Sports

Damian Fernando was a sportsman

The turmoil in the Sir Lanka Cricket Administration has caused the print media to give different view points on the matter. Certain Media Institutions have questioned the competence and credibility of the Interim Committee Members and particularly of Damian Fernando who is the Brother in Law of Jeevan Kumaratunga Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.

I would like to enlighten the cricket loving public of Damian's credentials as people have been given a wrong impression that his only qualification is the relationship to the Minister, which is very unfair considering that he is an outstanding sportsman and a very high calibre person.

Damian hails from a highly respectable family in Negombo and had his education at St. Benedicts College. He is the youngest brother of Lionel, Mervyn and Benildus, all outstanding sportsmen, Lionel a former Sri Lankan national cricketer, Mervyn captained NCC and represented Sri Lanka at Board Level. Benildus and Damian excelled in football at national level.

Damian apart from playing football, turned out for the Adastrians, S.C. in the Sara and Donaovan Trophy Tournaments while serving in the Sri Lanka Air Force.

After leaving for Dubai in the mid 1970s he represented the Lanka Lions, three times Champions of the premier Bukhathir League. He went on to captain the Lanka Lions Dubai and Emirates Sri Lanka (Combined Sri Lankans Team in UAE). in 1986. He was also selected and toured with the Emirates Gentleman's Combine Team to Kenya, Holland and France in 1988.

On the appointment of Jeevan Kumaratunga as the Deputy Minister of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports, Damian who was employed at Lloyds Bank at the time and earlier at First National Bank of Chicago, terminated a promising banking career and returned to Sri Lanka in 1994 to take up the post of Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister who invited him considering his knowledge and skills in the sporting field.

He has been the Sports Ministry Representative in the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka/Sri Lanka Cricket from 1996-1998 and 2004 to date.

He still plays good cricket with the veteran's cricket team the Lanka Cavaliers of which he is one of the founder members.

So, he is no stranger to the world of cricket and has not parachuted from nowhere. I have known him personally for nearly 30 years with my involvement with Lanka Lions, Dubai and would like to say that he has all the knowledge, administrative skills etc. on the game of cricket which is not second to any other person and is fully competent to represent the country at any forum.