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ZIMBABWE IN THE 1983 WORLD CUP -- OVERVIEW

by John Ward

With thanks to Robin Brown, Iain Butchart, Dave Ellman-Brown, Vince Hogg, Dave Houghton, Rod Marsh, Andy Pycroft and Ali Shah for their input.

Note: all these World Cup reports have been compiled using available match reports, with many extra details filled in as a result of interviews with all the Zimbabwe players who took part and are still available. It follows therefore that the views given are largely the views of the Zimbabweans themselves, as it has not been possible to contact any of the opposition for their memories, with the exception of the Australian wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh, who naturally was unable to recall many details of what were two relatively important matches in a long and crowded career. I am very grateful to all those listed above who gave so willingly of their time, Ali Shah even inviting me twice to meals in his home with his delightful family. -- John Ward

Match reports

Australia, game 1 | India game 1 | West Indies game 1 | Australia, game 2 | India game 2 | West Indies game 2

1983 World Cup


With independence in 1980, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe under a black government and were thereby accepted as legitimate by the rest of the world. This reopened sporting links after the country had been in virtual isolation, except for South Africa, since Ian Smith's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965. The new government banned sporting contact with South Africa, but the rest of the world was now willing to play Zimbabwe, in complete contrast to the situation before then.

In 1981 Zimbabwe were accepted as associate members of the ICC, but soon found themselves in a unique position, as they were the only associate member good enough to be recognised as a first-class team, apart from Sri Lanka who were at that same meeting elevated to Test status. This qualified Zimbabwe potentially to play in the World Cup.

To do so, though, they had to win a tournament in England in 1982 between 16 associate member countries -- only the team winning the final would qualify for the World Cup. Zimbabwe did so with an unblemished record, beating Bermuda in the final to qualify for the 1983 World Cup, also to be held in England. Some involved in the tournament actually spoke of Zimbabwe as being unsportsmanlike, though, for their determination to win every match (although not at all costs) and their large victories, which often resulted in one-sided matches finishing early and consequent loss of revenue. Many of the teams participating in the tournament knew they had no chance of winning, so they treated it like a social and festival occasion, and there was some resentment of Zimbabwe's businesslike ambition to win. There was also the fear of suffering washouts, which prompted the Zimbabweans to press for victory as soon as possible in case rain intervened, which it did frequently.

This competition brought in for the first time a professional approach to training in Zimbabwe. The captain, Duncan Fletcher, asked Ian Robertson, the former Zimbabwean and South African rugby international and fitness expert, to train the squad, and he raised them to an extremely high standard of physical fitness. This was of course in addition to the usual intensive net sessions together. The team was fitter than they had ever been before, even in Currie Cup days, and they felt they were as fit physically as any side in the World Cup. Realising that they did not have the bowling strength of the majority of other countries, they concentrated on their fielding, and most of the players were already renowned as outstanding fielders.

Training was not easy for this team of amateurs, who also had full-time jobs to contend with, but they could not have done more to ensure they were at peak fitness. They used to train together during their lunch breaks, between 12.30 and 2.00, and for evening sessions from 4.30 until 6.30, followed by a 45-minute training session at the gymnasium, from Mondays to Thursday. On Fridays they had a long session from mid-afternoon, and on Saturday mornings from 9.00 until 12.00. On Sunday they naturally played for their local clubs.

The team was virtually Zimbabwe's strongest at the time. Pace bowler Eddie Hough had been in the original selection, but broke his collar-bone during a practice session and so missed out. Graeme Hick, still short of his seventeenth birthday, was included as an extra player merely for the experience, but some good innings in the warm-up matches led to his being included in the final World Cup squad at the expense of Craig Hodgson; in the event, he did not play in a match, although he fielded as substitute occasionally. He was very reserved off the field, as he always has been, but the older players looked after him well. The team as a whole was very well knit, having played with and against each other frequently and almost all came from Harare, in a small community, so team spirit was always good.

