Hemantha G Nag Jayasena (born September 16, 1971) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n-born

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. He is a left-handed batsman and leg-break bowler. Jayasena first played cricket back in 1990, turning out for Sri Lankan Premier League side

Panadura Sports Club Panadura Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Panadura, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Panadura Public Ground History Panadura Sports Club has been in existence since 1924. The team has played first-class cricket since 1988– ...

, though he lasted merely two years under their wing. Six years later, Jayasena was to discover a new lease of life as a cricketer, playing for his adopted nation of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for the first time in 1998. He played for Italy for the first time at the 1998 European Championships, making his debut, and a half century, as an opening batsman for his country against

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, as well as taking three wickets. He later played in the 2002 European Championships, and in 2004, helped Italy to promotion from Division Two into Division One, despite their slip back down the ladder two years later. A determined batsman, he quickly made his way up from tailender to opener for Panadura, and, for Italy, commonly starts in the upper-middle order.

External links

Hemantha Jayasena
at Cricket Archive 1971 births Italian cricketers Living people Panadura Sports Club cricketers Sri Lankan emigrants to Italy Sri Lankan cricketers {{SriLanka-cricket-bio-1970s-stub