ZIMBABWE FIRST-CLASS CRICKET IN 1992/93

John Ward

INTERNATIONAL RECORD

Test cricket:
v India (Home):          Played 1, Won 0, Lost 0, Drawn 1
v New Zealand (Home):    Played 2, Won 0, Lost 1, Drawn 1
v India (Away):          Played 1, Won 0, Lost 1, Drawn 0
Total:              Played 4, Won 0, Lost 2, Drawn 2

One-day international cricket:
v India (Home):               Played 1, Won 0, Lost 1
v New Zealand (Home):         Played 2, Won 0, Lost 2
Wills Trophy (Sharjah):       Played 2, Won 0, Lost 2
v Pakistan (Home):            Played 1, Won 0, Lost 1
v India (Away):               Played 3, Won 0, Lost 3
Total:                   Played 9, Won 0, Lost 9

A negative vote would probably have condemned Zimbabwe to second-class cricket indefinitely. A number of senior players, including Dave Houghton, were planning to retire were Test status to be denied them again. There were some promising youngsters, but it would be inevitable that, should they have no prospect of Test cricket to anticipate, the most talented would be only too eager to accept lucrative offers from South African provinces.

A positive vote was all that could save the future of Zimbabwean cricket. It would result in new interest, a new incentive and more money, a move from the stagnant waters to the river of life. Fortunately ZCU president Dave Ellman-Brown was exactly the right man in the right place at the right time. While many others in Zimbabwe cricket toyed with the idea of returning to the Currie Cup with the same status as a South African province, he was adamant that Zimbabwe had the ability and potential to hold its own as a Test-playing country -- and subsequent events have proved him right. He spent months before the critical meeting contacting the authorities of the other Test-playing countries on Zimbabwe's behalf, and so successful was he that all eight of these nations voted in Zimbabwe's favour, except for England, who abstained.

Even so, there were many critics. Zimbabwe's recent record against first-class touring teams, mainly A teams from the Test-playing countries, had been undistinguished, and there were many who feared that the newcomer, with less money, fewer resources and fewer players than the other eight, would be so overwhelmed by the opposition as to hold the decision to admit them to ridicule. There was not only reservation but also condemnation in many quarters.

It only took one Test match for Zimbabwe to throw back the words of their detractors in their faces. India, who had been one of Zimbabwe's main supporters for Test status, graciously agreed to play in Zimbabwe's inaugural Test match at short notice, just three months after their promotion. Although India had a poor record away from home, their team contained such fine players as captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, the last two at the start of their careers. Their bowling attack was not strong by international standards, but it would be stronger than most of the local players had faced in first-class cricket before now.

Coach John Hampshire had much to do with the team’s unexpected performance. The former Yorkshire and England Test cricketer, now also an umpire with Test match experience, was employed by the ZCU at the start of the season to usher the team into Test cricket, and he soon made an impact. As a batsman who had overcome nerves to score a Test century in a crisis on his debut, he was able to inspire the team to overcome their own feelings of inadequacy and perform with a spirit scarcely noticeable in the national side since the departure of Peter Rawson.

Zimbabwe gained some limited advantage by winning the toss in hot weather on a largely lifeless pitch at Harare Sports Club. Kevin Arnott turned Zimbabwe's first ball in Test cricket, from Kapil Dev, to fine leg for a single, a confident start which was maintained. Zimbabwe batted for more than two days to amass 456; the previous highest total by any country in its inaugural Test was 245 by Australia in the first Test of all, against England who were naturally also making their debut.

Zimbabwe were handicapped by the breakdown of their strike bowler Eddo Brandes with injury after two overs, but off-spinner John Traicos successfully took over the role of the main attacking bowler. Traicos was the only player in the side with previous Test experience, having represented South Africa in three Tests against Australia in 1969/70, their last Test series before isolation. He took five wickets, and India struggled to avoid the follow-on, only succeeding through a dour 500-minute century from Manjrekar. This left Zimbabwe with insufficient time to force home victory.