Selection had actually been thought out even two years in advance. According to Alwyn Pichanick, ZCU president at the time, consideration had been given to inviting Brian Davison, a recent Rhodesian player and at that time playing for Leicestershire and Tasmania, to join the team, but this was not done as Davison had taken out Ewnglish qualification. More thought was given to recruiting Paul Parker, who was born in Bulawayo, but his selection for England in a solitary Test match in 1981 put paid to that idea.

At the end of the domestic season recently concluded, Zimbabwe had been given a thorough workout by a strong Young Australian team; the two-match first-class series and also the one-day series were drawn at one victory each, but it had been a titanic struggle. At the end of the tour the Young Australians had told the Zimbabweans that they would get hammered when they met the full Australian side in the World Cup -- one of cricket history's less inspired prophecies.

Zimbabwe were certainly placed in the stronger of the two groups at the World Cup. Of course in those days politics prevented South Africa from playing, but in Zimbabwe's group were the West Indies, Australia and India. The first two teams were packed with outstanding players, while India, considered the weakest of the three, went on to win the tournament. So both the eventual finalists were in the same group as Zimbabwe, while Australia failed to play to full potential largely because of the factions in their camp.

The side arrived in England towards the end of May, two or three weeks before their first World Cup match scheduled for 9 June. Most of the players had already had experience of English conditions after winning the ICC competition there the previous year. Dave Houghton testifies that just being in the World Cup was an amazing experience for their team, who were playing against cricketers who had been their childhood heroes, whom they had only seen before on television.

On arrival at Gatwick Airport in London they were met by a liaison officer from the TCCB and a team bus, organised initially by manager Dave Ellman-Brown whose organisation of everything concerning the team was outstanding. Later, as the World Cup began, they were given their own team bus, arranged by the tournament organisers. They immediately moved to Solihull, near Birmingham, where they had stayed the previous year, stayed at the St John's Hotel, and did some training and acclima-tisation at the Blossomfield Club before playing some warm-up matches. They also had the use of the indoor nets at Edgbaston when rain inter-vened. After much rain during their warm-up matches, the weather overall was not too unfavourable and generally dry throughout their tour.

Their warm-up programme began disastrously with a match against Derbyshire, when they played on a very poor pitch, to be bowled out for 91 and comprehensively beaten. They then beat a Birmingham League XI by 90 runs, with Graeme Hick scoring 51, and a Minor Counties XI by 56 runs.

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union had attempted to arrange warm-up matches against each of the teams in the other World Cup group, with the excep-tion of England as the English players would all be required by their county sides. Unfortunately the scheduled match against New Zealand had to be abandoned due to rain.

The next match was a friendly against Sri Lanka, at Cambridge. Zimbabwe were confident of victory, having had the better of Sri Lanka when the latter had toured less than a year earlier, but the pace bowling of Asantha de Mel in favourable conditions shattered their batting and bowled them out for 72, to lose by eight wickets. Then followed a 22-run defeat by Leicestershire, with Brian Davison, the former Zimbabwean, scoring a century and hitting John Traicos for six sixes in an over.

There was a rapid transformation when the team played a friendly match on a good batting pitch at Uxbridge against Pakistan, whose team contained such players as Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohsin Khan. Pakistan batted first, to score 264 for seven, with Imran and Zaheer scoring fifties but failing to run up really significant scores. For Zimbabwe Jack Heron (92) and Andy Pycroft (77) both batted particularly well, and they forced their way home with five wickets in hand.

Heron showed superb form especially against 'mystery' bowler Abdul Qadir, whom everyone had thought was unplayable. Heron read him easily and scored freely off him. Robin Brown spoke to the Pakistani wicket-keeper Wasim Bari later, and Wasim told him that every delivery Abdul bowled to Heron, Heron would call out "Leg-break" and pad it away, or "Googly" and hit it through or over the leg-side field. Wasim was amazed as even he was unable to read Abdul's bowling. But Heron read him like a book and was able to pass on his knowledge to his team-mates. He unfortunately was never to reproduce this form in the World Cup proper; perhaps the extra pressure and the larger crowds had their effect on him, and perhaps he tried too hard.

