Former TN Ranji Cricketer Peter Fernandez gets timely financial help from the ICA He has been without a cricket coaching engagement since January 2016
Peter is hopeful of the TNCA offering him a remunerative coaching assignment after the lockdown
40 years after he made his Ranji Trophy debut, Peter Fernandes is seeing turbulent times financially.
It was early 1980s when I first saw Peter Fernandez captain and bat at the Forest College ground in Coimbatore against local strongholds LMW and Ramakrishna Steel. He had been roped in by SVPB (Sri Venkateswara Paper Boards) Udumalpet, whose founder Soundararajan was beginning to promote cricket in a big way in the districts and was keen to build a strong team (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2018/06/svpb-udumalpet-soundararajan.html). Peter was a strokeful top order batsman and had played in his only year of Ranji cricket in 1980-81. He played 3 matches for Tamil Nadu that season but was never considered again. He captained SVPB and led them to victories in the Coimbatore league in the early 1980s.
TN State teammate NP Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/05/np-madhavan.html) joined him a year or so later. Both of them played in the Coimbatore first division league alongside S Sukumar and M Subramaniam (Idly Subba) among others for close to two decades while working at SVPB in Udumalpet.
In the 1990s, Peter was also a Ranji selector for three years under the chairmanship of VV Kumar. He has also been an U17 and U22 selector.
However, by the end of the 1990s, with the severe slowdown that hit the Indian industry in 1997-98, SVPB landed up in financial trouble. His cricket teammates for two decades NP Madhavan and Sukumar moved to SVPB’s sister concern GVG Paper Mills and they continue to work there two decades later.
Joins Spin Foundation
It was at this time that Peter spoke to Robin Singh who had played for SVPB in the Coimbatore league in the mid 1980s after coming from the West Indies. Robin offered him a coaching role at the MAC Spin Foundation. Peter had wanted to spend 15 days in Udumalpet and the rest of the month at the spin foundation but Robin was keen that Peter join full time. He left his young family behind in Udumalpet and came to Madras to take the coaching role at the spin foundation and coached at there for 15 years till January 2016 when it shutdown. Unlike the MRF Pace Foundation, the MAC Spin Foundation did not take off in a big way.
During the 15 year period, he came into close contact with legendary spinner EAS Prasanna, Aussie off spinner from the 1970s Ashley Mallet, Lankan legend Muralidharan and Shane Warne’s coach Terry Jenner that was an enriching experience. He also graduated to an ICC Level 3 coach during the period. At the spin foundation, he was also involved in the preparation of the pitch and later on in managing the accounts.
His son Rohan Fernandez is a Level 1 coach and was under Robin Singh at the academy in Dubai for a few years but serious health issues laid him low and he had to return home.
Serious Financial Challenges
Since January 2016, when the Spin Foundation shut down, Peter Fernandez has had a tough time financially with no work of any kind. Once in a while he has been involved in coaching/helping young kids in cricket but financially he has found it challenging with the health issues of his son adding to his worries. He had hoped for the spin foundation to re-open but internal family fights among the owners led to a permanent closure.
ICA's support to needy cricketers
This month's initiative by the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA) to support financially challenged first class cricketers has come as a God sent gift to Peter Fernandez.The ICA which was formed last year is the only formally recognized players’ association for former cricketers in India. Its role is to promote the welfare and interests of its members consisting of former cricketers.This month, the ICA has pooled in financial resources from cricketers across the country to help former Ranji cricketers in need of financial help in the retired years of their lives.
ICA is expected to handover Rs.80000 to Peter Fernandez this week. Peter says that this financial support will be of great help to him at this stage of his life. He says he has also spoken to the TNCA to explore some sort of engagement in terms of a coaching role once the lock down is lifted.
He is hopeful that being a level 3 coach and with the experience he has had at the Spin Foundation he will be able to get an assignment this year with the TNCA that will help him overcome the financial challenges.
But for the moment the funding from the ICA has been timely for this TN Ranji Cricketer from the 1980s.