Vaas proves fitness is a state of mind

Vaas (30), who gave up the Roman Catholic priesthood for cricket, has married his passion and his desire for perfection to a keen competitive streak and revelled in the art of swing bowling.

He believes his fitness programme of gym work and training schedules have maintained him throughout his career — including WC 2003, when he took 22 wickets and topped the charts.

Unlike the show-off style of the blond-headed Brett Lee or the aggressive Glenn McGrath and England’s new hero Steve Harmison, Vaas does not become over-emotional. It is his disciplined mind as well as his general approach to a problem that makes him the bowler he is.

There are times when bowling in the often unsympathetic sub-continental conditions adds to his determination and the need to be controlled as well penetrative.

‘‘It is all a question of adaptation’’, he told this writer during WC03. ‘‘You get used to conditions and the surfaces you bowl on, the length required and the way you can bowl best for your team.’’

Sri Lanka Cricket have a specialised gym at their Maitland Place headquarters and it gives the players a chance to train hard and work with their fitness trainer as well their own club when the need arises.

Much of the fitness regime introduced by Dav Whatmore on his return as coach in 1999 and the programme devised by Australian physio Alex Kontouri has kept key players such as Vaas in shape for the arduous workload he has to endure. In a sense, he has developed his own style of approach and economical bowing action.

It didn’t come overnight, though. It was what worked best for the bowler and meant hours of work in the nets: the result is a bowler who gets through a tour with maximum effort and input yet the demands on his strong body means that he is capable of bowling long spells.

For bowlers such as Vaas it comes down to a matter of personal pride. He’s already a role model at home, to a growing school of young fast bowlers including Farveez Maharoof. Their working in tandem will be one of the treats of the looming home Test series against South Africa.