5 reasons why Angelo Mathews should bat in the top order

#4 No support from the tailenders

Mathews is often the lone man standing for Sri Lanka

All batsmen who have flourished while playing at number five or six enjoyed strong support from the tailenders.

In recent years Jonny Bairstow of England piled massive scores while batting in the lower middle order. But most of his runs came during his partnerships with Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad.

Ajinkya Rahane has also benefited by the batting abilities of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Wridhiman Saha.

Players who bat at number five of six generally don't always have the luxury of batting with the top order batsmen. Most of the times, they have to bat with the tailenders. If the tailenders get out early then it automatically increases the burden on the number five or six batsman. However, if the tailenders are capable of keeping one end secure, then the job of the main batsman becomes easier.

Mathews produced his finest Test performance at Leeds in 2014 when he scored 160 runs against England. That inning was possible because Rangana Herath batted for 82 balls and stood tall for 37 overs alongside the all-rounder.

Currently, Sri Lanka doesn't feature any genuine bowling all-rounder who has the ability to give Mathews company in the middle. Barring Dilruwan Perera, no other Sri Lankan has shown promise while batting at below number seven.

Additionally, since August 2014 only four players have batted at positions between eight and eleven. Among them, Herath averages 16.86, Lakmal 13.45, Prasad 8.60 and Pradeep 4.38.

This poor performance from the tailenders ensures that Mathews on most occasions is left stranded at the other end. Instead of focusing on his batting he has to watch opposite bowlers run through Sri Lanka's tailenders.

Hence, it is important for Sri Lanka that Mathews bats in the top order and gets all the time to play according to his potential.