Morne Morkel targets a dummy during practice ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Source: AP

Sri Lanka are hoping to give former captain Mahela Jayawardene a memorable farewell by winning the last four tests of his career against South Africa and Pakistan, skipper Angelo Mathews said on Tuesday.

“We sent both Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) and Mahela off (from the Twenty20 format) in a magnificent way in Bangladesh by winning the World Twenty20 so if we can send Mahela off by winning all four tests it will be great,” Mathews said ahead of Wednesday’s first test against South Africa in Galle.

South Africa are due to play two tests in the series with the second in Colombo from July 24-28.

The series will be followed by two tests against Pakistan at Galle from Aug. 6-10 and in Colombo from Aug. 14-18.

“When I walked into the national team he was my first captain and I learnt a lot by looking at him by what he is doing on and off the field and the way he handles situations,” the 27-year-old all-rounder added.

On Monday, the 37-year-old Jayawardene announced he would be retiring from test cricket at the end of the Pakistan series.

“Mahela made his decision a couple of days ago and he had a chat with me as well. Every good thing comes to an end and it’s going to be a massive loss,” Mathews said. “He’s been tremendous for us in the past 15 years or so scoring a lot of runs, his contribution to the team is unbelievable.

“He’s decided that he is going to quit so we got to respect it and move on.

“It’s going to be a big loss and to fill his shoes is going to be a tough challenge for all of us.”

SA’s new leader

Meanwhile, South Africa will usher in a new era under captain Hashim Amla on Wednesday when the country’s first permanent non-white skipper leads the side out against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Amla replaces the colossus Graeme Smith, who led the side for a decade and elevated them to the number one test ranking in world cricket, a status they only recently lost to Australia.

Both men share similar traits regarding their will to win but in terms of personality, it would be hard to find two people from more opposite ends of the spectrum.

Smith was bullish, controversial and his bristling self-confidence often mistaken for arrogance. He was a born leader.

Amla, a devout Muslim, has a quiet demeanour, comes across as a little too humble at times and has shied away from leadership positions in limited-overs formats in recent years.

That has led to him being known in the South African dressing room as the ‘Silent Warrior’.

The 31-year-old was initially not in the running to replace Smith with the job looking secure for vice-captain AB de Villiers, who was groomed for the role by former coach Gary Kirsten after being handed the captaincy for the one-day side.

However, doubts over De Villiers’ ability to keep wicket, lead the side and be a batting mainstay led selectors to opt for Amla instead.

The latter’s role will be to nurture a side that has lost some major talent and big personalities in the recent past.

Good form

Apart from Smith, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher have also retired — in many ways the spine of the test side for the past 15 years.

Where Amla and Smith are similar is that both lead by example on the field, the weight of their runs and ability to turn in match-winning performances earning them respect the world over.

Amla also comes into the first match of the two-test series in good form gained during a spell with English County Surrey, where, ironically, he replaced Smith after the latter injured his knee. His scores of 109, 101 and 48 from as an opener in the three-match ODI series, won by South Africa ahead of the tests, highlights his fine touch, but were achieved without the burden of captaincy. That will be the biggest worry for the South African selectors with Amla and De Villiers now the two batsmen expected to get most of the runs for the team.

But Mathews thinks otherwise. “Changing the captain doesn’t really matter because they still got those players in the team and they are a very strong team to beat whether you play them at home or away as they showed us in the one-day series,” Mathews said.

South Africa won the three-match one-day international series 2-1 to record their first series win in that format in Sri Lanka. “They are a very balanced team and we have to be at our best to beat them, it’s a huge challenge,” Mathews said.

De Villiers not to ‘keep

AB de Villiers will avoid putting extra stress on a hamstring injury by playing as a batsman only in the first Sri Lanka test with Quinton de Kock taking over wicketkeeping duties, South Africa captain Hashim Amla said on Tuesday.

“De Villiers unfortunately has being struggling with a hamstring, he hasn’t kept in any of the practice sessions and it is unlikely he will keep tomorrow (Wednesday),” Amla, who will make his debut as a test captain, told reporters.

De Kock, playing only his second Test match, opens the innings with Amla in one-dayers but his batting position in the Test side had yet to be decided.