Zimbabwe set up several other records for a debutant country in Test cricket. Their captain Dave Houghton became the first batsman to score a century in his country’s inaugural Test match, and at the age of 35 was the oldest batsman ever to score a century on his Test debut. Zimbabwe were the first country, excluding Australia’s victory in the first Test of all, to avoid defeat and the first to produce any century partnerships: there were two, between Arnott and Grant Flower for the first wicket, and Houghton and Andy Flower for the sixth wicket.

It was also the first Test match in which a third-country umpire stood under National Grid sponsorship: Dicky Bird was the man in question, in his 48th Test which equalled the then record, while local umpires Ian Robinson and Kantilal Kanjee took alternate days at the other end.

A one-day international followed, in which Zimbabwe put up a good fight but were defeated by 30 runs. Gary Crocker achieved the rare double of scoring a fifty and taking four wickets on his one-day international debut.

This tour was immediately followed by one from New Zealand. After a warm-up match which was the Old Georgians club’s introduction to first-class cricket, the international matches started in Bulawayo. Again Zimbabwe narrowly lost a one-day international, before the First Test began at the Bulawayo Athletic Club ground.

This small ground was really inadequate for international cricket, and the liabilities became obvious when the match ended a long drought in the city (thus enhancing umpire Bird’s reputation as a rain-maker) and the covers and other facilities were quite unable to cope. New Zealand, probably on their guard after noting Zimbabwe's success against India, dominated the match but were unable to force home victory. Zimbabwe were very much second-best throughout until the final day, when they took some quick New Zealand wickets and a determined century by Arnott ensured a draw.

The Second Test in Harare became the first to be interrupted by a one-day international, an experiment which was not repeated. Zimbabwe again put up a good fight in the one-day match, only to lose in the end. In the two one-day internationals Mark Dekker became the first cricketer in history to score fifties in both of his first two matches. In the Test match they fought back well after New Zealand, led by a century from Martin Crowe, had made them look out of their depth on the first day, only to collapse on the final afternoon when a third draw was well within their grasp.

In February Zimbabwe were invited to a one-day tournament in Sharjah for the first time, playing a match each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In what was to become a typical pattern for some years, Zimbabwe competed well but in the end lost by a moderately small margin without really threatening to win at the end. There followed in March a one-day international in Harare against Pakistan on their return from South Africa, which the visitors won comfortably.

The season ended with a tour to India, who are always a very different proposition on their home soil and had just defeated England 3-0 in a Test series. Zimbabwe were likewise to lose, by an innings as England had done in the two final Tests, but were acknowledged by the locals to have played much better cricket than the Englishmen.

The Flower brothers, Andy and Grant, really won their spurs in this match with their superb batting, and again Zimbabwe looked likely to force a draw at lunch on the fourth day, as they approached 300 in their first innings with only three wickets down. But again their inexperience proved a handicap and two tail-end collapses enabled India first to enforce the follow-on and then complete victory.

A three-match one-day series followed, with Zimbabwe losing each match by a fair margin in unfamiliar conditions. A real humiliation was to follow, though, on their return home; they stopped over in Kenya to play an unofficial one-day match there and were defeated. Inside sources suggested that the players were tired after a stressful season and were most reluctant to visit Kenya at all, another sign of how they still needed to learn a more professional attitude.

This ended Zimbabwe's debut season as a full member of the ICC. On the credit side, Zimbabwe had made their critics eat their words and shown they could be competitive in Test cricket; on the debit side, it was clear that the team relied heavily on a handful of senior players and was lacking in depth, with the pace attack in particular looking well short of true international class. But the debit had been known beforehand; the credit had been predicted by few, and from that point of view Zimbabwe's first season can be said to have been an unexpected success.

No domestic first-class cricket was played, as plans for the season had already been put into motion by the time the ICC judged in Zimbabwe's favour. The Logan Cup, the country’s inter-provincial competition almost since the turn of the century, was played as two-day cricket, but plans were made for it to become a first-class competition the following season.

