Wisden overview
A product of Colombo's Royal College, and the best Sri Lankan fast bowler of his generation, Ashantha de Mel was fortunate to reach his peak just as his country's long battle to attain Test status was won. Fast-medium rather than genuinely quick, but with a free, high action and a good outswinger, he toured England in 1981 with only modest success. He quickly made his mark though, with 4 for 70 in the first innings of Sri Lanka's inaugural Test, against England in Colombo in February 1982. He went on to outbowl many fast men with bigger reputations on Pakistan's slow pitches, and took a hard-earned 4 for 110 in the 1984 Lord's Test when not fully fit. An aggressive late-order batsman, he had a first-class century to his name, and was a genuine allrounder in anything other than the highest class. Christopher Martin-Jenkins
Adapted by Wisden from World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary (Oxford, 1996).

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