Russel Arnold
Encyclopedia
Russel Premakumaran "Rusty" Arnold (රසල් ආනල්ඩ්)(born October 25, 1973, Colombo
) is a former Sri Lankan
cricket
er of Tamil descent. Arnold made his Test
debut against Pakistan
in 1997 and his One day international
debut against South Africa
later in the year. Originally an opening batsmen, Arnold has since moved down the batting order. He is most famous in the pearl island as a utility and very versatile- making him ideally suitable for the limited over version of the game. However, when he started his career, he was seen primarily as a solid top order batsmen where he impressed against Australia during the AIWA cup of 1999, as well as the subsequent test series against them, where he batted at no. 3. Failure in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
saw him sidelined for many months. However, he fought his way back into the side with a string of good scores in domestic cricket for his club, Nondescripts
. A calm and cool player in a crisis situation, Arnold has dragged Sri Lanka out of many sticky situations. He is highly valued for his gritty qualities and is considered an unselfish team man. He is considered an ideal No. 6; he is a Methodist Christian and speaks Tamil
as does Muttiah Muralitharan
. Nicknamed "Rusty" by Roshan Mahanama and Pramodya Wickramasinge, due to it being a very common nickname for the name Russel, and also it complemented his batting style as tough and durable- though not really pretty.
During April 2007 he announced, through team manager Michael Tissera
, a shock to Sri Lankan cricket that he intended to retire from the international cricketing scene after the World Cup final. He cited that the pressure of too much travel as his reason.
He is currently playing A grade cricket in Sydney for Hornsby District Cricket Club and has also played numerous games for the Melbourne Super Kings in Melbourne.
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
) is a former Sri Lankan
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er of Tamil descent. Arnold made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
in 1997 and his One day international
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
debut against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
later in the year. Originally an opening batsmen, Arnold has since moved down the batting order. He is most famous in the pearl island as a utility and very versatile- making him ideally suitable for the limited over version of the game. However, when he started his career, he was seen primarily as a solid top order batsmen where he impressed against Australia during the AIWA cup of 1999, as well as the subsequent test series against them, where he batted at no. 3. Failure in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
saw him sidelined for many months. However, he fought his way back into the side with a string of good scores in domestic cricket for his club, Nondescripts
Nondescripts Cricket Club
Nondescripts Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1888...
. A calm and cool player in a crisis situation, Arnold has dragged Sri Lanka out of many sticky situations. He is highly valued for his gritty qualities and is considered an unselfish team man. He is considered an ideal No. 6; he is a Methodist Christian and speaks Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
as does Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
. Nicknamed "Rusty" by Roshan Mahanama and Pramodya Wickramasinge, due to it being a very common nickname for the name Russel, and also it complemented his batting style as tough and durable- though not really pretty.
During April 2007 he announced, through team manager Michael Tissera
Michael Tissera
Michael Hugh Tissera is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played three ODIs in 1975.He was educated at the prestigious S.Thomas College in Mount Lavinia where he captained the Thomian cricket team at the Royal Thomian Test series which is known as The Battle of the Blues on two occasions in 1957...
, a shock to Sri Lankan cricket that he intended to retire from the international cricketing scene after the World Cup final. He cited that the pressure of too much travel as his reason.
He is currently playing A grade cricket in Sydney for Hornsby District Cricket Club and has also played numerous games for the Melbourne Super Kings in Melbourne.
Test cricket
- Debut: 1st Test, Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan, Colombo, April 1997.
- Highest score: 123 vs. Pakistan, Lahore, March 1999.
One-day cricket
- Debut: Sri Lanka vs. South Africa, Lahore, November 1997.
- Highest score: 103 vs. Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, December 1999.