For the 61 overs in the opening Test of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford in Manchester, England has faced only five maidens, all of them against the left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya. But despite their comfort, Asitha Fernando, the right-arm visiting fast bowler, has made regular inroads in the home side.
Sri Lanka struggled in their first innings with the bat after their captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, winning the toss, decided to bat first on a track that looked solid to put runs on the board. But their top order didn’t fire as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.
However, the two match-saving knocks of 74 and 72, from the captain and the debutant Milan Rathnayake respectively put them out of trouble towards the end of the innings, as they ended up with 236 in that innings.
“Asitha Fernando has got a different confidence level”- Sri Lanka’s bowling coach
Asitha Fernando was raw and quick with the ball in the first innings of England’s batting, as the batters, despite scoring runs comfortably, have been troubled due to the movement of the ball. He trapped the left-handed opening batter, Ben Duckett, before the stumps on the personal knock of 18 runs.
Also Read: England’s Test Trip To Pakistan Under Threat Due To This Reason
Ollie Pope, the standing captain for the England side in this series, had no idea of the ball that rattled the stumps, while the pacer, against the run of play, found the outside edge of Joe Root (42) who lost the concentration battle and went for a big drive.
Asitha Fernando, coming into the game, has picked up 45 wickets in 14 games at an average of under 27 and a strike rate of nearly eight overs, celebrating a five-wicket haul and three four-wicket hauls, with the best of 6/51 in an innings.
The 31-year-old showed an excellent display of swing bowling under overcast conditions, where he also bowled long spells to bring Sri Lanka back into the contest. Each of the batters he dismissed has been in their prime form, as it shows his skills of a different level.
Their bowling coach, Aaqib Javed, compares the pacer with the former Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad Asif, who had an excellent ability to move the ball in different ways without changing his wrist position.
“I told him (Asitha Fernando) that after Mohammad Asif of Pakistan, I saw that quality in him. Not many people know about his ability. Without changing his wrist, he can swing the ball both ways.” Javed expressed in the press conference.
The 41-year-old Pakistan pacer, who couldn’t extend his career for a different reason, played 23 red-ball games for the national side, picking up 106 wickets at an average of under 25 and a strike rate of 48.7, with the help of seven five-wicket hauls and six four-wicket hauls.
Javed, who was a Pakistani pacer himself, narrated how he made the comparison between Asitha Fernando and Asif, as he was the first to recognize the talent of the Punjab-born pacer.
Also Read: Shakib Al Hasan Named In A Murder Case In Bangladesh- Reports
“I picked Mohammad Asif. He wasn’t in the system. That’s how I know Asif a lot. Sometimes, you don’t know what happens with your wrist.” Aaqib shaded light. “He (Asitha Fernando) has now got different confidence levels. People change their wrists, change the shine (which way it is showing) – but Asitha is so gifted, and they (the batters) even, don’t even know which way it will go.”
England finished the second day on 259/6, as they had already taken a lead of 23 runs, with a set Jamie Smith, on an unbeaten 72 runs, looking to extend the distance with a maiden Test century.
