Opener Sidath Wettimuny made 190 over more than ten hours at Lord's in August 1984 — Sri Lanka's first big individual Test innings and the platform for their declaration at 491.
Wettimuny, the 28-year-old Sri Lankan opener and son of veteran batsman C. H. Wettimuny, walked out at Lord's expecting a one-off Test that the cricket world had little interest in. He produced one of the great patient innings in Lord's history: 190 from 538 deliveries across more than 10 hours — at the time the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan in Tests, and the longest first-class innings ever played at Lord's. He fell ten short of a double hundred caught and bowled by Allan Lamb (substitute fielder). The innings provided the platform for Mendis's 111 and a Sri Lankan declaration at 491 for 7 — a score that England replied to with 370 and saved a draw. Wettimuny's 190 was widely praised by English commentators including John Arlott, who called it 'the best innings by an opener at Lord's since Hutton'.
538 balls faced, 10+ hours at the crease
190 — Sri Lanka's then-highest Test score
Caught and bowled 10 short of a double
Foundation for Mendis 111
Declaration at 491/7
Day 1, lunch
Wettimuny 60*
Day 2, tea
Wettimuny passes 150
Day 2, late
Caught and bowled for 190
Day 3
SL 491/7 declared
“The best innings by an opener at Lord's since Hutton.”
“I had a Test to save. Time was on my side.”
The match was drawn; Wettimuny continued as Sri Lanka's senior opener for the rest of the decade.
The patient masterpiece that put Sri Lanka on the Test cricket map at Lord's, ten runs short of a double century.
Wettimuny's 190 stood as Sri Lanka's highest Test score for nearly a decade and is still a benchmark for patient Test batting at Lord's.
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