The Pakistanis found their defeat unbelievable and the Zimbabweans thought them aloof and arrogant, especially as after the match they simply left their dressing room and went straight to their bus, not one of them stopping to have a drink with the opposition and very few to offer congratulations -- Ali Shah remembers only Javed Miandad and Mohsin Khan troubling to do so.

(These warm-up matches are included in the Zimbabwe 1982/83 season review on the Zimbabwe Cricket Page.) After this the World Cup teams returned to London for the official opening of the tournament. This included a meeting at Lord's in the morning where all the teams were photographed lined up together on the square, and a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where they met the Queen. As all eight teams lined up in the anteroom to await the Queen, Dave Ellman-Brown remembers looking around and thinking, "The world's best cricketers are all in this one room." (Except, of course, for the South Africans, still politically unacceptable.) He led the Zimbabwean team through; he was introduced to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh by the MCC president that year, George Mann, and then he introduced his players one by one.

After all the teams had been introduced, they went out for some tea and cake, while the Queen came round and chatted to the players. Prince Philip took a special interest in the team as he had recently visited Zambia on behalf of a world wildlife promotion so he had had recent experience of that part of the world. The teams then dispersed to the various grounds where their first matches were due to begin in two days' time. The entire competition from beginning to end was superbly organised and the Zimbabwean party was highly impressed. Dave Ellman-Brown says that he always found the English administrators very co-operative, while he became great friends with Donald Carr, then the secretary of the TCCB. The county secretaries were most helpful, and he particularly mentions Mike Vockins of Worcestershire as the one who has perhaps done more for cricket in Zimbabwe than anyone else.

Their victory over Pakistan gave the team a vital boost in confi-dence as this was the first time they had played a full international side, their previous cricket since independence in 1980 having consisted of matches against county teams or youth sides sent by Test-playing countries.

They went on to astonish the cricket world by defeating a powerful but disunited Australian team in their opening match. They also came close to victory in two other games, the return fixture against the Australians and the second match against India. Only in the final match, against West Indies, were they clearly outclassed.

Even after their victory over Australia, the Zimbabwean matches did not attract large crowds; they arrived in England largely unknown and were not all that much better known on their departure. An important factor was that England were in the other group, and the news media concentrated on them, so the larger crowds were attracted there. Their victory over Australia caused a brief sensation, and had they defeated India as well the press might really have sat up and taken notice. But generally little effort was made by the media to promote the team and there was no television coverage of any of their matches.

On the other hand, in some areas, especially the Birmingham area where they had played in the ICC tournament the previous year, the team was quite well known, and at every match there were children asking for autographs and photographs. Manager Dave Ellman-Brown made it clear to the team that those who attended the matches were those who were paying at the end of the day, and he expected the team to sign autographs and be willing to communicate with the spectators and sponsors. The team fulfilled their responsibilities in this area very well.

Once their final match had been played, the Zimbabweans stayed on in England until the tournament was over, some of them playing in minor matches while the semi-finals were played, while others visited rela-tives or did some sightseeing. They did not watch the semi-finals, in which India and West Indies beat England and Pakistan respectively, enjoying some much-needed free time, but they were present at the final between West Indies and India, where they had guest seats in a special enclosure.

Fletcher as captain received universal praise. One player after another has named him as the best captain he played under. He was a man who led from the front, hard-working and well respected by the team, and he demanded nothing of his men that he wouldn't do himself. He inspired confidence on the field; Houghton says that whenever they looked at him on the field, his demeanour suggested they were going to win, even in the face of obvious defeat. In preparation for matches against the West Indies he had players bowling or even throwing the ball from less than 22 yards to help the batsmen adjust to the greater pace. He was very much a thinking captain who rarely lost an opportunity to attack or take a calculated gamble in the field, a rare quality in the captain of a team that is always the underdog. Andy Pycroft believes that the only mistake he saw him make was to remove Rawson and Curran together from the attack at Tunbridge Wells when they had India at their mercy.

