Nigel in town!
Royal’s batting sensation of 80s:
by Sapumali Galagoda
Remember the prodigy who created history at the Royal-Thomian ‘Big
Matches’ about two decades ago? Yes, former Royal captain Nigel
Fernando, who was a household name during the late 80s is in Sri Lanka
on a brief holiday.
 It was in 1987 that young Nigel first came into the limelight as a
15-year-old batting sensation.
He was the baby of the side. Since then, he had the honour of playing
for Royal for five successive years until 1991 in the Battle of the
Blues series to emulate the record of former Royal captain and present
ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle.
Fernando, after a stint in the United Kingdom, is currently based in
UAE as General Manager of a leading shipping firm.
The former Royal captain is in town with his charming wife Kaushali
and daughter Rayshmi, a Grade 6 student at Dubai British School.
In the 130-year-old history of the Royal-Thomain series, Fernando was
the youngest to captain the Reid Avenue School, when at the age of 16,
he captained Royal in 1989. In the following year, he cracked a
magnificent century and guided Royal to win the ‘Big Match’.
Fernando is the eldest in a family of three children. “My dad passed
away in 2004 and my mom is living in Colombo doing charity and religious
work”, said Fernando in an interview with the Sunday Observer Magazine.
Under which categories did you play cricket?
I started by playing for the junior team under-11 and under-19 which
later captained. I was the captain of the Royal College team in 1989 at
the Royal-Thomian ‘Big Match’.
Did you play any club cricket?
Yes I played for SSC for one cricket season in the under-23 category.
Any regrets that you didn’t get a chance to play for Sri Lanka?
No. At that time since leaving college, I was assigned to do a
project for John Keells. I was very much involved and had less time for
cricket.
What do you think about the national team?
The team is pretty good, but seems to lacks consistency.
What are your views on school cricket at present?
The standard of the game differs from college to college but they
should push for more higher standards and to do that, captains have to
do a job as well.
Tell us something about your family?
I am happily married and my wife is an interior designer and I’ve got
a daughter who is 10, who plays for the girls’ cricket team.
What are your future plans?
I want to provide a good future for my daughter. |
