FULL NAME: Ian Michael Coulson
BORN: At Bulawayo, 5 April 1980
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2000/01). Present club side: Queens Sports Club
KNOWN AS: Ian Coulson. Nickname: Coolbox, Bokka.
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Slow Left Arm
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy student

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 2-4 March 2001, CFX Academy v Midlands, at Kwekwe Sports Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (March 2001)

Ian Coulson, specialist left-arm spin bowler at the CFX Academy, was born in Bulawayo but has lived all his life on a farm near Esigodeni in Matabeleland. His father is a farmer and his mother a radiographer.

His father played cricket while at school but since then only districts cricket in the winter. "He was the main one who taught me to play cricket," says Ian, recalling how they used to play in the family garden when he was small. "He started me out when I was about four or five."

Ian attended Whitestone Primary School in Bulawayo as a boarder, first playing cricket there when in Grade Three. He progressed from the colts team to the school second and then the first team during his final two years there. He has never really had any strong batting pretensions, playing throughout his life primarily as a spin bowler; however, his batting talents are not negligible. He remembers a highest score of about 45, while his best bowling figures were four for 17 against Rhodes Estate Preparatory School. His only representative cricket at junior school level was for the Matabeleland schools team in his final year. He pays tribute to his coach at Whitestone, Mr Mohammad, who gave him a good grounding in the game.

He progressed to Falcon College, fortunately for him not far from the family farm. He played in the first team there for three years, with best bowling figures of seven for 19 against Plumtree. His highest score was a thirty against the same opposition. At Under-15 level he again made the Matabeleland age-group team, taking six for 36 in 32 overs in one match, and the Under-19 team for his final two years. Coaches Dave Grant and Dave Fleming gave him much help and encouragement during his years there. He went on two tours with the school team, to East London and Durban.

While still at Falcon he played winter cricket for Esigodeni with former national pace bowler Noel Peck, who is now the groundsman at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, and he invited Ian to join the club. Ian has played for them ever since. Against Harare Sports Club Second XI he once scored 53, his best in any class of cricket. He also recorded two fifties for Esigodeni, where he has enjoyed his only captaincy experience. Big wicket hauls are hard to come by, especially for spinners, in the limited-over cricket played by the clubs in Zimbabwe, and Ian's best league figures to date are four for 30 against Manicaland.

Ian left school in 1998 and took a computer technology course, so he is now a qualified computer technician. He also worked as a coach, office assistant and computer consultant for Queens Sports Club before joining the Academy. He played in a match for Matabeleland Country Districts against the Academy during 2000, and his bowling impressed Academy director Gwynne Jones enough for him to approach Ian and ask him why he hadn't applied for a position there. Ian followed it up and was accepted.

As a batsman Ian is stronger on the front foot and can drive well. As a bowler, he feels his main strengths are his accuracy and his ability to spin the ball quite sharply – `on occasions'! He usually fields quite close to the bat, at gully or point.

Cricket heroes: Shane Warne; Jonty Rhodes "because he's overcome epilepsy to play professional cricket."

Toughest opponents: "Probably Andy Flower, because he has so much time to play and he just watches the ball all the time."

Personal ambitions: "I hope to get up to the national side in three years, by the World Cup, and to make the Board XI in the next twelve months. I'm aiming to improve my batting quite a bit – the Academy has good facilities for that – and I want to improve my bowling accuracy."

Proudest achievement so far: "Coming to the Academy."

Best friends in cricket: "Ian Engelbrecht of Queens."

Other qualifications: Qualified computer technician.

Other sports: Hockey, tennis at school. Now plays golf, squash, a bit of tennis.

Outside interests: Shooting and fishing.

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