Herbert I. K. Fernando (born 4 January 1933) is a former

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

who was Ceylon's principal

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

from 1953 to 1970. He was also a doctor and a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

in the Sri Lanka Army.

Life and career

Herbert Fernando attended St Peter's College, Colombo, where he captained the cricket team in 1951 and 1952 and was schoolboy cricketer of the year in 1952. He went on to the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

, graduating as a doctor in 1961. A wicketkeeper-batsman, he made his first-class debut in the inaugural Gopalan Trophy match in February 1953. A month later he made his international debut for Ceylon in a one-day match against the visiting

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

. He continued to represent Ceylon throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He led the Ceylon team that toured Malaya and Singapore in 1957, and was the chief wicket-keeper in Ceylon's two major tours in the 1960s, to India in 1964-65 and Pakistan in 1966-67. When Ceylon won their first major international victory, against

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Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

on the 1964-65 tour, he took four catches and three stumpings, as well as scoring 38 not out, the second-top score, in Ceylon's first innings. He scored his only first-class century in the Gopalan Trophy in 1965–66, when he made 102 not out to ensure a draw after the Ceylon team had followed on 255 behind. He compiled over 10000 runs in the highest level of local cricket, and was the top career run scorer in the Sara Trophy period of Ceylon cricket. He captained the Ceylon team on several occasions and was the national chairman of selectors when Sri Lanka first played

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

in 1982. He was one of the selectors who chose him to captain the Ceylon team to tour England in 1968, but the tour was cancelled just before it was due to begin. Fernando was commissioned in the Army as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1963 and rose to the rank of brigadier in 1983, when he was Director of Army Medical Services. As the Director of Welfare and Rehabilitation he established the Ranaviru Sevana Centre for veterans at Ragama. He received the decoration O.St.J. in 1993 in recognition of his work in this area. In September 2018, he was one of 49 former Sri Lankan cricketers felicitated by

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...

, to honour them for their services before Sri Lanka became a full member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Herbert 1933 births Living people Alumni of St. Peter's College, Colombo Alumni of Ceylon Medical College Sinhalese physicians Sri Lankan cricketers All-Ceylon cricketers Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps officers Nondescripts Cricket Club cricketers Wicket-keepers