Fletcher was also excellent on man-management, with a rare appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of each player and the ability to draw the best out of each and inspire confidence. There were one or two players with the talent to make the Zimbabwean side during his years as captain who failed to do so regularly because they wouldn't submit their games to his demands, but that is a captain's prerogative and he has to have a side that will pull with him. He was very encouraging of the younger players but at the same time hard, demanding and receiving high standards in every way.

Mr Dave Ellman-Brown also rates Fletcher as an outstanding leader with whom he got on very well. They had a good tour committee, which besides the captain and manager also consisted of Jack Heron, the vice-captain, and John Traicos. Also in the party were Larry Watson as assistant manager and former national batsman and captain Stuart Robertson.

Naturally the team as a whole was mentally drained by the time they finished the tournament, but they had learned a tremendous amount. They came back with the expectation that they were on the verge of producing an even stronger team: they had Iain Butchart just starting his career, always a brilliant one-day player and at his greatest in a tight finish; Graeme Hick was even then being talked of as perhaps the most talented batsman ever to emerge in the country; Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran were still early in their careers and could be expected to improve. It was indeed a tremendous learning experience for all the players, who naturally picked up a great deal from seeing for themselves, often through bitter experience, how the best in the world played the game and reacted to different situations.

Unfortunately it was not to be. Had Zimbabwe been awarded Test status at that stage, history would have been different. Fletcher would probably have stayed in the game longer, and Hick, Rawson and Curran would not have pursued their careers elsewhere.

MATCH SUMMARY

9 June    Trent Bridge        Beat Australia by 13 runs
11 June   Leicester           Lost to India by five wickets
13 June   Worcester           Lost to West Indies by eight wickets
16 June   Southampton         Lost to Australia by 32 runs
18 June   Tunbridge Wells     Lost to India by 31 runs
20 June   Edgbaston           Lost to West Indies by ten wickets

BATTING AND FIELDING STATISTICS

                    M   I  NO  Runs   HS     Av.   100  50   Ct/St
D A G Fletcher      6   6   2   191   71*   47.75    -   2    -
K M Curran          6   6   0   212   73    35.33    -   2    -
D L Houghton        6   6   0   176   84    29.33    -   2    7
R D Brown           4   4   0    93   38    23.25    -   -    2
I P Butchart        6   6   2    82   34*   20.50    -   -    2
G A Paterson        6   6   0    99   27    16.50    -   -    -
G E Peckover        3   3   1    33   16*   16.50    -   -    -
A J Pycroft         6   6   0    71   21    11.83    -   -    3
A H Omarshah        3   3   0    26   16     8.66    -   -    1
J G Heron           6   6   0    50   18     8.33    -   -    1
A J Traicos         6   4   1    25   19     8.33    -   -    2
P W E Rawson        6   4   1    24   19     8.00    -   -    2
V R Hogg            2   1   1     7    7*     --     -   -    -

     G A Hick was in the squad but did not play a match.


BOWLING STATISTICS

                   Overs Mdns Runs Wkts   Av.     Best    4wI
P W E Rawson        62.1  10   239   8   29.87    3/47    -
D A G Fletcher      50.1   5   221   7   31.57    4/42    1
A H Omarshah         7.3   0    40   1   40.00    1/17    -
A J Traicos         68     6   202   4   50.40    2/28    -
K M Curran          58.2   3   274   5   54.80    3/65    -
I P Butchart        50     4   213   3   71.00    2/52    -
V R Hogg            15     4    49   0     --      --     -

PEN-PICTURES OF PLAYERS

FLETCHER, Duncan Andrew Gwynne (captain). Born Harare, 27 September 1948. LHB, RMF. First-class career 1969/70-1984/85, 111 matches; 6 one-day internationals. Captain 1979/80-1983. First-class record: 4097 runs, highest score 93, average 23.68; 216 wickets, best bowling 6/31, average 27.95. One-day internationals: 191 runs, highest score 71*, average 47.75; 7 wickets, best 4/42, average 31.57. Versatile all-rounder; often opened the batting early in his career, developed his pace bowling due to the needs of the national side, and fine fielder in any position. On this tour he led the team superbly both on and off the field, and showed good all-round form, most notably in the victory over Australia. After the tour he resigned the captaincy and later emigrated to Cape Town. A Mashonaland player. He has since become a highly success-ful coach of Western Province and Glamorgan.

