Andy Flower - a short biography
Major teams: Zimbabwe (since 1988/89), Mashonaland (1993/94 to date)
John Ward
22-Sep-1999
Full Name: Andrew Flower
Born: 28 April 1968, at Cape Town
Major teams: Zimbabwe (since 1988/89), Mashonaland (1993/94 to
date). Present club team: Winstonians (Harare)
Known as: Andy Flower. Nickname 'Petals'
Batting Style: Left Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Off-breaks or slow-medium right arm
Occupation: Professional Cricketer
First-class debut: ZCU President's XI v Young West Indies, at
Harare Sports Club, 21 October 1986
Test Debut: Inaugural Test v India, 1992/93, at Harare Sports
Club
ODI Debut: 23 February 1992, v Sri Lanka, at New Plymouth (World
Cup)
BIOGRAPHY (updated September 1999)
Andy Flower has enjoyed the benefit of a strong sporting family
and especially a father, Bill, who helped and encouraged him in
all he did without pushing or applying undue pressure. His
family has its roots in Zimbabwe, although he himself was born in
Cape Town, but they returned to this country when he was young.
However, Bill's work took the family to Johannesburg for a few
years, where Andy attended Boskop School, which he represented in
a few school cricket matches. When he was about 10 years old they
returned to Salisbury (now Harare), where they have lived ever
since.
Andy names his father, and his family generally, as his main
influence in his cricketing career. Bill did much coaching and
playing with Andy and his brothers in their garden, and is
largely responsible for their sound techniques.
Andy attended North Park School in the northern suburbs of
Harare, and struck prolific batting form in his final year,
captaining the side, scoring heavily against most opposing teams
and averaging over 100, with many schools unable to dismiss him
at all. He had already scored what was probably his first
century, during an inter-schools holiday cricket tournament; his
team was facing an almost impossible victory target of over 200,
but Andy went for it almost single-handed. He was run out for
116 in the dying moments of the game, his team falling just
short, but his innings showed the strength of character and
determination that was to make him a world-class player.
Unfortunately for him, this year was the transitional one of
Zimbabwe's independence; there was to be no more participation in
the South African Schools Weeks and the local authorities had not
yet been able to organise a proper Zimbabwe Schools Week, so he
was unable to play representative cricket at this level.
He moved on to Vainona High School, and joined the local club,
Old Georgians, at 15. He was immediately selected for the club
second team, and in fact made his first-team debut when only 15
or 16. He continued to play for the club until 1997/98, as a
most successful captain with a young, comparatively inexperienced
team in recent years. In his last three years at high school he
was selected for the Zimbabwe Schools team, captaining the side
in his final two years.
He was by now keeping wicket as well; he always fancied the job
and took the opportunity to try his hand at the age of about 15,
especially as his off-breaks were bringing him decreasing success
against older batsmen. Although he does the job capably and it
enables the national side to play him as a virtual all-rounder,
his keeping has never quite reached the same high standard as his
batting. Although he enjoys the job, he feels it has affected
his batting in the long run, leaving him mentally tired and
preventing him from batting as high in the order as would be best
for him and the team. When he was appointed captain and forced
to take on a triple role, he found after two years the burden too
heavy to bear, and relinquished the captaincy.
Andy made his first-class debut at the age of 18, for a ZCU
President's XI against a strong Young West Indian team, in a
match of similar standard to many played against touring teams
but usually considered not to be of first-class standard by the
administrators of the visiting country, as they had the right to
rule on status. The West Indies, however, were more liberal in
their views and so this match was adjudged first-class. He held
on with great determination for a slow 13, resisting manfully the
pace of Eldine Baptiste in particular. He played as
wicketkeeper, but did not effect any dismissals.
When he left school, Andy worked briefly as an accounts clerk in
the finance department of Anglo American, but hoped to be able to
play cricket overseas. After speaking to Alwyn Pichanick, then
president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, he received an offer to
play for Barnt Green. This club, in the Birmingham League, has
employed several Zimbabwean professionals in recent years. Andy
has since spent many of his Zimbabwean winters playing overseas;
he has also played for West Bromwich Dartmouth, for whom he broke
a league record by scoring 225 not out, for Heywood (both as
amateur and professional) in the Central Lancashire League, and
for Voorburg Cricket Club in The Hague, Holland.
At first-class level, he first played for the full national side
against Lancashire, playing as a batsman, but soon took over the
gloves relinquished by Dave Houghton and has kept his place ever
since. He has to date played in every Test match that Zimbabwe
has played, and also every one-day international since his debut
in the 1991/92 World Cup. His run output gradually increased
with experience; his maiden century came for a Young Zimbabwe XI
against Pakistan B, and perhaps he was again fortunate that this
match was declared first-class, unlike similar matches played
against similar teams from other countries.
