Cricketers from Zimbabwe have provided much pleasure to cricket followers during their short and infrequent visits to this country. As they have illustrated during their first decade of playing Test cricket, they possess many of the qualities required for the longer game but at the same time have also displayed the effervescence that is associated with limited overs cricket. At least a couple of Zimbabwe players have provided the kind of sparkling cricket that would rank their performances alongside the many outstanding feats notched up by visiting players in India.

The first such performance was Dave Houghton's 141 against New Zealand in a Reliance World Cup encounter at Hyderabad in October 1987. It is a knock that is fondly remembered by those lucky enough to have seen it. Both teams were playing their opening encounter in the tournament and few gave Zimbabwe any chance of even giving their experienced opponents a scare. New Zealand led off with 242 for seven in 50 overs and seemed to have sewn the match up by dismissing seven Zimbabwe batsmen for 104 runs. Houghton was in good touch and had reached his half-century but he had little support. Now, at last he found an able partner in Ian Butchart and the two brought Zimbabwe back into the match with an eighth wicket partnership of 117 ­ then the highest eighth wicket partnership in one-day internationals.

Houghton dominated the stand with some dazzling shots and he got Zimbabwe to within 22 runs of their target in the 47th over. By this time, he had raced to 141 from 138 balls with three sixes and 13 fours. It took a great running catch by Martin Crowe almost on the boundary line to dismiss him. But when he was out at 221, Zimbabwe still had a chance of pulling off an upset victory. They wanted six from the final over but Butchart was run out off the fourth ball and New Zealand squeaked home by three runs.

When Zimbabwe, within months after playing their inaugural Test, came over to India for a short tour of one Test and three one-day internationals, they were given little chance to do well in the face of a formidable batting line-up and an in-form spin trio bowling on tailor-made pitches. But one player stood out in the Test match.

Andy Flower gave an early indication of why over the years he would take his place among the world's leading batsmen, a player difficult to dislodge and one with an insatiable appetite for runs. In the face of an imposing Indian total of 536 for seven declared, the pugnacious left-hander led Zimbabwe's defiance with a century of character. With brother Grant (96) he added 192 runs for the fourth wicket, dominating the stand in scoring 115. He batted 289 minutes and got his runs from 236 balls. Despite his courageous knock in trying circumstances, Zimbabwe were forced to follow on.

In the second innings, the Indian spin trio of Rajesh Chauhan, Anil Kumble and Maninder Singh found it impossible to dismiss Andy Flower. In a more subdued innings, he batted 214 minutes and 191 balls for an unbeaten 62. Zimbabwe were all out for 201 to lose by an innings and 13 runs. But displaying defence of a high calibre on a wearing wicket, Flower batted almost eight and a half hours in all to ensure that Zimbabwe, though beaten, were far from disgraced.

But even this stout-hearted performance almost pales into insignificance when placed alongside Andy Flower's own feats on the 2000-2001 tour of this country. By this time, he was recognised as the country's leading batsman who did not let the additional duties behind the stumps affect his batting. And he proved this in spades with a superb showing in the two Tests. His intense concentration, single- minded dedication towards the pursuit of runs and insatiable appetite for big scores saw him set a record that stood alongside those of other great batsmen who have visited India. In the first Test at New Delhi, he came in when the score was 134 for three and this soon became 155 for five. By expertly farming the strike, Flower with the help of the tail saw the total reach 422. This great rearguard action culminated in a last wicket partnership of 97 runs in about 2-1/2 hours with Henry Olonga (11).

Flower remained unbeaten on 183 for which he batted 466 balls and faced 351 balls, hitting 24 fours and two sixes in the process. In the second innings, in a total of 225, he again top-scored with 70. In the second Test at Nagpur, Flower continued from where he left off at the Kotla. In the first innings, his contribution was a modest 55. But when Zimbabwe followed on 227 runs behind, Flower was defiance personified. After three wickets had fallen for 61, he and Alistair Campbell (102) added 209 runs for the fourth wicket. The final day was completely dominated by Flower and there was never any chance of him being dismissed. When the match ended in a draw with Zimbabwe 503 for six, Flower was still unconquered on 232. This time he batted 544 minutes, faced 444 balls and hit 30 fours and two sixes.

His aggregate of 540 runs in two Tests gave him a mind-boggling average of 270.00. In all, he had batted 1331 minutes and negotiated 1021 deliveries in the two Tests. It certainly rates as one of the great endurance feats in Test history.

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