da leao： Cricketers from Zimbabwe have provided much pleasure to cricketfollowers during their short and infrequent visits to this country
Partab Ramchand25-Feb-2002Cricketers from Zimbabwe have provided much pleasure to cricketfollowers during their short and infrequent visits to this country. Asthey have illustrated during their first decade of playing Testcricket, they possess many of the qualities required for the longergame but at the same time have also displayed the effervescence thatis associated with limited overs cricket. At least a couple ofZimbabwe players have provided the kind of sparkling cricket thatwould rank their performances alongside the many outstanding featsnotched up by visiting players in India.The first such performance was Dave Houghton’s 141 against New Zealandin a Reliance World Cup encounter at Hyderabad in October 1987. It isa knock that is fondly remembered by those lucky enough to have seenit. Both teams were playing their opening encounter in the tournamentand few gave Zimbabwe any chance of even giving their experiencedopponents a scare. New Zealand led off with 242 for seven in 50 oversand seemed to have sewn the match up by dismissing seven Zimbabwebatsmen for 104 runs. Houghton was in good touch and had reached hishalf-century but he had little support. Now, at last he found an ablepartner in Ian Butchart and the two brought Zimbabwe back into thematch with an eighth wicket partnership of 117 then the highesteighth wicket partnership in one-day internationals.Houghton dominated the stand with some dazzling shots and he gotZimbabwe to within 22 runs of their target in the 47th over. By thistime, he had raced to 141 from 138 balls with three sixes and 13fours. It took a great running catch by Martin Crowe almost on theboundary line to dismiss him. But when he was out at 221, Zimbabwestill had a chance of pulling off an upset victory. They wanted sixfrom the final over but Butchart was run out off the fourth ball andNew Zealand squeaked home by three runs.When Zimbabwe, within months after playing their inaugural Test, cameover to India for a short tour of one Test and three one-dayinternationals, they were given little chance to do well in the faceof a formidable batting line-up and an in-form spin trio bowling ontailor-made pitches. But one player stood out in the Test match.Andy Flower gave an early indication of why over the years he wouldtake his place among the world’s leading batsmen, a player difficultto dislodge and one with an insatiable appetite for runs. In the faceof an imposing Indian total of 536 for seven declared, the pugnaciousleft-hander led Zimbabwe’s defiance with a century of character. Withbrother Grant (96) he added 192 runs for the fourth wicket, dominatingthe stand in scoring 115. He batted 289 minutes and got his runs from236 balls. Despite his courageous knock in trying circumstances,Zimbabwe were forced to follow on.In the second innings, the Indian spin trio of Rajesh Chauhan, AnilKumble and Maninder Singh found it impossible to dismiss Andy Flower.In a more subdued innings, he batted 214 minutes and 191 balls for anunbeaten 62. Zimbabwe were all out for 201 to lose by an innings and13 runs. But displaying defence of a high calibre on a wearing wicket,Flower batted almost eight and a half hours in all to ensure thatZimbabwe, though beaten, were far from disgraced.But even this stout-hearted performance almost pales intoinsignificance when placed alongside Andy Flower’s own feats on the2000-2001 tour of this country. By this time, he was recognised as thecountry’s leading batsman who did not let the additional duties behindthe stumps affect his batting. And he proved this in spades with asuperb showing in the two Tests. His intense concentration, singleminded dedication towards the pursuit of runs and insatiable appetitefor big scores saw him set a record that stood alongside those ofother great batsmen who have visited India. In the first Test at NewDelhi, he came in when the score was 134 for three and this soonbecame 155 for five. By expertly farming the strike, Flower with thehelp of the tail saw the total reach 422. This great rearguard actionculminated in a last wicket partnership of 97 runs in about 2-1/2hours with Henry Olonga (11).Flower remained unbeaten on 183 for which he batted 466 balls andfaced 351 balls, hitting 24 fours and two sixes in the process. In thesecond innings, in a total of 225, he again top-scored with 70. In thesecond Test at Nagpur, Flower continued from where he left off at theKotla. In the first innings, his contribution was a modest 55. Butwhen Zimbabwe followed on 227 runs behind, Flower was defiancepersonified. After three wickets had fallen for 61, he and AlistairCampbell (102) added 209 runs for the fourth wicket. The final day wascompletely dominated by Flower and there was never any chance of himbeing dismissed. When the match ended in a draw with Zimbabwe 503 forsix, Flower was still unconquered on 232. This time he batted 544minutes, faced 444 balls and hit 30 fours and two sixes.His aggregate of 540 runs in two Tests gave him a mind-bogglingaverage of 270.00. In all, he had batted 1331 minutes and negotiated1021 deliveries in the two Tests. It certainly rates as one of thegreat endurance feats in Test history.