Rex Clementine at Old Trafford Since that lion-hearted seam bowler Chaminda Vaas retired, for many years now, Sri Lanka have depended heavily on their spinners to win Test matches. Rangana Herath did the job for years and then another left-arm spinner in Prabath Jayasuriya is doing a fine job at the moment. But the problem arises when you travel to places like England, Australia and South Africa.
Spin won’t win you Test matches there. You need pace. Asitha Fernando is providing the answers to it.
At Old Trafford in the first Test against England, Asitha clocked up speeds above 140 kmph. He is not the quickest bowler in Sri Lanka, but what makes him the nation’s first choice fast bowler is his skill set. It is with the older ball that Asitha is brutal.
He makes the batsmen uncomfortable going after them with short balls aimed at the ribcage. At five foot and six inches, Asitha is not a tall man, something that you require to be successful to be a fast bowler. But somehow he has discovered the art of generating bounce and has won Sri Lanka a few Test matches.
His other strength is his ability to reverse swing the ball to deadly effect. But at Old Trafford, on day two, it was with the new ball that he created havoc. After Sri Lanka’s batters had been blown away for 236 in the first innings, Asitha kept his team in the game with a superb spell that made the British press wanting to know more about him.
Ben Duckett was trapped leg before wicket with a ball that swung back in.