Cricket: Jayawardene defends under-fire Malinga

COLOMBO:

Mahela Jayawardene has strongly reacted to the tirade launched against his team’s speed merchant Lasith Malinga, describing the criticism as ‘grossly unfair’.

“It is very disappointing to see the level of criticism being directed towards Malinga,” said Jayawardene. “It is, in my view, way over the top and grossly unfair.” Jayawardene said Malinga is only going through a bad patch in his career. “Even the greatest of players experience massive failures, just as they will enjoy moments of unbridled brilliance. Lasith had a tough tournament but such a fine record and reputation does not get tarnished on the back of one bad performance.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2012.