From the moment young Andri Berenger first takes his guard at the crease he is a man on an unswerving mission, not just to accumulate runs, but to completely annihilate the opposition's bowling order, starting with their very best. This he has done and continues to do with frightening regularity and ruthlessness. However his performance in the final of this month's under 21 inter-provincial tournament offers evidence that he is slowly beginning to understand how to convert his frequent authoritative starts into match winning innings.

Andri Berenger

During the provincial final, when confronted with a testing bowling attack from the Western North Outer Province, Andri bashed his way to a century which guided his team, Western Province South, to a commanding 23 run victory. Successes such as these have become a familiar sight for the 19-year-old wicketkeeper batsman this cricketing season, starting prominently with a historic triumph over his school's perennial rivals, St. Joseph's College.

In fact it was Andri, together with fellow opener Angelo Emmanuel, who steered St. Peter's to their second innings target of 30. "That Peterite team was the best I've ever played in, we played really well together and we had five national players in the side," he points out.

Winning the big match had grown into a big priority this year for the precocious teenager, especially after he had participated in the encounter thrice before. He has also featured in the 50 over encounter a total of four times.

It is vital to note that the swashbuckling opener has, throughout his tenure at St.Peter's, been a central cog in the team's wheel, starting from the time he first flew into the country from Dubai. It was actually in that part of the UAE that Andri first picked up a bat and showed his run scoring intent. His progress rocketed to such an extent that he was eventually propelled into the Dubai Under 15 team, where he played a succession of matches including one against Sri Lanka's under 23 development team when he was just 13.

He then decided to bring his game to St. Peter's and immediately booked himself a spot on the school's team with his undeniable ability, which he displayed abundantly to those who came to watch him play. In one of his early outings for his alma mater's 2nd XI, he imperiously pounded St. Anthony's College Kandy for 96 runs off just 80 balls.

His growing talent and contribution in front of the wickets, as well as behind them, where he played the role of an alert and agile keeper, was duly acknowledged and he took home the prize for All Island Best Player in 2009 and this year's BATA -The Sunday Times Best Fielder accolade.

He also earned himself a call up to the under 19 national team, which served as a vehicle that shuttled him all the way to the Youth World Cup in New Zealand this year, where Sri Lanka made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.

However his form failed him at that critical juncture and he was not properly able to exhibit his batting prowess on the world stage. "I did not play my best there although I got quite a few good starts which I could not convert on. That is a problem with my game which I am working on, it has a lot to do with my temperament," Andri concedes.

He adds that the international game also threw a bagful of obstacles at him that he was not accustomed to handling at that moment of time. "In Sri Lanka we are used to facing pace bowling at a speed of around 125 kmph but those guys were bowling over 130 kmph. The cricketers who we came up against were also extremely smart, so it was hard," he reveals.

Following that disappointing trip, Andri emerged from his rough patch of form by scoring freely in a number of innings including a knock of 127 for Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) against Tamil Union in an under 23 club fixture.

His progress is by and large down to a dedicated training regimen that sees him practice for about three hours for 4-5 days a week, as well as an additional two hours which he conscientiously sets aside to work independently on his game.

Currently the prodigiously talented Andri has his sight set firmly on a place in the National team, a goal he is confident of achieving. The road to this ambitious destination, he says, will be made of solid outings in domestic cricket for his new club, SSC. Nevertheless it stills remains a mystery whether his flair and flamboyance will catapult him into the senior national ranks, however one thing is absolutely certain; Andri Berenger will not give up without meeting every challenge with the same brutal force he constantly brings to the pitch.