His first century in the national side came on his official
one-day international debut, against Sri Lanka in the first World
Cup match of 1992. Opening the batting, as he often used to do
with great success in one-day matches, he batted throughout the
innings for a magnificent unbeaten 115, becoming only the third
batsman ever to score a century on his one-day debut. It was a
major disappointment that this fine innings, although earning him
the Man of the Match award, did not bring victory for his team.
Shortly after came Zimbabwe's inaugural Test, against India. It
was now, Andy feels, that he had really established himself as a
first-class cricketer. Batting at Number Seven after a
night-watchman was used, Andy added to the deeds of those higher
in the order by scoring 59, which he followed with 81 in his next
Test, against New Zealand. But he really drew attention to
himself on the international scene with a remarkable match double
of 115 and 62 not out against India at Delhi. His first-innings
century almost saved Zimbabwe from following on, and match
reports suggested he looked as if he could have batted forever,
but for an uncharacteristically wild stroke which cost him his
wicket.
Andy was appointed captain in succession to Dave Houghton for
Zimbabwe's next series, in Pakistan the following year. He led a
young, inexperienced team well, and they proved competitive
against opponents of the calibre of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
Andy himself scored two useful sixties, but the innings he rates
as his best was his 156 against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club in
1994/95, in the match which brought Zimbabwe their first Test
victory.
Zimbabwe were struggling at 42 for three against Wasim Akram and
his allies, who were doing virtually everything with the ball
except make it talk, when Andy joined his brother Grant at the
wicket. While Grant kept his end intact, Andy seized the
initiative, attacking the bowlers with some fine strokes,
especially his favourite cover drive and cut. Both were still
there at the close, and the fraternal partnership continued to
269, breaking the record of Ian and Greg Chappell for brothers in
Test cricket. Zimbabwe went on to win the match by an innings.
As captain, Andy felt this was his proudest moment.
Andy continued to maintain a Test average of almost 50, but he
felt under increasing pressure with his triple burden of captain,
leading batsman and wicketkeeper. After a stressful World Cup
campaign in the Indian subcontinent, when his own form faltered,
he found he was no longer enjoying his cricket. Rather than
present an ultimatum to the selectors by refusing to keep wicket
any longer, he resigned the captaincy. Relieved of this burden,
he is enjoying his cricket once again and is quite happy to
continue indefinitely in the ranks, batting and keeping wicket.
Looking back on his time as captain, Andy feels that he would
have changed a few things that he did, and been a little harder
in some respects. As it was, there was a feeling in some
quarters that he was a little too hard as captain, in contrast to
his successor Alistair Campbell's more relaxed approach. But he
feels he learned a lot during his three-year tenure and would
have done certain things differently in retrospect.
Andy's batting form in Sri Lanka during the 1996/97 series was
disappointing, but he picked up again in Pakistan. It took him a
while to return to his best form, and it was force of will rather
than top form which brought him an invaluable Test century
against England in Bulawayo. He did little with the bat in the
triangular series in South Africa, but began to strike form again
under difficult conditions in Sharjah. He was happy with his
wicket-keeping, but found his batting form disappointing, partly
due to a couple of minor technical problems which had crept in.
He spent the 1997 English season coaching the Oxford University
team, but had time for only a few games himself, including a
first-class match for M.C.C. against the Pakistan A tourists.
The team won one of its first-class matches, against Glamorgan,
which Andy considers to have been quite an achievement; they also
played well in a very good University match against Cambridge at
Lord's. This was a particularly good record in view of the fact
that they only had one player returning to the team from the
previous season, a lack of experience that was unprecedented.
The comparative break appeared to do him good, as he began the
1997/98 season in superb form. In the opening Logan Cup match
against Mashonaland A he scored his first double-century, and
followed it up with another century against Matabeleland,
enabling him to face New Zealand with great confidence. He also
changed clubs, moving to Universals, feeling that a change would
be good and also in response to a good financial offer. He also
felt that the personnel at Old Georgians has changed so much that
he now had more of his friends at Universals. At the start of
the following season, though, and with the blessing of
Universals, he moved over to assist the young second-league black
club Winstonians, consisting mainly of boys from Churchill High
School, to lend his experience to the development of black
players in Zimbabwe.
In view of his early-season form and his skill against the new
ball, Andy was promoted to number three in the batting order
against New Zealand. However, he surprisingly failed to put
together a major innings against them, his best being 44 in the
final one-day international. In this match he returned to open
the innings again with Grant, in face of a New Zealand total of
294 for seven. He scored 44 off 45 balls before he was run out,
virtually ending Zimbabwe's slim hopes of victory. Otherwise he
was, he feels, too anxious to score quickly and paid the penalty.
