FULL NAME: Sherezad Omarshah
BORN: At Harare, 1 August 1983
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2001/02). Present club side: Universals
KNOWN AS: Sherezad Shah. Shez, Shezzy, Buzzard.
BATTING STYLE: Left Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy student

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 5-6 April 2002, CFX Academy v Midlands, at Kwekwe Sports Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (April 2002)

Sherezad Shah has an excellent cricketing pedigree, as his uncle is former Test all-rounder Ali Shah (proper name Omarshah), who still plays club cricket himself and remains Sherezad's mentor. Sherezad's father, Ali's brother, played some cricket himself but Ali has been the major influence from the beginning.

Sherezad remembers first playing cricket at the age of about four, and almost immediately Ali was involved, coaching, advising and encouraging his nephew. In 1991 the influence was temporarily halted as Sherezad's family emigrated to South Africa. Before then Sherezad had played at a junior level at Selborne Routledge School in Harare, but his organized cricket really started in Nelspruit, in South Africa.

In Form Two he graduated to his school's first team after taking five wickets for 19 runs and an innings of 136 not out at Under-15 level. He played for the Lowveld side, but had no provincial cricket at age-group level. He also played for the Impala club in Mpumalanga.

In 2000 he decided to return to Zimbabwe by himself, knowing the opportunities for quick advancement to be better and aiming for a place in the national Under-19 team. Again he fell under Ali's influence, living with his family, and he finally succeeded in gaining a place in the Under-19 team for the World Cup, although he did not actually play in any of the matches. Before that, he played in a quadrangular tournament with South Africa, Kenya and Namibia, where he took two for five in six overs against Kenya.

Sherezad was soon playing briefly for Prince Edward School, and also for Ali's club Universals, where he impressed with his pace bowling, and also some gutsy innings when his team was in difficulty, often in partnership with his uncle. In the 50-over league major performances are always at a premium, and Sherezad's best figures were three for 40, while batting down the order he had no opportunity to make any major scores. He sees himself more as a bowler who bats, the other way round from his uncle, but he is working hard at his batting and has the potential to become a genuine all-rounder.

With Ali's encouragement Sherezad successfully applied for a place in the CFX Academy in 2002. An injury in the lower back prevented him from making his Logan Cup debut until the fourth match of the programme.

As a batsman he feels his main strength is in his attacking strokes, where he is strongest on the leg side, where he enjoys playing the wristy strokes for which Asians are often renowned. He sees himself as a useful batsman at between numbers six and eight. With the ball he takes a pride in his accuracy, able to swing the ball, mainly away from the right-hander, and can also work up a bit of pace. He has a good throwing arm and likes to field on the boundary.

Cricket heroes: Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee: "I like to see fast bowlers." As batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis.

Toughest opponents: "When we played against Takashinga, probably Hamilton Masakadza. I think off-spinners have given me trouble, but when we played in Kwekwe Raymond Price was very difficult to face."

Personal ambitions: "I do have ambitions, but I've been told not to try too hard because then it won't happen. Maybe in two years' time I'll be playing for Zimbabwe."

Proudest achievement so far: "60 not out for Prince Edward School on a South African tour, and four for 28."

Best friends in cricket: "I like to think of myself as my best friend because only I can make myself do well. But I can always get encouragement from others. I can name Jordane Nicolle, Tatenda Taibu and Allan Mwayenga."

Other qualifications: None.

Other sports: "I used to play soccer but not for a club."

Outside interests: Computers - "I like to keep up to date with technology."

Views on cricket: "I'd like to see people getting a chance if they work really hard."

© Cricinfo