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Bertram Jayasuriya, innovator of the 'CATCH IT' fielding aid was in Dubai recently in an endeavour to market his innovation to the UAE and the Gulf where cricket is catching up fast because the UAE participated in the 1996 World Cup.

While in Dubai, Lawrence Machado of the 'Khaleej Times' caught up with Jayasuriya and here is an interview which appeared in the 'KT' headlined - 'SRI LANKAN INVENTS FIELDING PRACTICE AID'.

A novel fielding aid is to hit the UAE and the GULF cricket scene soon and be a boom to both amateur and professional players, according to its Sri Lanka innovator.

Called 'CATCH IT', the wooden rectangular structure has tightly woven synthetic guts and is reinforced on to a stainless steel frame. The simple, but highly effective aid, comes in two models of three feet by two feet and six feet by two and half feet.

'It is much better and more effective that the slip cradle which many players are used', said the inventor Bertram Jayasuriya, who was in Dubai.

'The apparatus is foldable and portable too. It's convenient'.

An amateur cricketer, Jayasuriya came up with the idea when he noticed that the standard of fielding in the Sri Lankan national team had dropped noticeably.

'I was concerned, like other cricket fans about the poor fielding shown by many of our top players and I began to think of how I can help them improve,' said Jayasuriya.

'Sri Lanka won the Wrold Cup in 1996, but their fielding standards have fallen away. I thought up that this device which is light and portable and can be carried anywhere to a fielding session.

'You throw the cricket ball at it and the ball comes back at various angles and speeds. It is ideal to improve your reflexes and speed of reaction,' he said.

The senior shipping executive worked on the problem for over a week and after getting inputs and ideas from friends was able to put up his invention on the market after successful trials.

'CATCH IT' has now caught the imagination of several past and present cricketers and coaches in Sri Lanka who find the sheer simplicity and durability of the invention ideal for players of all ages.

'The fielding aid has been well received in Sri Lanka and now I want to introduce this to the UAE and the GULF where cricket is enjoying a boom', he said.

Jayasuriya said he would be back in Dubai soon to demonstrate and promote the device.