He continued to open in the Three Nations tournament in Kenya,
against the home side and Bangladesh. Runs came freely now, and
his successive scores of 81, 72, 70, 66, 79 and 7 won him the Man
of the Series award. In three matches he and Grant put together
century partnerships and Zimbabwe won all their six games with
reasonable ease. He felt, though, that he gave his wicket away
too often when he should have gone on to record a century; he
still hasn't added, in more than 100 matches, to the one-day
international hundred he made on his debut.
He enjoyed a good tour of Sri Lanka with the bat, much better
than his previous tour which he called a nightmare. He puts it
down to greater experience and also developing the ability to
play the world-class spinners on turning pitches. His superb
fighting century in the Second Test should have been rewarded
with Zimbabwe's second Test victory, but a series of poor
umpiring decisions allowed Sri Lanka instead to claim an
undeserved victory. In the one-day series it had been planned
that he should continue to open the batting, but this was
changed, as it was felt that it would be better to use his skill
against the spinners in the middle order. However he failed in
the first two matches before scoring a good 68 in the third.
The team moved on to New Zealand, its morale shattered after the
bitter disappointment of the Second Test, and Andy began the
one-day series with a good 60; his form faltered after that,
though, and disappointed him. He failed in the First Test, but
scored two fine fifties in the Second in difficult circumstances
with the ball seaming and swinging all over the place. Zimbabwe
still lost both Tests heavily, though.
The team returned to Zimbabwe with the depression of the two
tours still hanging over the players. They were revived by Grant
Flower's superb 156 not out against Pakistan, assisted by 44 from
Andy. In the second innings Zimbabwe were reeling at 19 for
three when Andy joined Murray Goodwin, with Waqar Younis rampant
in helpful conditions. The two batsmen fought hard to see off
Waqar, who later left the field with an injury, and then
consolidated against a weakened attack which also lacked Wasim
Akram. They both scored centuries, and their unbroken
partnership of 277 was a new record for any Zimbabwean wicket in
Test cricket; Andy of course participated with Grant in the
previous record of 269. Andy was overshadowed by Murray on this
occasion, losing his timing with his score on 70. But he worked
it through, did not try to force the pace, and was eventually
rewarded with his century. In the Second Test he again shared a
valuable partnership with Goodwin, but this time they were unable
to bat long enough to take Zimbabwe to safety. He did little in
the two one-day matches that followed.
The long season finished with a triangular tournament in India,
with Australia also participating. It was notable for Zimbabwe
losing all four matches by small margins and winning much praise
from all who watched them. Again Andy was not in good enough
batting form to do well until the final match, when he scored a
superb 73 to take Zimbabwe to within sight of the large Indian
total. When he got out, though, the middle order collapsed and
another match was narrowly lost.
He spent the off-season doing fitness training and a lot of speed
work in order to improve his reactions behind the stumps, and
certainly he was to appear a more agile keeper during the 1998/99
season. He admits he is not a brilliant keeper, but is satisfied
that he does a good job, while at the same time seeking ways to
improve his ability.
He played some good 'small' innings against the Indian tourists
without any outstanding feats. In the Test match he stood firm
in the second innings against the spin of Anil Kumble and
Harbhajan Singh while the lower order collapsed about him; he was
stranded on 41 not out and it seemed that the fragility of the
later batting had cost Zimbabwe their chance of victory. But
superb bowling and fielding by the Zimbabweans dismissed the
Indians a second time and won the team a long-overdue second Test
victory.
When Zimbabwe went to Bangladesh for the mini World Cup, Andy
enjoyed a good innings of 77 against New Zealand, including a
century partnership with his good friend Alistair Campbell, only
for New Zealand to snatch the match from their grasp off the last
ball. In Sharjah he was not happy with his batting; he played a
fine innings of 95 against Sri Lanka, but tended to lose his
wicket between 10 and 20.
Things began to come right on the tour to Pakistan, as he scored
a good 61 in the third one-day international. In the First Test
he was yorked first ball by Waqar, an unusual occurrence for he
has notably few ducks or bowled dismissals in his Test career,
but in the second innings he hit the winning boundary to third
man and managed to seize a stump.
As usual he batted consistently well against the weaker attacks
of Kenya and Bangladesh in the triangular tournament in Dhaka,
beginning with three successive fifties. Unfortunately he was
unable to carry this consistency into the World Cup, although
beginning quite well and scoring an invaluable 68 not out against
India. He had a nightmare experience in the Super Six section,
managing just four runs in the three matches, and as much as
anything else it was the failure of both Andy and Grant that led
to the disappointing Zimbabwean performances here.
Andy regards Wasim Akram, followed by Shane Warne, as the most
difficult bowlers he has faced so far in his career. He also
plays tennis and squash, and played rugby and hockey while at
school. He has no specific hobbies outside the sporting world,
but enjoys reading. He would like to see day-night cricket
introduced to Zimbabwe, as he has always enjoyed this aspect of
the game.