FULL NAME: Richard William Sims
BORN: At Chinhoyi, 23 July 1979
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (1999/2000), Manicaland (2000/01 to date). Present club team: Mutare Sports Club.
KNOWN AS: Richard/Richie Sims. Nicknames: Gwil (from his father's name)
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Off Spin
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy student

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 10-12 March 2000, CFX Academy v Midlands, at Kwekwe
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (updated January 2002)

Unusually, Richie Sims comes from a family with no interest in cricket, yet he had an outstanding record as a player at junior school. In his early adult career he did not quite maintain the promise he showed in his earliest years, but was rather belatedly offered a place at the CFX Academy and thus given a new chance to make a name for himself in the cricket world.

Richie's first encounter with the game came in his Grade Two year at Rydings Primary School in the northern area of Mashonaland. His father, who was a baseball player and obviously passed on his ball skills to his son, was a farmer at Banket, northwest of Harare and not far from Chinhoyi, where Richie's mother went for his birth. Richie lived all his life on the farm until he left school.

Richie says that he first played in the small school's Colts side in Grade Two as they were short of players, and did well enough to keep his place, spending four years in the colts side and then two in the senior team. His highest score for the school team was 144, which he made twice, and his best bowling 10 wickets for 15 runs and 8 wickets for no runs, bowling as fast as he could, but he cannot remember the opposition. He thinks he scored four or five centuries at junior school, opening the innings and also captaining the side. He represented Northwestern Districts in the primary schools cricket week, although he cannot remember his performances, and in his final year he was selected for the national primary schools team. His coach then had the name, as far as he recalls, of Pat Geary, and he did most to prepare Richie for cricket.

He progressed to Lomagundi College and played in the team throughout, captaining all his age-group teams until Form Three, when he started playing for the school senior side halfway through the year. He did not maintain quite the same prodigious standard he had shown at junior school, scoring just one century during his years there, against an English school touring the country. "I got a few wickets here and there," he said, now bowling medium-pace seamers. "The coaches weren't really qualified at high school and we just went through the motions, really." He does not offer this as an excuse, but perhaps it accounts for his less productive years.

Despite his lesser performances at high school he played for national teams at Under-13 and Under-15 levels, and says his deeds there were `fairly average, really'. He later changed his bowling style again to off-spin, considering himself and all-rounder, although his bowling at first received limited opportunities. "There aren't many of us [off-spinners] around," he says. "So I thought I would give it a bash and see how it goes."

He left school at the end of 1997 and did a computer-programming course in Harare for two years before applying to join the Academy. He played cricket for Old Hararians and also winter league for Chinhoyi, where he regained some of his best form, recording three centuries for them. For Old Hararians he `scored a few fifties and took a few wickets'.

His interest in cricket was still great, though, and he decided, largely on his own initiative, to apply for the CFX Academy for the year 2000, and was duly accepted. His parents, despite their lack of interest in cricket, gave him their backing. Richie thinks it was mainly his record as a representative player in age-group teams over the years that earned him selection over other candidates. He pays tribute to Dave Houghton who has recently joined the coaching staff at the Academy and has helped him develop his game.

Richie played in two of the Academy's four Logan Cup matches early in 2000, but without success. He had little personal success, "but it was very good fun and I learned a lot from it. I learned how to approach things better mentally, instead of just walking out on the field and playing." In 2001 he was been posted to Manicaland for the remaining two years of his contract. "It will be quite a good experience," he said at the time, although as yet he knew little of the area. When given the choice of Harare or Mutare, he enterprisingly chose the latter and has not regretted it. He speaks enthusiastically about the progress made by cricket in the province and his coaching at the local high school.

Richie flourished in Mutare, making runs and taking good wickets for the Mutare Sports Club side. His performances, which included league centuries against Harare Sports Club and Universals, and two Logan Cup fifties, earned him recognition in the Zimbabwe Board XI. His best performance for them to date is his eighty in the match against Gauteng B, which was a vital contribution towards victory in a run chase.

As a batsman Richie likes to bat between numbers four and six. He feels his main strength is in the drive, and considers himself as a straight hitter, although he also plays the pull well. He has only recently taken to bowling off-spin, but has developed an arm ball – `and a fast straight one and a slow straight one!'. He suffers, though, from the lack of an off-spinning mentor in the country now that John Traicos has immigrated to Australia. He usually fields in close as he cannot throw well after an arm operation after a rugby injury at school, or `in the ring' in one-day cricket.

Richie was also a notable rugby player at scrum-half who represented Zimbabwe Schools, and the injury took place on tour in South Africa, during Craven Week. It does not affect his bowling, but he still cannot throw well, and persuaded him to give up rugby to concentrate on cricket. He has had no major cricket injuries, although he did suffer some back trouble in Form Two which persuaded him to give up fast bowling. He represented national rugby teams from junior school upwards and says, "I've actually made more rugby national sides than I've made cricket!"

In 2000 he played for Helensburgh, west of Glasgow in Scotland, and had a good season, taking `lot of wickets, with two hundreds, three nineties and a lot of fifties'. He averaged about 51 with the bat for the season. He returned again in 2001, and despite having a great many matches rained off managed a good season with three centuries. He also did plenty of bowling, with success.

When his career is over he may well put his computer training to good use or perhaps take up farming, although he knows that the present situation for farmers in the country is not good. "But it's quite far away, I hope!" he says.

Cricket heroes: Ian Botham, Shane Warne and Steve Waugh. "I haven't really tried to model my game on anybody, but I admire Steve Waugh because of the way he plays, and I try to play like him."

Toughest opponents: "The fastest bowler I ever faced was Travis Friend. Heath Streak is accurate and it's hard to score runs off him. I haven't really played against any of the higher-class batsmen; there are no really outstanding players at club cricket."

Personal ambitions: "Obviously to play for Zimbabwe; that's about it at the moment. I'd like to play club cricket for England for a long time still, and maybe in New Zealand."

Proudest achievement: "Funnily enough it was getting Sportsman of the Year at high school, and also making Zim Schools rugby in Upper Sixth."

Best friends in cricket: "I've got a lot of friends: John Vaughan-Davies, Colin Delport, Greg Lamb, Travis Friend, Ryan King . . . everyone at the Academy, really!"

Other sports: "Occasionally I play squash and golf, and go fishing." He also played tennis, hockey and athletics (cross-country) as school besides rugby.

Outside interests: Fishing, going to Kariba and the Zambezi, relaxing and watching videos, hanging round with my mates. "When I'm not playing cricket I'd rather hang around with my mates who aren't playing cricket so we don't talk about it!"

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