So he did it then. The final wicket. A victory. 800. The perfect finish. Too perfect perhaps?

Cricket’s favourite numbers are odd ones, generally in both the mathematical and linguistic sense. Off the top of my head: 99.94, 501, 1981, 19 (for 90), 375, 11 (players), 22 (yards) and so on.

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In 2006, when Sri Lanka toured England, I had already made my mind up about Muttiah Muralitharan: he was not a chucker. Then I watched him from an angle that shook my faith. From high up in the Lord’s media centre, with Murali operating from the Pavilion End, his action looked ghastly – as if his right arm was unfolding in instalments before the ball was released. I squirmed. The naysayers shook their heads knowingly.

But four years on – and on the day after Murali announced he would be retiring from Tests following Sri Lanka’s game with India at Galle later this month – I’m back where I started: Murali’s action is legal, and my doubts were merely a product of the optical illusion that have persuaded plenty otherwise.

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Over the last year, Tillakaratne Dilshan has become a massive player. Since a clever Sri Lankan coach decided he should open the batting, he’s played consistently audacious innings, made mountains of runs and won Sri Lanka matches.

He’s even had a shot named after him – how many players have managed that? (KP’s switch hit doesn’t carry KP’s name, especially now Graeme Swann is playing it).

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“We are being deprived of Test cricket,” says Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. “The young guys in our side are desperate to perform at the highest level, and that means Test cricket.”

You can see his point. The series with India now over, a well-beaten Sri Lanka’s next Test will be against West Indies in November 2010. That three-match series will be the only Tests Sri Lanka play in the next 17 months.

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Every young cricketer is someone else, we all know this. The players we mimic inspire us. They cause sibling arguments: “I’m Botham.” “No, I am.” “No, you’re rubbish, you can’t be Botham. You’re David Capel.” Tears.

Now, as an adult, you can keep those dreams but without the arguments. So, along with the whole of India, today I am Virender Sehwag.
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It has always been tempting to tut and sneer at the cricketers (Australians especially) who seemed to jump at every chance to avoid touring Pakistan. Whatever the real security fears there or in other areas of Asia, there was always the reassurance that cricket and cricketers would never be the targets of atrocities.

Today there is no sneering. That reassurance has vanished. “This is the end,” wrote the UK-based Pakistani commentator Kamran Abbasi on Cricinfo. His voice was mournful, revealing a sense of betrayal and disbelief.

There will be no international cricket in Pakistan for the foreseeable and that is a terrible shame. Cricket has a power to unite, to cross racial and religious boundaries, especially in Asia, that is unmatched by any other activity. Maybe it is that power that is been targeted today by the terrorists.

When India toured Pakistan in 2004, the warmth between supporters glowed with genuine emotion. Indians who travelled were overwhelmed by the welcome, by the friendliness of their hosts. When will Pakistanis next get the chance to host a visiting cricket team? One hopes it is not long but there seems no immediate prospect.

In the meantime, Pakistan must play, wherever and whenever is practical. The global game has a duty to itself and the law-abiding fans in a great cricket-playing nation. Pakistan has yielded so much cricketing talent and inspired so many followers as a result. It is inconceivable for such fertile ground to lie fallow.

John Stern is editor of The Wisden Cricketer