There was a visit by the English county team Kent at the end of the season. They played one first-class match against Zimbabwe B; in an interesting portent for the future, Heath Streak, Paul Strang and Craig Wishart, among others, all made their first-class debuts for the home side.

One notable retirement was that of Andy Pycroft, a regular for Zimbabwean teams since independence, and whose career average of 40 and general consistency had for years indicated a batsman of true Test quality. It was ironic that Pycroft, a leading campaigner over the years for Zimbabwe's promotion in world cricket, should find after playing three Tests that business interests prevented him from taking any further active part in Zimbabwe's increased cricketing programme.

There were two other notable players who tasted Test cricket but did not appear again for Zimbabwe after this season. Kevin Arnott was another whose business interests, as well as fragile fingers, prevented him from giving enough time to the game, as was John Traicos, whose administrative duties caused his playing career gradually to fade away.

The leading batsman in the limited home first-class programme was Kevin Arnott, who scored 281 runs at an average of 56.20. He was closely followed by Dave Houghton, with 221 runs at 55.25 each.

Only one bowler took ten wickets during the season, the evergreen John Traicos, with 11 at 34.18. All three players appeared in Test matches only during this season.

During the 1993 off-season, a brief tour was made to England at the end of their season. In line with their refusal to support Zimbabwe's promotion to Test status, the English authorities were unwilling to accommodate the Zimbabweans with any representative matches, but three first-class and four one-day matches were played. Two one-day matches were won, one lost and one drawn due to the weather with Zimbabwe in an inferior position. Unfortunately Zimbabwe had the worst of all three first-class fixtures, although suffering only one loss in a declaration game. Bad weather played a significant part in disrupting several matches.

The absence of Traicos made the bowling line-up look particularly thin, but left-arm seam bowler David Brain turned in some promising performances. The team was captained by Andy Flower for the first time after Houghton resigned the post, although still continuing as a player. Grant Flower was the most successful batsmen, with 224 first-class runs at 44.80 each. No bowler took ten wickets in first-class matches, the most successful being Stephen Peall with nine.

It was a blow to Zimbabwean cricket that Mr Ellman-Brown should resign as ZCU president in the hour of his triumph, as his new position as a senior partner in Coopers and Lybrand left him with insufficient time to do both jobs. His administrative ability and drive were sorely missed, but he returned to administration in 1998 as chief executive after retiring from his firm. He was succeeded as president by Peter Chingoka, the first black administrator to hold the position.

INDIAN TOUR

(ODI) At Harare Sports Club; 25 October. INDIA 239 (S R Tendulkar 39, S V Manjrekar 70, P K Amre 36; G J Crocker 4/26). ZIMBABWE 209 (A Flower 62, G W Flower 34, G J Crocker 50; J Srinath 3/35). India won by 30 runs.

NEW ZEALAND TOUR

At Old Georgians Sports Club, Harare; 26, 27, 28 October. ZIMBABWE B 246/8 dec (W R James 63, C N Evans 66; D N Patel 5/54) and 194 (C N Evans 56, E A Essop-Adam 51, S G Peall 34; S B Doull 6/37). NEW ZEALANDERS 234/7 dec (B R Hartland 33, A H Jones 81*, M L Su’a 44; D H Brain 3/68) and 208/2 (M J Greatbatch 126*, K R Rutherford 34, R T Latham 37*). New Zealanders won by eight wickets.

(1ST ODI) At Bulawayo Athletic Club; 31 October. NEW ZEALAND 244/7 (R T Latham 45, A H Jones 68, M D Crowe 40, K R Rutherford 35*; G W Flower 3/39). ZIMBABWE 222/9 (M H Dekker 79; D N Patel 3/26). New Zealand won by 22 runs.

(1ST TEST) At Bulawayo Athletic Club; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 November. NEW ZEALAND 325/3 dec (M J Greatbatch 87, R T Latham 119, A H Jones 67*, M D Crowe 42) and 222/5 dec (M J Greatbatch 88, R T Latham 48, A H Jones 39 retired hurt; M P Jarvis 3/38). ZIMBABWE 219 (K J Arnott 30, D L Houghton 36, A Flower 81; D N Patel 6/113) and 197/1 (K J Arnott 101*, G W Flower 45, A D R Campbell 48*). Match drawn.

