Marvan Atapattu

Marvan Atapattu

Personal information
Full name	Marvan Samson Atapattu
Born	22 November 1970 Kalutara, Sri Lanka
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm leg spin
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	Sri Lanka
Test debut (cap 46)	23 November 1990 v India
Last Test	16 November 2007 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 59)	1 December 1990 v India
Last ODI	17 February 2007 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1990/91–2006/07	Sinhalese Sports Club
2007–2008	Delhi Giants
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC List A Matches 90 268 228 329 Runs scored 5,502 8,529 14,591 10,802 Batting average 39.02 37.57 48.79 39.42 100s/50s 16/17 11/59 47/53 18/71 Top score 249 132* 253* 132* Balls bowled 48 51 1,302 81 Wickets 1 0 19 1 Bowling average 24.00 – 36.42 64.00 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 1/9 0/4 3/19 1/12 Catches/stumpings 58/– 70/– 150/– 91/–
Source: CricketArchive, 27 September 2008

Deshabandu Marvan Samson Atapattu (born 22 November 1970 in Kalutara) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former Sri Lankan captain.^[1] He has coached Canada and Singapore national cricket teams previously.^[2] From April 2014 to September 2015, he was the Head Coach of Sri Lankan Cricket Team.^[3][4]

Style and career

Marvan Atapattu started his cricket career as a teenager at Mahinda College, Galle, where Major G. W. S. de Silva was his first cricket coach.^[5] Then he crossed over to Ananda College, Colombo, where he was subsequently coached by P. W. Perera.^[5] Making his Test debut in November 1990 just after his 20th birthday, his first six innings yielded five ducks and a 1, but supporters insist that his debut-innings duck puts him in good company with batsmen such as Mike Atherton, Graham Gooch, Len Hutton, Saeed Anwar and Wasim Akram, who all made debut-innings ducks and went on to score at least 2500 Test runs. After this difficult start in his first three matches, he did not score above 29 in his next 11 innings, before hitting his first Test century in his 10th match, against India, seven years after his debut. He has 22 Test-match career ducks and 4 pairs (two ducks in a single match), both records for a top-order batsman. He made his one-Day International debut against India at Nagpur.He was appointed as captain of the one-day team on April 2003. He registered his highest Test score of 249 against Zimbabwe in 2004, sharing a 438-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara for the second wicket.

Atapattu is a skilful fielder with an accurate throw. A report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showed that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the second highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman, with the seventh highest success rate.^[6] He was controversially ^[7] left out of the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and as a result, asked for his removal from the list of Sri Lanka contracted players. Atapattu was to miss the 2007–08 tour of Australia, but was added to the squad after the intervention of Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge. Atapattu played solidly in the First Test, but subsequently angrily labelled the selectors: "A set of Muppets, basically, headed by a joker," at a post-stumps press conference.

After Sri Lanka lost the series 2–0, Atapattu announced his international retirement after the second Test at Hobart.^[8] He finished with 5,502 Test runs at an average of 39.02 in 90 Tests with a One-day International average of 37.57 after hitting 8,529 runs in 268 matches. Atapattu scored six double centuries and sixteen centuries in his Test cricket career.^[9] He has scored centuries against all Test-playing nations.

Coaching career

In 2009, Atapattu had a coaching stint with the Fingara Cricket Academy, a coaching facility in Sri Lanka. He had a short stint as Canada's batting coach in early-2009, subsequently helping them qualify for the 2011 World Cup. In 2010, he was named as head coach of the Singaporean cricket team for a one-year period, which was his first full-time assignment of a coach of a national side. His first task was World Cricket League Division 5 in Nepal where the team finished third in the group stage and remained in division 5 for 2012 World League.

