Sangakkara to deliver Cowdrey Lecture
Date released: 17 May 2011
Address: Sangakkara will deliver the 11th MCC SoC lecture
Kumar Sangakkara will deliver the 11th MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on Monday 4 July 2011.
The former Sri Lanka captain will be the first person from his country to give the annual lecture and the first current international player to make the address.
The 33-year-old will also take over from former Australia wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist as the youngest man to deliver the MCC SoC Cowdrey Lecture.
Sangakkara will speak at the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s the day after playing against England at the Home of Cricket in the third NatWest One Day International.
Sri Lanka will also play England at Lord's in an npower Test match - the second in their series against England - starting on Friday 3 June.
Top-class
The former Sri Lanka captain will be part of the squad touring England
Sangakkara is one of the most prolific batsmen in the world game and is vastly experienced, having played in 414 internationals for Sri Lanka.
He made his international debut, aged just 22, in a One Day International against Pakistan in July 2000 and went on to make his first Test start, against South Africa, later that month.
The left-hander initially made his name as a wicket-keeper batsman but has largely abandoned the gloves in the Test match arena.
His record with the bat in the longest format is superb, averaging more than 57 in 94 Test matches. He was the first batsman to score more than 150 in an innings in four consecutive Tests.
Sangakkara has spent the last two years as captain of the Sri Lanka side, leading them to the final of both the ICC World Twenty20 and the 50-over ICC World Cup.
He resigned as skipper in all three formats after the defeat to India in the World Cup final in April this year.