Angelo Mathews says cricketers like Mahela Jayawardene come around rarely

Johannesburg: Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has said that cricketers like Mahela Jayawardene come around very rarely and younger players in the team have a lot to learn from his fighting attitude.

Jayawardene will bid farewell to Test cricket, as one of its prolific run-scorers, after his second Test against Pakistan that starts on Thursday.

Mathews said that it is an emotional moment for Sri Lankan squad as they all know, it`s going to be Jayawardene`s last game and they want to win it for him.

The skipper said that when a team walks into a game, they want to win all the time, that`s the attitude Sri Lanka takes, regardless of what`s happening around. He added that they want to keep their focus and play it for Jayawardene.

Mathews said that it would take a long time to replace the former skipper because he`s the kind of player that comes around very rarely , and added that they can`t do his service justice with words.

Mathews also said that the team especially the younger players will miss Jayawardene`s presence in the dressing room.

Jayawardene will be playing in his 149th Test match, the most by a Sri Lankan cricketer, the report added.