South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph eyeing a comeback to international cricket

South African batsman Jacques Rudolph has claimed to be ready for an International comeback, after showing some strong performances in the domestic season. He last played for the national-side back in 2006, but has been unable to impress the selectors since then. The stylish left-hander has represented his team in 35 Test matches, 45 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and just one T20 game.
The 29-year-old stated, “Looking back over the last nine or 10 years, I've learnt a lot. There were a lot of character building things that happened in my career and I'm in a good space at the moment. My first priority is to try and get back into the team and to establish myself in all three forms of the game.”
Rudolph doesn’t have good memories of the last matches he played for his team in any format of the game. The last international game he played for his country was a Test match against Sri Lanka, in August 2006. However, he was unable to make an impression back then, scoring a total of 28 runs in both his innings. The Proteas lost that match by just one wicket in the end.
South Africa were also on the losing side in the last ODI and T20, which featured Rudolph. The promising left-hander would want to change this history and contribute to his team’s success in the future, especially in difficult circumstances. He performed well under pressure situations in the domestic events, both as a player and a leader of the Titans.
Commenting on his team’s inability to perform in pressure situations, Rudolph stated, “We do carry this tag of chokers. Some people think it's fair, others think it's unfair. I think, to a degree, that it's unfair. But, in pressure situations, we just haven't been able to go through.”
Like many other South Africans, Rudolph was also disappointed over his team’s failure to live up to the expectations in the ICC World Cup 2011. The Proteas had a very strong start to the tournament, ending up at the top of their pool. However, they were unable to go through the knockout stages, losing their quarter-final match against a weaker New Zealand side.

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KUMAR SANGAKKARA, MAHELA JAYAWARDENE BACK LASITH MALINGA’S DECISION TO QUIT TEST CRICKET

Former Sri Lanka skippers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have endorsed paceman Lasith Malinga’s decision of retiring from Test cricket due to a worsening knee condition.

Malinga, who is playing in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians these days, announced his retirement from Test cricket on Friday, April 22, 2011 and vowed to pay complete attention to just One Day International and Twenty20 cricket.

The injury-prone pacer had recently withdrawn his name from Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour to England as well. However, after being questioned by the Sri Lanka Cricket about his participation in the lucrative IPL, Malinga made the sudden move to bid adieu to the longest format of the game.

The fast bowler has been blamed for preferring to play club cricket over country. The slinging action bowler, however, clarified that he announced his retirement from Tests in a bid to prolong his career in the shorter version of the game.

Along with 127 wickets in 84 ODIs at an average of 26.84, the 27-year-old paceman has picked up 101 wickets in 30 Tests since making his debut against Australia in 2004.

Malinga claimed that although he had plans to quit Test cricket, the timing of his retirement made the situation awkward.

The former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara has stated that Malinga’s decision was in team’s interest while Mahela Jayawardene considered that it was the right call from the pacer from a personal point of view.

“While I was captain we tried to manage him as carefully and sensitively as possible during the past couple of years,” Sangakkara said.

“The truth is that Lasith is our best fast bowler in limited-overs cricket right now. If we forced him to play Tests we would be running the risk of losing him completely,” the Lankan wicket-keeper batsman added.

Sangakkara further said that Malinga’s presence in Sri Lanka’s ODI and Twenty20 set-up is a huge blessing. Considering Malinga as a team-man, Sangakkara further rubbished all allegations that the fast bowler quit Test cricket in order to extend his participation in the ongoing IPL.

Ensuring his full support to the fast bowler, Sangakkara made it clear that it is his injury problem which forced him to leave Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Jayawardene described that with a severe knee injury, it is pointless to risk Malinga for five-day cricket.

“If he breaks down then it will be bad for Sri Lanka. Some people have criticised the decision, arguing that he is being selfish. This short-sighted argument is very unfair given that he clearly has a chronic knee problem,” Jayawardene said.

The classy right-hander further explained that if Malinga had kept playing Tests despite injury, it could have put a full stop on his cricketing career altogether.

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