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This is an archive article published on January 23, 2003

Zimbabwe146;s Man Friday

Political problems at home may have taken the sheen off Zimbabwe8217;s most prized possession: Andy Flower. But he remains the best bet if ...

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Political problems at home may have taken the sheen off Zimbabwe8217;s most prized possession: Andy Flower. But he remains the best bet if Zimbabwe have any hope of making it to the Super Six of the World Cup.

Since starting out as an understudy to David Houghton in 1991 Andy has hit international headlines with his keeping and batting. So much so that Andy and brother Grant are the pillars of Zimbabwean cricket and every captain, from Houghton to Heath Steak, has relied on them for wins.

DID YOU KNOW?
8226; He was born in Cape town and would have moved to South Africa in 1992 if Zimbabwe had not received Test match status.
8226; Led Zimbabwe to their first Test victory against Pakistan in 1994-95. Brother Grant and he put on 269, breaking the record of Ian and Greg Chappell for brothers in Test cricket.
8226; At Port-of-Spain, 1999-2000 against West Indies he was the highest scorer with 113 and only player on either side to pass 50 in the match on a difficult pitch, he scored his runs out of a total of 236, giving Zimbabwe a first-innings lead of 49.
8226; Became only the second batsman in Test history to score more than half his team8217;s entire run aggregate in both innings of a Test match. He scored 142 and 199 even as his side collapsed to 286 and 391 in response to South Africa8217;s 600 in September 2001 at Harare.

Almost Bradmanesque in his achievements, Andy plays spin with remarkable ease and that explains his excellent record against India. Ask Sunil Joshi and he will, though grudgingly, testify for it was the left-hander who effectively ended his career with perfect reverse sweeps.

Andy also had his share of problems with Zimbabwe Cricket Union ZCU, be it over pay packets or over being sacked as captain.

But now all seems settled and that is the best-case scenario for Zimbabwe. With Allistair Campbell out of Cup side, it is Andy who has to lead the way again.

With the gloves off and the pressure of just one role to perform, Andy might just Flower in his fourth World Cup and thereby erase the memories of his poor Cup record.

 

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