HERON, Jack Gunner (vice-captain). Born Harare, 8 November 1948. RHB, occasional RM. First-class career 1967/68-1982/83, 60 matches; 6 one-day internationals. Captain 1978/79. First-class record: 2830 runs, highest score 175, 5 centuries, average 26.20. One-day inter-nationals: 50 runs, highest score 18, average 8.33. An attacking batsman who either opened or played in the middle order; outstanding talent but inclined to inconsistency. A brilliant fielder in any position. On this tour he played a brilliant innings of 92 to help Zimbabwe beat Pakistan in a warm-up match, but did not do himself justice in the World Cup. Faded out of cricket after the tour. A Mashonaland player. Now lives in Australia.

BROWN, Robin David. Born Kadoma, 11 March 1951. RHB, WK. First-class career 1976/77-1995/96, 66 matches; 7 one-day internationals. First-class record: 2721 runs, highest score 200*, 4 centuries, average 23.45. One-day internationals: 110 runs, highest score 38, average 15.71. A right-hand batsman who often opened the innings and whose career average does not do him justice, as he frequently laid a solid foundation for the later batsmen but failed to cash in himself. He often kept wicket capably in first-class cricket, but spent much of his career as understudy to Houghton. In this World Cup he was a reserve batsman who later replaced Shah as opener, where as so often he produced a solid start without making a big score. A Mashonaland Country Districts player. Today he is a farmer in Karoi, in the north of Zimbabwe, and still a significant batsman in Districts cricket.

BUTCHART, Iain Peter. Born Bulawayo, 9 May 1960. RHB, RMF. First-class career 1980/81-1994/95, 53 matches; 1 Test; 20 one-day internationals. First-class record: 1686 runs, highest score 117, 2 centuries, average 23.41; 67 wickets, best bowling 5/65, average 34.04. One-day internationals: 252 runs, highest score 54, average 18.00; 12 wickets, best bowling 3/57, average 53.33. A fine all-rounder, at his best in tight situations; could be a devastating hitter and a good pace bowler at the death, and a superb fielder anywhere. Young Australian players once described him as perhaps the best one-day player in the world; he is still the only player to be a part of two current record World Cup partnerships. The only Matabeleland player in the team, but later played for Mashonaland Country Districts. In this tour he was still near the beginning of his career, but made an invaluable contribution in partnership with Fletcher in the victory over Australia. Now a national selector.

CURRAN, Kevin Malcolm. Born Rusape, 7 September 1959. RHB, RFM. First-class career 1980/81 to date (records to end of 1998 English season), 323 matches; 11 one-day internationals. First-class record: 15739 runs, highest score 159, 25 centuries, average 37.03. One-day internationals: 287 runs, highest score 73, average 26.09. A genuine all-rounder of great talent; aggressive batsman anywhere in the middle order and a hostile pace bowler before a back injury in 1986. Authorities often found him hard to handle, but Fletcher did the job as well as anybody. On this tour he shone mainly with the bat, playing some fine fighting innings in difficult situations, but bowled a superb opening spell against India at Tunbridge Wells; would have done better still with more self-discipline. Left Zimbabwe in 1987 for more lucrative pastures. A Mashonaland player. Played county cricket for Gloucestershire and now Northamptonshire; the only member of the party still active in first-class cricket.