(2ND TEST) At Harare Sports Club; 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 November. NEW ZEALAND 335 (M J Greatbatch 55, M D Crowe 140, K R Rutherford 74; D H Brain 3/49) and 262/5 dec (M D Crowe 61, K R Rutherford 89, D N Patel 58*). ZIMBABWE 283/9 dec (K J Arnott 68, A D R Campbell 52, A J Pycroft 60, M G Burmester 30*; M L Su’a 5/85) and 137 (A D R Campbell 35, G J Crocker 33; D N Patel 6/50). New Zealand won by 177 runs.

(2ND ODI) At Harare Sports Club; 8 November. ZIMBABWE 271/6 (A Flower 56, G W Flower 63, D L Houghton 50, M H Dekker 55). NEW ZEALAND 272/6 (M J Greatbatch 55, R T Latham 40, M D Crowe 94, K R Rutherford 37; E A Brandes 3/74). New Zealand won by four wickets.

TOUR TO SHARJAH

(ODI) At Sharjah; 3 February. SRI LANKA 266/5 (R S Mahanama 62, U C Hathurusinghe 66, P A de Silva 46, A Ranatunga 39). ZIMBABWE 236/9 (D L Houghton 31, E A Brandes 55, G J Crocker 36*; C P H Ramanayake 3/28). Sri Lanka won by 30 runs.

PAKISTAN TOUR

TOUR TO INDIA AND KENYA

(1ST ODI) At Faridabad; 19 March. INDIA 249/7 (M Prabhakar 56, N S Sidhu 56, V G Kambli 80). ZIMBABWE 182 (G W Flower 42; J Srinath 3/38). India won by 67 runs. (2ND ODI) At Guwahati; 22 March (reduced to 28 overs). ZIMBABWE 149/6 (G W Flower 57). INDIA 150/3 (M Prabhakar 51, V G Kambli 32). India won by seven wickets.

(3RD ODI) At Pune; 25 March. ZIMBABWE 234 (A Flower 32, G W Flower 50, D L Houghton 46; Kapil Dev 3/54). INDIA 238/2 (W V Raman 66, N S Sidhu 45, V G Kambli 47*, A K Sharma 59*). India won by eight wickets.

(Unofficial ODI) At Nairobi; 29 March. ZIMBABWE 186/9 (K J Arnott 53, G A Briant 67*; R Ali 3/29, E Tito 3/10). KENYA 188/7 (K Otieno 40, M Odumbe 72*). Kenya won by three wickets.

KENT TOUR (first-class match only)

TOUR TO ENGLAND 1993 (first-class matches only

At The Oval; 8, 9, 10 September. SURREY 304/7 dec (R I Alikhan 38, A W Smith 60, A D Brown 138; S G Peall 3/86) and 189/9 dec (G P Thorpe 37, A J Hollioake 38; S G Peall 3/46). ZIMBABWEANS 221/9 dec (G A Briant 54, S G Peall 33; A J Murphy 5/58) and 196/6 (A Flower 82, A D R Campbell 31; M A Butcher 4/51). Match drawn.

At Canterbury; 11, 12, 13 September. KENT 264 (S A Marsh 111, D J Spencer 75; D H Brain 6/48) and 68/1 dec (D P Fulton 32, T R Ward 36*). ZIMBABWEANS 53/1 dec and 83 (D H Brain 31; D J Spencer 4/46, M A Ealham 5/14). Kent won by 196 runs.

CONSOLIDATED TEST MATCH RECORDS DURING 1992/93
(+ = final matches of career.  All players making Test debuts except for A J Traicos.)

