HASHAN TILLAKARATNE Left-hand batsman

FACTFILE DOB: 14.7.67 Test debut: v Australia, Hobart, 1989 ODI debut: v India, Sharjah, 1986

Very few players still on the international scene can say they first represented their country in the mid-1980s and his experience will be unbridled on England's tour of Sri Lanka.

Early on in his career he kept wicket, but his considerable batting skill was fully realised when he gave up the gloves in 1994.

Over the next three years he averaged 56 in Tests, and his six centuries included gutsy efforts in difficult conditions against Saqlain Mushtaq and Shane Warne.

Lost his place when Sri Lanka turned to youth after the 1999 World Cup, but heavy scoring in domestic cricket brought him back into the national team in 2001.