• Full Name: Andrew Christopher Waller
• Born: 25 September 1959, Salisbury (now Harare)
• Major teams: Zimbabwe (since 1984/85), Mashonaland Country Districts (1993/94- 1995/96), Mashonaland (1996/97- ). Present club team: Harare Sports Club
• Known as: Andy Waller, 'Bundu' Waller
• Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
• Bowling Style: Occasional Right Arm Medium Pace or Off Spin
• Occupation: Tobacco farmer
• Test Debut: First Test v England, at Queens Ground (Bulawayo), 1996/97
• ODI Debut: 10 October 1987, v New Zealand, at Hyderabad (World Cup)

By John Ward

Andy Waller represents all that is best about the true amateur cricketer, of necessity a dying breed in a cricketing world which demands an ever-increasing amount of time of its international players. Andy's farming commitments have cost him much international cricket over the years and postponed his Test debut until the age of 37; it is only now, as his career is nearing its end, that his farm is well enough established to allow him to play whenever he wishes. He is also the least record-conscious of cricketers: he remembers little about his major performances, although on the day he will go out and fight with the best of them.

Andy comes from a farming family, and his father, from whom he inherited the nickname 'Bundu', was a notable Districts cricketer for many years. Andy attended primary school at Umvukwes (now Mvurwi), in a farming area north of Harare, and was in the school first team for three years, captain in his final year. He remembers nothing of his performances there, but was in the team as a wicketkeeper as well as a batsman. He kept wicket, in fact, up to Under-14 level at high school; he has a natural aptitude for the ball, as is also revealed in his brilliant fielding, especially in the covers where he made his name. He is also a useful bowler, off-spin at high school level and generally medium-pace in club cricket, although he has never been a regular bowler at any level.

He was the earliest of Zimbabwe's Test cricketers to attend Falcon College, near Essexvale (now Esigodeni) in Matabeleland. He was captain of his age-group teams from Under-13 to Under-15 level, and was then in the first team for three years, as captain in his final two years. He scored several centuries during his time there, although he does not remember details. At representative level he was selected for the Partridges, the national primary schools team, in his final year at Umvukwes, and then the Fawns, the national Under-15 team. He captained Matabeleland Schools for two years, but was not selected for the national schools team.

Andy was a late starter in the first-class game, making his debut at the age of 25. The reason was that, on leaving school, he spent three years out of the game: he was in the army for two years, and then spent a year working on a farm in Kentucky, USA. The layoff seems to have done him no harm, as on his return in 1982 he joined Harare Sports Club and scored a century and 99 in his first two matches.

He was then working on his father's farm, after which he became a tobacco buyer for a while with Tabex. In 1988 he bought his father's farm, but suffered the same difficulty encountered by many amateur cricketers: he did not have the money or resources to be able to afford to take time off to play cricket until the best part of his cricketing career was over. Now, in 1997, he has been able to hire a new manager and make his farm financially stable, allowing himself much more time for cricket; however, it is uncertain that he will be willing to continue at international level for long.

A couple of consistent batting seasons on his return from America, coupled with his brilliant fielding, finally earned Andy a place in the national side to play Mark Nicholas' English Counties team in 1984/85. He made his mark with a fifty in his first match, a feat he was to repeat at Test level twelve years later. Then he played a major part in a fine Zimbabwean victory in the second match. Zimbabwe, set 285 to win, slumped to 50 for four before Andy joined Dave Houghton. By aggressive batting, which has always been Andy's trademark, they wrested the initiative from the Englishmen in a partnership of 163 before both were out in quick succession. But they had set the platform for Iain Butchart, aided by Denis Streak, to complete a superb victory.

From then on, Andy was a regular in the national team, until duties on his new farm began to restrict his availability. After the departure of Graeme Hick, he was tried for a while in the Number Three role, but his success was limited; his technique was not tight enough against the new ball, and he has generally appeared better suited to a genuine middle-order position where he is free to hit the ball hard and often, his natural game. In recent years he has also been sent in to open the batting in one-day matches, supposedly as a pinch-hitter able to take advantage of the fielding restrictions during the first 15 overs of an innings, but he has rarely looked as comfortable or been as successful in this role.

