Eighteen-year-old Sri Lankan-born Savin Perera is currently playing for England in the Under 19 World Cup being held in New Zealand.
Savin who migrated to England seven years ago and plays for Middlesex says: “It’s just an incredible feeling. I’ve worked really hard in the last couple of years just to get to this position. It’s been tough but I’m immensely proud,” adding that his dream is to play for England one day.
The left-handed batsman opened for England in a tri-series last month in his debut smashing 74 against Namibia and winning the Man of the Match award. He scored 84 against South Africa and though England lost to Proteas in the finals Savin earned the attention of the English selectors.
“The Man of the Match award meant so much to me. Getting runs in the first couple of games really settled the nerves. Leading up to the World Cup it’s great to have runs under the belt to settle you down,” he said.
England has not won a Under 19 World Cup since 1998 when a team featuring Graeme Swann, Owais Shah, Graham Napier and Chris Schofield beat New Zealand in the final.
Savin who opens for Middlesex 2nd XI is left handed and bowls right-arm off breaks. According to Cricinfo he is a compact left-handed opener and strong square of the wicket and elegant all around the ground.
Savin’s exploits reminds us of Gehan Mendis who was opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire between 1974 and 1993. He was part of the Lancashire team that won the 1990 Benson & Hedges Cup and 1990 NatWest Trophy. Mendis scored over 21,000 runs in his first-class career. He could either play for Sri Lanka and England but did not have chance of an international appearance.
While Savin’s team mates say they are inspired by players like Kevin Pietersen, his two most popular players are Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara.
Savin is yet to play against Sri Lanka Under 19 team as the warm-up game got washed out without a single ball being bowled. He will not have a chance of playing the islanders as they were knocked out of the tournament by Pakistan.
England recorded an eight-wicket win against Namibia in which he made a breezy 26. In the game against Bangladesh which England won Savin who opened the batting scored 7.
