Jaya Fernando: Tributes to husband, father, son, brother and cricketer whose infectious enthusiasm for the game touched the lives of many in Bishop’s Stortford, Stansted and Sawbridgeworth
The wife of cricket fanatic Jaya Fernando this week paid tribute to her husband, who died after suffering a heart attack while batting for Bishop’s Stortford.
The 56-year-old father of three was playing his first match this summer at the club’s Cricketfield Lane ground on Sunday September 1 when he was taken ill at the crease during an invitation-only game against Farnham.
He died in hospital 12 days later – three days after his 21st wedding anniversary.
Known as ‘Mr Bollywood’ for his flamboyant turnout in his Rayban sunglasses and with an “infectious enthusiasm” for the game, Jaya’s passing has shocked the cricketing communities in Stortford, Stansted and Sawbridgeworth.
He played predominantly for Stortford, where he also coached youngsters, and occasionally for Stansted Hall & Elsenham and for Sawbridgeworth. He was also a coach at the indoor Herts & Essex Cricket Centre (HECC) in High Wych.
His wife, Maria, 44, said she and their children – Krishan, 14, Amaya, 11, and Sachin, 7 – who live in Cavell Drive, near Herts and Essex Hospital – had been flooded with messages from family and friends that Jaya knew through the sport.
His last contact with his elder son was a thumbs-up while in A&E at Harlow’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on the day he became ill after Krishan had messaged him to say he had scored a half-century. It was the last time he was to see his dad before Jaya was transferred to a specialist cardiac unit at Basildon University Hospital, where he died on Friday September 13.
Maria said: “Cricket is what he was most known for. He’d played it his whole life – being Sri Lankan, cricket is their religion.
“He’d coached and played at Stortford for about 10 years and coached at HECC as well. If ever I needed to find him on ‘find my phone’ it was at one of those two places!
“He would be absolutely amazed by the response, and it’s nice to know that so many people thought so much of him.
“I’ve had people put postcards through the door and send me messages, sharing stories about him.
“He was a good cricketer who loved the game and the biggest thing he would like would be for cricket to carry on.”
For the family, the community’s support has been crucial. Not only did Jaya’s cricketing friends visit him in hospital, reading out cricket scores to him while he lay in an induced coma, but they have since offered to continue coaching his children.
Maria’s friend Sarah Tilstone has set up an online appeal at gofundme.com to muster financial support for the family as Jaya, who was self-employed working in security at Stansted Airport, had no life insurance and it was only his name on their mortgage.
So far it has raised £12,000 for Maria and the children, who face having to sell the family home.
“I want to say a massive thank you to the community – not just my friends, but his friends who have all become my friends. I’ve hugged half of Bishop’s Stortford Cricket Club!” said Maria.
“They made the journey to see him in hospital and the club did its own tribute at the President’s Day match on September 14, where they held a silence and lowered the club flag.
“The next day the under-14s also held a minute’s silence and wore black armbands. It was lovely to see the respect even the young boys had for Jaya. He was very well thought of.”
Maria is intent on staying in Stortford, where they have lived since 2009, to provide stability for their children.
Krishan has just started in Year 10 at Hockerill Anglo-European College while his sister Amaya joined in Year 7 earlier this month – Jaya had to rely on a photo to see her in her new uniform on her first day of secondary. Sachin is in Year 3 at Thorn Grove Primary.
“I grew up in Norfolk and lived in London,” said Maria. “But I have a big support network around me here in Stortford and we’ve become very attached to the town. The way people have rallied around has been amazing.”
Recalling the day Jaya fell ill, Maria said there had been no sign anything was wrong. The family had been at Lords in London the day before to watch his beloved Sri Lanka playing England on the third day of the second Test.
“He’d just finished batting when he came over unwell. I got the call when I was in Waitrose,” she said.
“One of the players was a doctor and knew what was happening, and they called for an ambulance, but that was going to take 40 minutes.
“They couldn’t get to the defibrillator at the club and so ended up taking him by car to Harlow hospital.
“He’d had a heart attack, but it had caused heart failure. His heart was only functioning at 5% and he was transferred that day to Basildon, where he had two stents fitted. But they soon realised it was more complicated and he was put into an induced coma the next day.”
One of Jaya’s two younger sisters, Priya, flew over from Canada to be by his side having not seen him for five years. His other sister, Prashanthi, never arrived in time from Australia. His parents, both in their 80s, were also unable to fly from Sri Lanka.
Maria, who met Jaya when she was 18 while they were both studying at Middlesex University, said he came out of the coma and was asking about Amaya starting school.
His wife said he asked her for a kiss on their anniversary on the Tuesday (Sept 10), but the next day things took a turn for the worse when doctors discovered he had suffered a stroke.
“He was going in the wrong direction and on the Friday suffered a cardiac arrest. They managed to bring him back and I got there just in time to be with him as he passed,” said Maria. “The worst bit was telling the children – it was awful.
“He didn’t smoke, he barely drank, had never been overweight and was always really active, so it was just not what we expected.”
Jaya’s funeral will be held at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Windhill on Monday (Sept 30) at midday. Maria said that it was “an open invite for everyone to come”.
To contribute to the online appeal for Maria, Krishan, Amaya and Sachin, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/jaya-fernando.
BISHOP’S STORTFORD CRICKET CLUB TRIBUTE
Growing up in Sri Lanka, Jaya captained his first XI side and played semi-professionally before moving to England to study.
He held Bishop’s Stortford Cricket Club’s record for the highest individual innings in a league match – 186.
President Graeme Sumner said: “Jaya had infectious enthusiasm and was warm, selfless and always had a bright smile. He was taken far too soon at the age of 56.
“Originally from Sri Lanka, Jaya joined Bishop’s Stortford in 2014 and played 80 games for the club, scoring almost 2,000 runs.
“He was an attacking opening bat with the ability to score very quick runs. Two innings I recall were his 186 v Farnham in 2015 and 145 not out at Theydon Bois in 2019 as we chased 250 comfortably.
“He was a Level 2 coach and became a valuable member of the coaching team at Stortford, regularly helping with the girls on Fridays and younger juniors on Sunday mornings.
“Off the pitch, he loved chatting, mainly about cricket, but above all he was a great family man. He will be sorely missed by all at the club.”