HOGG, Vincent Richard. Born Harare, 3 July 1952. RHB, RFM. First-class career 1971/72-1983/84, 43 matches; 2 one-day inter-nationals. First-class record: 181 runs, highest score 30, average 5.32; 123 wickets, best bowling 6/26, average 26.29. One-day internationals: one innings of 7*, and took 0/49. A fine swing bowler who matured late and was rated by the Young West Indies team of 1981/82 as one of the finest bowlers of his type in the world. Until recently he held the world record of 87 minutes for the longest duck in first-class cricket. He was expected to play a leading part (but only with the ball!) in Zimbabwe's World Cup campaign, but he was injured early on and never fully fit. He was rather unceremoniously dumped by the selectors soon after this tour. A Mashonaland player. He is today a businessman in Harare.

HOUGHTON, David Laud. Born Bulawayo, 23 June 1957. RHB, occasional OB, wicket-keeper. First-class career 1978/79-1997/98, 120 matches (all for Zimbabwean teams, a national record); 22 Tests; 63 one-day internationals. Captain 1985/86-1986/87 and 1989/90-1992/93. First-class record: 7445 runs (Zimbabwean record), highest score 266, 17 centuries (Zimbabwean record), average 39.39. Tests: 1465 runs, highest score 266 (Zimbabwean record), 4 centuries, average 43.08. One-day internationals: 1530 runs, highest score 142, 1 century, average 26.37. Statistically, Zimbabwe's most successful batsman of all time, a fine all-round attacking batsman, especially against the spinners and famed for his ability with the reverse sweep. Zimbabwe's first Test captain, scoring 121 against India on his debut in 1992/93. Wicket-keeper until 1989/90. On this tour he was still well short of maturity but recorded two good fifties, averaging nearly 30, and kept wicket well. Robin Brown feels that this was the stage of his career when he really began to show his ability as a world-class player. Played for Mashonaland. Now Zimbabwe's national coach.

OMARSHAH, Ali Hassimshah (known as Ali Shah). Born Harare, 7 August 1959. LHB, RM. First-class career 1979/80-1995/96, 44 matches; 3 Tests; 28 one-day internationals. First-class record: 1703 runs, highest score 200*, 3 centuries, average 25.41; 35 wickets, best bowling 4/113, average 48.85. Tests: 122 runs, highest score 62, average 24.40; 1 wickets for 125 runs. One-day internationals: 437 runs, highest score 60*, average 16.80; 18 wickets, best bowling 3/33, average 45.11. The first Zimbabwean player of Asian origin, he is the only member of the team still playing first-league cricket in Zimbabwe. A great-hearted batsman who made his name with some fighting innings against the Young Australian tourists of 1982/83. He lost his place after three matches in this World Cup. Later in his career he usually dropped down the order. Nippy medium-pace bowling helped to make him an ideal one-day player, but his career was badly handicapped by his business interests. Played for Mashonaland. Still a regular player for Universals Sports Club in Harare.

PATERSON, Grant Andrew. Born Harare, 9 June 1960. RHB. First-class career 1981/82-1993/94, 39 matches; 10 one-day internationals. First-class record: 1404 runs, highest score 93, average 21.93. One-day internationals: 123 runs, highest score 27, average 12.30. A powerful hitter of the ball, he was perhaps better suited to the middle order but team needs required him to open for much of his career. On this tour he gave the innings several useful starts but never really got going. Played for Mashonaland Country Districts. He is currently farming in the Mashonaland Districts.

PECKOVER, Gerald Edward. Born Harare, 2 June 1955. RHB, WK. First-class career: 1977/78-1979/80, 14 matches; 3 one-day inter-nationals. First-class record: 478 runs, highest score 93 (on debut), average 21.72. One-day internationals: 33 runs, highest score 16*, average 16.50. A world-class hockey player, attacking batsman and brilliant fielder, particularly fast over the ground. In this World Cup so great was the batting depth that he went in at number nine, rather a waste of his ability, but he was more than worth his place for his fielding. A Mashonaland player. Soon afterwards he emigrated to South Africa and was lost to big cricket.

