an eight-day tour in June 2007 where he was given the opportunity to play two, two-day matches. In the meantime, Sri Lanka Cricket selectors could not ignore his performance in the Premier Limited Over Tournament 2007/2008 and got him selected to play in the "Provincial Tournament 2008" representing "Wayamba Province" under the National Captain. In that tournament he performed exceptionally well with the ball. Local TV commentators predicted him as the ideal replacement for spin wizard Muralitharan in time to come and nick named him as "Mysterious Bowler". His marvelous performance in the said tournament got the National Selectors to observe him further closely. In the just concluded domestic season in Premier League Tournament, he has become the Most Successful Bowler by taking 68 wickets in nine matches which is also a record in any form of domestic cricket. The accomplishments of the Gunner Ajantha Mendis hit the pot of gold by getting himself selected to "National One Day Squad" to tour West Indies in March-April 2008.

Bowling style

The veteran West Indies cricket writer Tony Becca wrote in the Jamaica Gleaner: "Mendis bowls everything. With a smile on his face as he caresses the ball before delivering it, he bowls the offbreak, he bowls the legbreak, he bowls the googly, he bowls the flipper, he bowls a straight delivery, he bowls them with different grips and different actions, he bowls them with a different trajectory and at a different pace, and he disguises them brilliantly. The result is that he mesmerises, or bamboozles, batsmen. [6]

Jerome Jayaratne, the Sri Lanka Cricket Academy coach, said: "Mendis is unusual, freaky and has developed a ball which he releases with a snap of his fingers, (Carrom ball), which is very unusual compared to other orthodox spin bowlers." That ball is reminiscent of the former Australia spinner Johnny Gleeson, who had a similar delivery.[7]

Although the ball can be made to either turn away or into a right-handed batsman, Mendis uses it to turn away from a right handed batsman, in order to contrast it with his off-breaks and googlies. The Australian test cricketer and coach Peter Philpott actually predicted the rise of a bowler such as Mendis in a book written in 1973.[1]

"...Eventually I see the Iverson method being best employed by an orthodox off-spinner. Instead of a basic Iverson attack with occasional orthodox off-spin, there is a great future for an accurate off-spinner who produces a difficult to detect leg spinner every now and then. I could visualise such a bowler causing great concern amongst batsmen, and young off-spinners might be well rewarded for experimentation in this field..."

International career

One day internationals

Ajantha Mendis made his One Day International debut against West Indies in at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, on 10 April, 2008. He announced his arrival on the international stage with three for 39 off 10 overs in this game, and confounded the West Indian batsmen with his range of variations without a perceptible change in his action. Rob Steen summed up the impact of this initial performance by stating "I have just seen the future of spin bowling - and his name is Ajantha Mendis."

Ajantha Mendis, playing his eighth ODI, picked up the first six-wicket haul in the Asia Cup final against India in July 2008. His 6 for 13 is the third-best bowling performance in a tournament final, and the third-best for a spinner in ODIs. His 17 wickets is the best for an edition of the Asia Cup, and he bagged those wickets at an astounding average of 8.52. Ajantha Mendis won the man of the match award in the finals as well as the player of the tournament award for his efforts.

ODI five-wicket matches

ODI Five-wicket Matches
# Match Figures Match Against City/Country Venue Season
1 5/22 5 UAE Karachi, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2008
2 6/13 8 India Lahore, Pakistan National Stadium, Karachi 2008

Test cricket

Ajantha Mendis made his debut in Test cricket against India in at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, on 23 July, 2008. He claimed his first Test wicket in his fifth over, bowling Rahul Dravid with a delivery now christened the carrom ball, that turned from middle and hit off stump. He went on to claim the wickets of Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan & VVS Laxman to finish with figures of 4 for 72 in his maiden test bowling performance. He followed this up with 4 for 60 in India's second inings. Ajantha Mendis' match figures of 8 for 132 are the best by any Sri Lankan bowler on Test debut, bettering Kuruppurachchi's 7 for 85 against Pakistan in 1985-86. After the game Muttiah Muralitharan stated that "When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket,". Mendis collected his first ten-wicket haul in the very next match, which Sri Lanka went on to lose. With 26 wickets (ave.18.38) in the series, Mendis has passed Alec Bedser's world record for most wickets by a bowler on his debut in a three-Test series.[8][9] Ajantha Mendis won the player of the series award for his efforts.

Test five-wicket innings

Test Five-wicket Innings
# Match Figures Match Against City/Country width="200"|Venue Season
1 6/117 2 India Galle, Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium 2008
2 5/56 3 India Colombo, Sri Lanka P. Saravanamuttu Stadium 2008

ICC Awards

On September 10, 2008, Ajantha Mendis has won the “Emerging Player of the Year” award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai. Mendis was the top choice of the 25-person Voting Academy, coming in ahead of England’s up-and-coming Stuart Broad, South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel and Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma of India.

The Emerging Player of the Year Award was one of eight individual prizes given at the 2008, ICC Awards. Players eligible for this award must be under 26 years of age at the start of the voting period (August 9, 2007) and have played no more than five Test matches and/or 10 ODIs before the start of the voting period.[10]

References

  1. ^ Staff, Cricinfo. "Ajantha Mendis Profile Cricinfo". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  2. ^ Soldier creating history in International cricket
  3. ^ Soldier creating history in International cricket
  4. ^ Army’s Sensational Spinner Ajantha Mendis Promoted, Sri Lanka Army
  5. ^ Promotion for new cricketing hero, Ajantha, Ministry of Defence
  6. ^ Becca, Tony (2008-04-13). "Thank you Chanderpaul, welcome Mendis". jamaica gleaner. Retrieved 2008-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Thawfeek, Sa'adi. "The future of Sri Lankan spin". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  8. ^ Alter, Jamie, "Tailenders' batting swung match - Sangakkara", 2008-08-10, Cricinfo. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
  9. ^ "Mendis beats a Bedser best". Cricinfo. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Mendis named as ICC's Emerging Player". Cricinfo. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2008-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

11. http://www.nation.lk/2008/08/17/sports3.htm

12. http://contentusa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/366194.html

External links

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