In April 2011, after the World Cup, Atapattu was named as the batting coach of Sri Lankan national team and joined interim coach Stuart Law, Champaka Ramanayake and Ruwan Kalpage for the tour of England. Meanwhile, he was considered for the Head Coach job of the team, which eventually went to Paul Farbrace, in 2013. Atapattu was promoted to the post of an assistant coach. Following Farbrace's early unexpected exit in 2014, he was appointed as interim head coach of the team.^[10] During this period, Sri Lanka won its first Test series in England in 16 years, with a 1–0 win in its 2014 tour.^[11] He officially took over as Head Coach in September 2014, and was the team's first local coach in 15 years. A 5–2 ODI series win during England's 2014 tour of Sri Lanka was the only series win for Sri Lanka after he formally took over. After consecutive Test series defeats against Pakistan and India, he resigned in September 2015.^[11]

Player statistics

Atapattu scored three centuries, including 201 not out against England, at the Sinhalese Sport Club Ground.

Key

Symbol	Meaning
*	Remained not out
	Atapattu was man of the match
Balls	Balls faced
Pos.	Position in the batting order
Inn.	The innings of the match
Test	The number of the Test match played in that series
S/R	Strike rate during the innings
H/A/N	Venue was at home (England), away or neutral
Date	Date the match was held, or the starting date of match for Test matches
Lost	The match was lost by Sri Lanka
Won	The match was won by Sri Lanka
Drawn	The match was drawn
Tied	The match was tied

Test cricket centuries

Test cricket centuries of Marvan Atapattu

No.	Score	Against	Pos.	Inn.	Test	Venue	H/A/N	Date	Result	Ref
1	108	India	2	1	1/3	Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, India	Away	19 November 1997	Drawn	[12]
2	223	Zimbabwe	2	1	1/2	Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka	Home	1 July 1998	Won	[13]
3	216*	Zimbabwe	1	2	1/3	Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Away	18 November 1999	Drawn	[14]
4	207*	Pakistan	1	1	3/3	Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka	Home	28 June 2000	Drawn	[15]
5	120	South Africa	1	2	2/3	Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka	Home	30 July 2000	Lost	[16]
6	201*	England	1	1	1/3	Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka	Home	22 February 2001	Won	[17]
7	108	India	1	2	3/3	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka	Home	29 August 2001	Won	[18]
8	201	Bangladesh	1	2	1/1	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka	Home	6 September 2001	Won	[19]
9	100*	Zimbabwe	1	3	3/3	Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka	Home	12 January 2002	Won	[20]
10	185	England	1	1	1/3	Lord's, London, England	Away	16 May 2002	Drawn	[21]
11	118	West Indies	1	1	1/2	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia	Away	20 June 2003	Drawn	[22]
12	118	Australia	1	2	3/3	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka	Home	24 March 2005	Lost	[23]
13	170	Zimbabwe	1	2	1/2	Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe	Away	6 May 2004	Won	[24]
14	249	Zimbabwe	2	1	2/2	Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Away	14 May 2004	Won	[25]
15	133	Australia	2	1	2/2	Bundaberg Rum Stadium, Cairns, Australia	Away	9 July 2004	Drawn	[26]
16	127	New Zealand	2	1	1/2	McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand	Away	4 April 2005	Drawn	[27]

One Day International centuries

One Day International centuries of Marvan Atapattu

No.	Score	Balls	Against	Pos.	Inn.	S/R	Venue	Date	Result	Ref
1	118	153	India	2	1	77.12	R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka	17 August 1997	Won	[28]
2	132*	151	England	3	2	87.41	Lord's, London	20 August 1998	Won	[29]
3	119*	135	Pakistan	3	1	88.14	National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan	13 February 2000	Won	[30]
4	100	124	Pakistan	4	2	80.64	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh	7 June 2000	Lost	[31]
5	102*	111	India	3	1	91.89	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	27 October 2000	Won	[32]
6	101	118	Netherlands	2	1	85.59	R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka	16 September 2002	Won	[33]
7	123*	121	South Africa	1	2	101.65	Willowmoore Park, Benoni, South Africa	1 December 2002	Won	[34]
8	101	124	Australia	1	1	81.445	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia	9 January 2003	Won	[35]
9	124	129	South Africa	1	1	96.12	Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa	3 March 2003	Tied	[36]
10	103*	127	Zimbabwe	1	1	81.10	Buffalo Park, East London, South Africa	15 March 2003	Won	[37]
11	111	114	Pakistan	3	1	97.36	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan	14 October 2004	Lost	[38]

Personal life

Atapattu was educated at Mahinda College, Galle and Ananda College, Colombo. He is married to Neluni Atapattu, an accountant by profession. Marvan and Neluni have two daughters.

