Spare the rod and spoil the child  

by Rex Clementine  

There is something special about these cricketing talents from Moratuwa. They tend to throw caution to wind taking on the best of fast bowlers and often fortune favours the brave. Young Avishka Fernando, the latest sensation from St. Sebastian’s College was putting the world’s leading fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Antrich Nortje to sword very much like his predecessors Duleep Mendis and Rumesh Kaluwitharana had done in years gone by.

It was Avishka’s third ODI century. The previous two had come against the West Indies – at Hambantota and during the 2019 World Cup. However, the knock that most talked about is his counterattack on England during the World Cup at Headingley, where Jofra Archer was made to look ordinary.

Avishka has been destined to greatness from the time he piled up runs in the school season. His twin hundreds against England Under-19 helped Sri Lanka Under-19 record a series win in the UK in 2016. Soon, he was drafted into the senior side. Two attributes of Avishka stood out; the shots he plays and the time he has to play them. That flicked six off Kagiso Rabada on Thursday was stunning. There’s little doubt that this boy is Aravinda’s heir.

But Avishka’s success is not instant.  He had to be put through the mill. Hats off to Head Coach Mickey Arthur and then Chairman of Selectors Ashantha De Mel for putting their foot down and demanding that he gets his act together.

Avishka was going to make his Test debut in January when England were in town. But he failed a fitness test. De Mel, who was also the Team Manager, sent Avishka home.  There was a public outcry. Arthur stood firm.  They insisted that there is no coming back unless he met minimum fitness standards.

Damn shame that a 23-year-old could  not run two kilometers in eight minutes and  30 seconds and that his skin folds were high.

But Avishka got his act together. He missed out on three series in a row and having got a clear message he worked on his fitness and fought back to earn his place. His batting on Thursday was so breathtaking. Not only is he clearing the boundary, when bad balls are few and rare, he’s rotating the strike well with quick singles. He’s also converting two into three. For seven years, Sri Lanka have not beaten a team ranked at number five or higher in an ODI series. Avishka has given them new hope.

You wonder whether some of the troublemakers like Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka would have got their act together had they been shown the same firmness. Kusal and Danushka are not bad people. They are immensely talented young athletes who need guidance. But the problem was every time there was a misdemeanour, the authorities turned a blind eye and let them off the hook with a slap on the wrist.

When the bubble was breached in Durham, immediately after the names of Kusal and Danushka were mentioned, you wondered how Avishka missed out on the expedition. These are gentlemen who wine and dine together.

The difference was that having missed out on three tours, Avishka had learned some harsh lessons. He wasn’t willing to take any more risks.  Whereas the other three, particularly Danushka and Kusal, had been treated with kids’ gloves. They should have been taught a golden rule. ‘If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.’ Sadly, we have spared the rod and spoilt the children.