London, Jun 28 : Sri Lanka's legendary batsman Sanath Jayasuriya will bring to an end a 22-year international career when he makes his final appearance for his country in the first of the five match one day series starting Tuesday at the Oval.
The M.P. for Matara,Jayasuriya will play his first ODI since December 2009 and will then retire.
He turns 42 later this week and this will be his 445th ODI.
Only Sachin Tendulkar with 453 has played more.
England's captain Alastair Cook, says he is one hoping the farewell at the Oval isn't too pleasant. “Hopefully we don't send him out on a high,” he said.
While Cook has captained England before, this will be the first time he captains at home. He took the job briefly on the Bangladesh tour in 2010-11, making the best possible start by winning all three ODIs and both Tests.
However Cook has not played an ODI since taking on Bangladesh in Chittagong on March 5.
Following Andrew Strauss's retirement from ODI internationals after England's disastrous World Cup campaign, Cook will have time to make the team his own ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand if he can adapt his test-style batting to suit the shorter format.
Veteran Jayasuriya has already warmed up for his farewell to international cricket with a sparkling 78 as the Sri Lankans beat Worcestershire by 57 runs in a one-day match at New Road on Wednesday last.
The left-hander, who last played a one-day international against India in 2009, turns 42 at the end of this month.
He was controversially selected for the one-day leg of Sri Lanka's tour of England following political pressure to ensure he received a fitting send-off from the international game.
Jayasuriya didn't feature in the Sri Lanka side beaten by India in this year's World Cup final. That tournament saw Upul Tharanga, his successor at the top of the order, test positive for drugs.
He has so far played in 444 one-dayers in his 21-year career amassing 11,825 runs and is credited with helping change the role of an opener in limited overs cricket due to his dynamic displays during Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup triumph.
