At a time when Sri Lankan cricket is at its peak, I consider it appropriate to write a few lines of the greatest left hand batsman ever produced in cricket crazy Moratuwa, and that is none other than Henry Irwin Fernando, popularly known as H.I., whose 25th death anniversary falls this year.

As a close associate from our childhood days at Prince of Wales’ College, Moratuwa and from the time we joined the choir of Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa, together in the late thirties, I wish to pay a personal tribute to a true, humble and sincere friend among his colleagues. He not only excelled in cricket, but in other co-curricular activities as well. His prowess as an athlete and a cadet of the senior division of the college contingent was exemplary.

During the mischievous days of many a boy in one’s teens, H.I. took a leading role for many of the mischievous acts during the time he was a chorister, aided and abetted by other choristers including the auther. If I am to quote one of these mischievous acts, it was the ripping of sand bags placed alongside the zig-zag trenches which were dug for the purpose of taking shelter during World War II in the early forties.

Similar to the prowess he had for cricket, H.I. was an athlete par excellence. At the annual competitions held in Diyatalawa in the mid-forties to vie for the most coveted ‘Herman Loos’ trophy, H.I. being one for the cadets representing the Cambrians contingent ran a superb race to clock a record time of 10.5 seconds in the event during the sports competitions held in Diyatalawa. In later years, he was enlisted to the regular army, as a corporal, on the strength of being a senior cadet during his school days and later a national cricketer to adorn two chevrons on his right shirt sleeve by the then recruiting officer of the Ceylon Army, Col. B. J. H. Bahar of the CLI, who himself was a cricketer of repute.

Another remarkable performance was, emerging as winners of an open relay 4 x 100 meters event at the inter-house athletic meet held at the St. Sebastian’s College grounds, where the Prince of Wales’ relay team consisting of H.I., Stanley Fonseka, Jinadasa de Silva and the author came first beating some strong relay teams of the calibre of Ace Athletic Club, the Nemeans, Peterite team led by Carlton Seneviratne and the Thomian team led by Oscar R. Wijesinghe.

Where H.I’s prowess at cricket is concerned, he was the first Ceylon cricketer to reach 2000 runs, the most talented product of the post-war era in Moratuwa. His most remarkable performance was his contribution of 61 not out and 39 not out against the Commonwealth XI, which came here in 1950, where Sonny Ramadhin excelling as the best spinner during the post-war era was treated with scant respect. After witnessing H.I’s fluent batting display against the Commonwealth XI an Australian journalist described H.I. as thus "He had the grace of W. Woodful and the power of Neil Harvey".

He was an all-rounder, who excelled in all departments of the game, a very fine fielder in any part of the field especially in the ‘gully’, where he brought off several marvellous catches. He excelled as a bowler, and collected match bags of over 5 wickets in many matches.

For the several centuries he had scored during his school career, the author was the encouraging partner at the other end of the wicket, and always gave H.I. the strike to get his runs in double quick time to reach his centuries. Of the centuries he scored, his 141 not out against the Dharmasokians in the mid-forties was his fastest and again his all-round performance in the Big-Match against St. John’s in 1947, was a remarkable 132 and a match-bag of 7 for 106.

All cricketers, who have been his colleagues join the author to salute this unassuming, humble, simple and sincere friend.
P. H. S. Mendis