Dilhara Fernando
Encyclopedia
Congenige Randhi Dilhara Fernando (born 19 July 1979) is a cricket
er who plays for Sri Lanka
. He is a right-handed pace bowler.
Dilhara studied at De Mazenod College Kandana. He started off his school career as a basketball player but was spotted by the college cricket coach because of his build and height and has never looked back since.
Fernando is best known for his rare technique when bowling the slower ball by splitting the fingers on the ball as it is released from the hand.
Fernando first debuted for Sri Lanka in a Test Match against Pakistan at Colombo in June 2000. Six months later in a game at Durban he clocked 91.9 mph. He bowled at 93.40 mph vs Bangladesh at India. His international career however has been limited due to injury. In the period of a year he suffered two stress fracture of the back and as a result missed the their home series against Australia in 2004.
In the 2010 tour of Australia, in the 3rd and final ODI at The Gabba, he clocked speeds reaching 150 kilometres per hour (93.2 mph).
In 2008 he appeared briefly in English county cricket
, playing one County Championship
and two Pro40 matches at the end of the season for Worcestershire
.
He is a Christian
(Catholic) and sometimes attends church with Chaminda Vaas
.
, Fernando took career-best bowling figures of 6 for 27, as Sri Lanka
thrashed England by 107 runs. This was the first time Fernando had taken more than 4 wickets in an ODI innings, and his feat placed him 5th in the list of best ODI bowling by a Sri Lankan.
Fernando completed the series with 158 career ODI wickets. As of 17 June 2011, only Chaminda Vaas
, Sanath Jayasuriya
and Muttiah Muralitharan
have taken more ODI wickets for Sri Lanka (and all three have taken over 300 ODI wickets).
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who plays for Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. He is a right-handed pace bowler.
Dilhara studied at De Mazenod College Kandana. He started off his school career as a basketball player but was spotted by the college cricket coach because of his build and height and has never looked back since.
Fernando is best known for his rare technique when bowling the slower ball by splitting the fingers on the ball as it is released from the hand.
Fernando first debuted for Sri Lanka in a Test Match against Pakistan at Colombo in June 2000. Six months later in a game at Durban he clocked 91.9 mph. He bowled at 93.40 mph vs Bangladesh at India. His international career however has been limited due to injury. In the period of a year he suffered two stress fracture of the back and as a result missed the their home series against Australia in 2004.
In the 2010 tour of Australia, in the 3rd and final ODI at The Gabba, he clocked speeds reaching 150 kilometres per hour (93.2 mph).
In 2008 he appeared briefly in English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
, playing one County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
and two Pro40 matches at the end of the season for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
.
He is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
(Catholic) and sometimes attends church with Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
.
ODI achievements
On 13 October 2007, in the 5th game of an ODI series with England, at ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Fernando took career-best bowling figures of 6 for 27, as Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
thrashed England by 107 runs. This was the first time Fernando had taken more than 4 wickets in an ODI innings, and his feat placed him 5th in the list of best ODI bowling by a Sri Lankan.
Fernando completed the series with 158 career ODI wickets. As of 17 June 2011, only Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
, Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
and Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
have taken more ODI wickets for Sri Lanka (and all three have taken over 300 ODI wickets).