Sri Lanka cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had their portraits installed at the iconic Lord’s gallery. The painting of both these players was unveiled by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Friday in the Lord’s pavilion.
These portraits was on display on the opening day of Middlesex versus Surrey County Championship game. The pair have had multiple sittings with the painter Antony Williams in the Writing Room at Lord’s. Sangakkara and Jayawardene’s paintings will be placed alongside Sir Viv Richards and Glenn McGrath.
The official website of the ‘Home of Cricket’ quoted Sangakkara saying, “I was humbled when I was asked to sit for the portrait commissioned by MCC. It is a great honour to be on the walls at Lord’s. I wanted to know how I would be represented through Antony’s eyes; not just my expressions or my physical appearance but how he would interpret me as a whole.”
He further added, “Having seen the final portrait, I was so very pleasantly surprised, unnerved and a bit embarrassed seeing myself in a frame on canvas but thoroughly happy with the work done.”
Adam Chadwick, MCC’s Curator of Collections said, “MCC regularly commissions portraits of players who have captivated a generation of cricket fans in all forms of the game, all around the world, and both Kumar and Mahela fit the bill perfectly. I am delighted with these additions to the MCC Collection and am sure that they will be enjoyed by visitors to Lord’s for years to come.”
Apart from Jayawardene and Sangakaara’s portraits the exhibition will also showcase Middlesex’s County Championship wins throughout history that includes their unbeaten run in 1878, the summer of 1947 and their triumph in 2016 that came on the final day against Yorkshire.
Exhibition will include Denis Compton’s bat from 1947 with which he scored 3,816 First-Class runs and also Toby Roland-Jones hat-trick ball from last season’s championship win.
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