At first-class level he has perhaps never consistently made the high scores which could have been expected from one of his ability, but he did often play useful cameos and seize the initiative when it was needed. Perhaps one of his best innings was played against the which could have been expected from one of his ability, but he did often play useful cameos and seize the initiative when it was needed. Perhaps one of his best innings was played against the Young West Indies team of 1986/87. Each of the first three Zimbabwean batsmen was dismissed without scoring and the West Indian bowlers appeared rampant against a helpless-looking batting line-up. Andy, in contrast, was all belligerent defiance as he carried the attack back to the bowlers. Sadly, he only made 18 before being bowled by an unexpected scorcher from the visibly injured George Ferris, but the manner in which he made those runs was in stark contrast to the rest of the batting, which eventually subsided for a mere 76.

Three years later, after trying out a variety of captains, the selectors turned to Andy. It was just his luck to be given the reins when Zimbabwe cricket was at a particularly low ebb following the departure of Peter Rawson and temporary retirement of Andy Pycroft, and the opposition was again a very powerful Young West Indian team. Zimbabwe were overwhelmed in two of the three matches but, typically, Andy says he enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately a serious back injury put him out of cricket for the rest of the season; in his absence the captaincy reverted to Dave Houghton, and Andy was not given another chance. There was also a feeling that the captaincy was perhaps affecting his batting, as he appeared to be trying too hard to bat responsibly rather than to dominate the bowling in his usual style. Zimbabwe did record one victory against three defeats in the one-day series, though, and Andy finished with fifties in the last two matches.

Since then, Andy's appearances have been less regular due to his farming commitments. His farm, in the Centenary area, is so far from Harare that it was impossible to go in for regular practice, but he did his best to keep in touch, organising helpers at the farm to roll balls to practise his fielding and rigging up a bowling machine in a barn for batting.

He was able to play in the 1992 World Cup, as he had four years earlier in India, with disappointing results until acouple of thirties in the final two matches. In the first match, against Sri Lanka, he played one of his best innings. Coming in at 167 for four, this was the ideal situation for Andy's big hitting. He tore into the Sri Lankan attack, officially scoring 83 not out; however the former English scorer Geoffrey Saulez, who was present at the match, believes that the flurry of runs so overwhelmed the local scorers that they failed to record quite a number of the runs, especially from Andy. He may well have scored a century but, since the match was not televised, it is unlikely the truth will ever be known. Andy's fifty came off 32 balls, then a World Cup record, and his official 83 off 45 balls; he hit 3 sixes and 9 fours. It was in vain, though, as Sri Lanka won the match, according to the official scores. Andy followed this with an aggressive 44 against Pakistan, but the match was as good as over when he came in after an early batting collapse.

When Test status was granted, Andy was not selected, although he played in most of the one-day matches for which he was available. It seemed he was considered now to be a one-day specialist, and he did not score heavily enough to demand a Test place. Vice-captain on the Hero Cup tour to India in 1993/94, he would almost certainly have made his Test debut on the tour of Pakistan which followed, but two tours in quick succession were more than he could afford. Again, he had to return to the farm and missed the chance.

It appeared that Andy might conclude his career with nothing more than a batch of one-day matches on his international record, or even a first-class century, until the 1996/97 season, when he was at last able to spare more time away from his farm. Now, with more time available and less pressure of work, he turned in some of the best batting of his career. Since the re-entry of South Africa to international cricket and the acceptance of a Zimbabwe Board team into the UCBSA Bowl competition, Andy has been the regular choice, when available, to take wise charge of this team consisting mostly of promising youngsters. The first match of the 1996/97 season was played in Windhoek against Namibia, and Andy played what the team manager, Nottinghamshire professional Paul Pollard, describes as perhaps the most incredible innings he had ever seen. Andy pulverised the Namibian attack for an innings of 266, which wasn't even reported in the Zimbabwean newspapers. Unfortunately this innings will not go into his record, as these matches had just been demoted from first-class status.

He returned to score a maiden first-class century in a Logan Cup match against Matabeleland, and it was clear that he was a genuine candidate for a Test place against the touring English team, although some expressed concern that he was not fit enough for a five-day Test. Andy worked hard to ensure that he was fit enough, but does concede that he is not as quick over the ground as he used to be. He duly played in all the international matches against England, with his performances in Bulawayo being the most valuable. In the first one-day match, opening the batting, he scored a vital if uncharacteristic 48 to pave the way for victory, and then scored a fifty in his first Test which undoubtedly made the difference between drawing and losing for his side.

Andy may not be around at international level for much longer, but it is good that he has at least two Test caps as reward for his loyalty to Zimbabwean cricket. It is hoped that he will feel able to play on for a little longer and continue to make his vibrant, carefree presence felt in what can be too much of a utilitarian game.

Dave Houghton says, "We've all seen 'Bundu' strike the ball -- he hits it miles, so he could be an exciting player to watch."