BATTING AND FIELDING
            M   I  NO   Runs   HS     Av.   100  50   Ct/St
A Flower            4   7   2   341   115    68.20    1   3    7/2
+K J Arnott         4   8   1   302   101*   43.14    1   1    4
D L Houghton        4   7   1   240   121    40.00    1   -    4
A D R Campbell      4   8   1   273    61    39.00    -   2    2
G W Flower          4   8   0   264    96    33.00    -   2    1
+A J Pycroft        3   5   0   152    60    30.40    -   1    2
+M G Burmester      3   4   2    54    30*   27.00    -   -    1
G J Crocker         3   4   1    69    33    23.00    -   -    -
A H Omarshah        2   3   0    59    26    19.00    -   -    -
+G A Briant         1   2   0    17    16     8.50    -   -    -
D H Brain           2   4   0    28    17     7.00    -   -    -
+U Ranchod          1   2   0     8     7     4.00    -   -    -
E A Brandes         3   5   0    15     8     3.00    -   -    1
+A J Traicos        4   6   2    11     5     2.75    -   -    4
M P Jarvis          2   2   1     2     2*    2.00    -   -    1

BOWLING
            Overs  Mdns  Runs  Wkts   Av.     Best  5wI  10wM
A J Traicos         190.1   34   562   14    40.14    5/86    1   -
D H Brain            68      8   247    6    41.16    3/49    -   -
U Ranchod            12      0    45    1    45.00    1/45    -   -
M P Jarvis           75.1   21   198    4    49.50    3/38    -   -
E A Brandes          69.4   11   204    4    51.00    2/49    -   -
G J Crocker          76     20   217    3    72.33    2/65    -   -
M G Burmester        72.4   22   227    3    75.66    3/78    -   -
G W Flower           27      2   108    1   108.00    1/32    -   -
A H Omarshah         31      9   125    1   125.00    1/46    -   -
D L Houghton          0.5    0     0    0      --      --     -   -


CONSOLIDATED ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL RECORDS DURING 1992/93
(* = ODI debuts; + = final matches of career)

            M   I  NO   Runs   HS     Av.   100  50   Ct/St
*G W Flower         9   9   0   338    63    37.55    -   4    6
A Flower            9   9   0   280    62    31.11    -   2    7/1
D L Houghton        9   9   0   268    51    29.77    -   2    3
+M H Dekker         7   7   0   189    79    27.00    -   2    2
*+G J Crocker       6   5   1    98    50    24.50    -   1    1
*D H Brain          9   6   2    76    27    19.00    -   -    3
+A J Traicos        7   5   4    18     7*   18.00    -   -    1
A C Waller          2   2   0    32    23    16.00    -   -    -
A D R Campbell      5   5   0    71    29    14.20    -   -    1
*+G A Briant        5   5   2    39    16    13.00    -   -    -
E A Brandes         7   6   0    76    55    12.66    -   1    1
*C N Evans          3   3   0    35    22    11.66    -   -    1
M G Burmester       1   1   0    11    11    11.00    -   -    1
+K J Arnott         4   4   1    32    17    10.66    -   -    1
A H Omarshah        8   8   1    73    25    10.42    -   -    2
*S G Peall          3   3   1    16    12*    8.00    -   -    -
W R James           1   1   0     0     0     0.00    -   -    2/0
*+E A Essop-Adam    1   1   1    14    14*     --     -   -    2
*+U Ranchod         3   1   1     3     3*     --     -   -    1


BOWLING
            Overs  Mdns  Runs  Wkts   Av.     Best  4wI
G J Crocker          39.4    1   208    7    29.71    4/26    1
E A Brandes          62.1    2   307   10    30.70    3/74    -
G W Flower           43.3    1   252    8    31.50    3/39    -
D H Brain            74.3    5   368   10    36.80    3/51    -
M G Burmester         6      0    38    1    38.00    1/38    -
A H Omarshah         58      3   257    5    51.40    3/33    -
A J Traicos          66      2   314    3   104.66    1/48    -
U Ranchod            29      3   130    1   130.00    1/44    -
S G Peall            29      1   137    0      --      --     -