Wettimuny was a typical 1980s opening batsman in that he often played very defensively, grafting for his runs, and his ODI strike rate of 48 shows this quite clearly.
Wettimuny made his international debut with a composed 46 in an ODI with England, which left the required run rate too high for his teammates to chase.
Wettimuny did not impress in his first Test match, however, scoring only 15 runs in two innings as England won by seven wickets.
Despite a blitzing 26 from Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka lost too many wickets to Abdul Qadir, and fell 11 runs short.
Despite recording eight single-figure scores between the 1982–83 tour of New Zealand and the end of the 1983–84, but that period also included three Test fifties.
Batting for eleven hours in a match frequently interrupted by rain, he eked out 190, which gave Sri Lanka a 121-run first innings lead.
In fact, he became the first Sri Lankan to score a test century at Lord's Cricket Ground.
Despite hitting two fifties, he had too many scores below 20, and the 12 Tests following the England tour only yielded 402 runs at an average of 19.14.