Date-stamped : 16 Sep97 - 14:08
12 Sep 1997

Zimbabwe cricket squad almost crippled by injuries

Zimbabwe Inbependent

INJURIES to several key national squad members have cast a pall
over Zimbabwe's upcoming cricket series against New Zealand.
Compounding the hosts' problems is the fact that all are strike
bowlers: Eddo Brandes, Heath Streak, Henry Olonga and Everton
Matambanadzo. A hand injury has ruled Olonga out of the series.
Brandes (ankle), Streak (groin) and Matambanadzo (shins) have
coped adequately with intense fielding sessions. However as of
last Monday, Brandes ^Ö whose injury is considered the worst had
yet to bowl in the nets.

Earlier this week the 33-year-old chicken farmer, chief
destroyer of the English tourists in the one-day series in
January, had a cortisone injection in his ankle which,
worryingly, has failed to respond to intense physiotherapy.

Brandes has been dogged by injury. When an old Achilles injuries
flared up during the World Series in Australia in 1994/95, he
was forced to return home early. The injury, sustained during
the 1993/94 tour of Pakistan, made it difficult for him to
maintain his fitness. He was overlooked for the home series
against Sri Lanka, held shortly before the World Series, and was
unavailable due to injury for the tour of Pakistan shortly
after.

He came back in 1994/95 but played only two matches, including a
memorable one for the Zimbabwe Board XI against Griqualand West,
in which he scored 165 not out and took 9-93, before breaking
down with another injury, this time to his back. The carrot of
playing against South Africa was all the motivation Brandes
needed to start the long and arduous rehabilitation process.

He made an unspec-tacular return in the second one-day
international against Hansie Cronje's men but, following
Zimbabwe's tour of New Zealand and the World Cup, set the
cricket world alight with his inspirational performances against
England.

It is for this reason that Brandes's team mates, the Zimbabwe
Cricket Union, and his legions of fans will be agonising over
this latest setback in his chequered career. However
player-coach Dave Houghton is not about to hit the panic button.
"We've got adequate replacements," he said four days before New
Zealand's opening match against Mashonaland Country Districts.

"It's not something that's worrying me. Obviously you like to
have your big name players but I'm quite comfortable with the
replacements we've got, with people like Brian Strang, who's
bowled well overseas all season... and who might still get a
position under normal circumstances "John Rennie has been
bowling well ^Ö he was one of the better Matabeleland bowlers in
the recent Logan Cup match, and Mpumelelo "Pommy" Mbangwa is a
good up-and-coming young bowler ^Ö he played a Test against
Pakistan and never disgraced himself," he said.

The selectors have selected all of the injured seamers, except
Olonga in the provisional squad of 18 players announced early
this week. The squad will be trimmed down to 14 after the
weekend.

Also in the selection frame is Matabeleland's Adam Huckle who,
if he played in the first Test in Harare, on a pitch that is
expected to turn on the final two days, would be one of two
leg-spinners in the team, the other being Paul Strang, a
shoo-in.

"It adds a very interesting dimension to our cricket: the
possibility of having two leg spinners in a Test match,"
Houghton said. "It's one, I must admit, I relish."

"A good leg spinner thrives on bounce ^Ö it's not just how much
he can turn it," said Houghton.

Strang, who in August was the leading foreign player in the
County Cricket Championship, based on the White & Mackay
rankings, the county equivalent of the Coopers & Lybrand
rankings, will be arriving in Zimbabwe on Saturday, three days
before the first Test. Will Strang's relatively late arrival
upset Zimbabwe's preparations?

No, according to Houghton: "The difference with Paul is that
he's playing full-time cricket and so to bring him back here on
the first of September like the rest of us would've achieved a
limited amount."

The team: A Campell (capt); A Flower (v capt); E Brandes; C
Evans; G Flower; D Houghton; A Huckle; E Matambanadzo; M
Mbangwa; G Rennie; J Rennie; B Strang; P Strang; H Streak; D
Viljoen; A Whittal; G Whittall; C Wishart.

Source :: The Zimbabwe Independent

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