Who is the only Zimbabwean Test cricketer to have represented two countries? (22 February 2002)

Athanasois John Traicos was the most unlikely of cricketers. Born to Greek parents in the Egyptian town of Zagazig, Traicos developed into an off-spinner good enough to turn out in three Tests for the mighty South African side of the 1970s. But soon, international oblivion was thrust upon him as the cricketing community cast South Africa away for their apartheid policies.

The doughty Traicos, though, could not be denied. He bided his time, practicing law and playing cricket in nearby Rhodesia. This included appearing in three World Cups, most memorably skippering Zimbabwe in the 1987 edition held on the Indian sub-continent. The veteran was 45 years old when Zimbabwe played their first Test against India, but he still was a bowler of very high class, and this made him an automatic selection.

And he proved a master of his craft at the Harare Sports Club, the venue of the Test match. After a Dave Houghton hundred, Traicos claimed five wickets as Zimbabwe claimed the first- innings lead on a flat batting track. This included the wicket of a 19-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, caught and bowled. Tendulkar, incidentally, was not even born when Traicos had played his previous Test against Australia at Port Elizabeth.

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