PYCROFT, Andrew John. Born Harare, 6 June 1956. RHB, occasional OB. First-class career 1975/76-1992/93, 72 matches; 3 Tests; 20 one-day internationals. Captain 1984/85-1985. First-class record: 4374 runs, highest score 133, 5 centuries, average 38.03. Tests: 152 runs, highest score 60, average 30.40. One-day internationals: 295 runs, highest score 61, average 17.35. Determined and consistent middle-order batsman, usually at number four, with an outstanding record against touring teams to Zimbabwe in the 1980s. Good fielder in any position. On this tour he failed to do himself justice in the World Cup, twice being run out. A lawyer, he retired soon after Zimbabwe achieved Test status due to pressure of work. A Mashonaland player. Now chairman of selectors and involved in coaching.

RAWSON, Peter Walter Edward. Born Harare, 25 May 1957. RHB, RFM. First-class career 1982-1993/94, 72 matches; 10 one-day internationals. Captain 1988/89. First-class record: 1976 runs, highest score 95, average 20.80; 257 wickets, best bowling 7/30, average 23.90. One-day internationals: 80 runs, highest score 24*, average 16.00; 12 wickets, best bowling 3/47, average 35.58. A pace bowler of genuine inter-national class and an aggressive batsman in the lower middle order who never quite did justice to his ability. Troubled by injury in this tournament, he did much bowling on pain-killers, but still took some valuable wickets, including that of Gavaskar cheaply twice. A Mashonaland player. After a successful year of captaincy, he accepted a lucrative deal to play for Natal, where he still lives.

TRAICOS, Athanasios John. Born Zagazig (Egypt), 17 May 1947. RHB, OB. First-class career 1967-1994/95, 122 matches; 7 Tests (3 for South Africa); 27 one-day internationals. Captain 1986/87-1987/88. First-class record: 1198 runs, highest score 43, average 11.40; 289 wickets, best bowling 6/66, average 34.60. Tests: 19 runs, highest score 5*, average 3.16; 18 wickets, best 5/86, average 42.72. One-day inter-nationals: 88 runs, highest score 19, average 11.00; 19 wickets, best bowling 51.94. One of the world's top off-spinners for much of his career, but rarely a destroyer as he relied more on accuracy than sharp spin and variation. Stubborn tail-end batsman and a brilliant gully fielder, as well as an astute thinker and tireless worker for the game. A record 22 years and 222 days between Test appearances; he played in South Africa's last three Tests before isolation in 1969/70 and then in Zimbabwe's first four Tests when elevated to Test status in 1992/93. On this tour he was an invaluable member of the attack, tying down the opposition for match after match. He was 46 by the time of his last first-class match, still as fit as ever, but his duties as vice-president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and his coaching of younger players caused him to fade away rather than retire. Played for Mashonaland. He recently took up a business appointment in Perth, Australia.

COMPLETE ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL CAREER RECORDS

                    M  I  NO  Runs  HS    Av.   Ct   Runs Wkts  Av.
R D Brown           7   7  0  110   38   15.71   5
I P Butchart       20  16  2  252   54   18.00   4    640  12  53.33   
K M Curran         11  11  0  287   73   26.09   1    398   9  44.22
D A G Fletcher      6   6  2  191   71*  47.75   2    221   7  31.57
J G Heron           6   6  0   50   18    8.33   1
V R Hogg            2   1  1    7    7*    --    -     49   0    --
D L Houghton       63  60  2 1530  142   26.37  29/2   19   1  19.00
A H Omarshah       28  28  2  437   60*  16.80   6    812  18  45.11
G A Paterson       10  10  0  123   27   12.30   2
G E Peckover        3   3  1   33   16*  16.50   -
A J Pycroft        20  19  2  295   61   17.35   6
P W E Rawson       10   8  3   80   24*  16.00   4    427  12  35.58
A J Traicos        27  17  9   88   19   11.00   3    987  19  51.94



 
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