See also

• List of Sri Lanka national cricket captains
• Ananda-Nalanda

References

1. "Marvan Atapattu". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
2. "Atapattu to coach Singapore for 2010". Retrieved 4 July 2010.
3. "Marvan Atapattu appointed head coach of Sri Lankan Cricket Team". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
4. "Marvan Atapattu resigns as Sri Lanka coach". ESPNCRICINFO STAFF. espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
5. Obeysekere, Sriyan (27 April 2003). "Marvan's bag of new one-day strategies, a marvel !". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
6. Basevi, Trevor (8 November 2005). "Statistics – Run outs in ODIs". Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
7. "Marvan not ready to throw in the towel yet".
8. Atapattu Announces International Retirement, Cricket World, Retrieved on 20 November 2007
9. "Most double hundreds in a career". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
10. "Marvan Atapattu appointed head coach of Sri Lankan Cricket Team". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
11. "Marvan Atapattu resigns as Sri Lanka coach". ESPNcricinfo. espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
12. "Sri Lanka tour of India, 1st Test: India v Sri Lanka at Mohali, Nov 19–23, 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
13. "Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Kandy, Jan 7–11, 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
14. "Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe, 1st Test: Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Bulawayo, Nov 18–22, 1999". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
15. "Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Kandy, Jun 28 – Jul 2, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
16. "South Africa tour of Sri Lanka, 2nd Test: Sri Lanka v South Africa at Kandy, Jul 30 – Aug 2, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
17. "England tour of Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Sri Lanka v England at Galle, Feb 22–26, 2001". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
18. "India tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (SSC), Aug 29 – Sep 2, 2001". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
19. "Asian Test Championship, 2nd Match: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at Colombo (SSC), Sep 6–8, 2001". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
20. "Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Galle, Jan 12–15, 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
21. "Sri Lanka tour of England, 1st Test: England v Sri Lanka at Lord's, May 16–20, 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
22. "Sri Lanka tour of West Indies, 1st Test: West Indies v Sri Lanka at Gros Islet, Jun 20–24, 2003". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
23. "Australia tour of Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (SSC), Mar 24–28, 2004". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
24. "Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe, 1st Test: Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Harare, May 6–8, 2004". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
25. "Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe, 2nd Test: Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Bulawayo, May 14–17, 2004". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
26. "Sri Lanka tour of Australia, 2nd Test: Australia v Sri Lanka at Cairns, Jul 9–13, 2004". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
27. "Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand, 1st Test: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Napier, Apr 4–8, 2005". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
28. "India tour of Sri Lanka, 1st ODI: Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (RPS), Aug 17, 1997". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
29. "Emirates Triangular Tournament, Final: England v Sri Lanka at Lord's, Aug 20, 1998". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
30. "Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan, 1st ODI: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi, Feb 13, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
31. "Asia Cup, Final: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dhaka, Jun 7, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
32. "Coca-Cola Champions Trophy, 6th Match: India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Oct 27, 2000". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
33. "ICC Champions Trophy, 5th Match: Sri Lanka v Netherlands at Colombo (RPS), Sep 16, 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
34. "Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 3rd ODI: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Benoni, Dec 1, 2002". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
35. "VB Series, 6th Match: Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, Jan 9, 2003". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
36. "ICC World Cup, 40th Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Durban, Mar 3, 2003". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
37. "ICC World Cup, 8th Super: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at East London, Mar 15, 2003". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
38. "Paktel Cup, 6th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Lahore, Oct 14, 2004". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2015.

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External links

• Player profile: Marvan Atapattu from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Marvan Atapattu from CricketArchive