Andy Blignaut
Encyclopedia
Arnoldus "Andy" Mauritius Blignaut (born 1 August 1978) is a Zimbabwe
an cricket
er. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping his wicket
intact through many overs is a rare event. Due to this, he more often plays ODIs, where many runs in a short time are desired, than he plays Tests
.
His ODI strike rate is over 100 (as of November 2007), with a high score of 63 not out, and an average of just 19. His bowling average is just above 41, with best bowling figures of 4/43, and an economy of 5.34. He is also a fine fielder.
Blignaut took a hat-trick against Bangladesh in a test match Harare on 22nd February 2004. He was the first, and to date only, bowler to take a test hat-trick for Zimbabwe.
In the Australian season 2004/2005, Blignaut was contracted to play for Tasmania
in the Australian Domestic Competition. Unfortunately injury and poor form prevented him from playing all but a couple of games for the state. He even struggled to make an impact at club level. Eventually he returned to Zimbabwe to re-join the Test side. The second year of his contract with Tasmania was cancelled.
After playing the series against New Zealand and India in 2005, he withdrew himself from Zimbabwe selection because of not being paid by ZC for the both series he played after his return. It seems that ZC was either unable or unwilling to pay him his dues. Although he was a very possible candidate for the captaincy for the Kenya series, he made it crystal clear that he is not going to return if he is not paid.
He signed a contract with South African domestic side Highveld Lions for 2006 season. After 2006, he seemed to completely disappear from cricket scene. It is believed that he returned to Zimbabwe then and started to play some social cricket there. Nowadays he’s based in both SA and Zim working on the family business. At the age of 31 and keeping in mind that he is a very aggressive potential player, Zimbabwean chief selector Alistair Campbell has talked with him about a possible return and it is said that he is interested in it. It remains to be seen that if he turns out for a franchise side in the brand new Zimbabwean franchise season. His return is almost certain.
He hails from an Afrikaner
farming family of French Huguenot extraction, and is by all accounts an easy-going, friendly man.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping his wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
intact through many overs is a rare event. Due to this, he more often plays ODIs, where many runs in a short time are desired, than he plays Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
His ODI strike rate is over 100 (as of November 2007), with a high score of 63 not out, and an average of just 19. His bowling average is just above 41, with best bowling figures of 4/43, and an economy of 5.34. He is also a fine fielder.
Blignaut took a hat-trick against Bangladesh in a test match Harare on 22nd February 2004. He was the first, and to date only, bowler to take a test hat-trick for Zimbabwe.
In the Australian season 2004/2005, Blignaut was contracted to play for Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
in the Australian Domestic Competition. Unfortunately injury and poor form prevented him from playing all but a couple of games for the state. He even struggled to make an impact at club level. Eventually he returned to Zimbabwe to re-join the Test side. The second year of his contract with Tasmania was cancelled.
After playing the series against New Zealand and India in 2005, he withdrew himself from Zimbabwe selection because of not being paid by ZC for the both series he played after his return. It seems that ZC was either unable or unwilling to pay him his dues. Although he was a very possible candidate for the captaincy for the Kenya series, he made it crystal clear that he is not going to return if he is not paid.
He signed a contract with South African domestic side Highveld Lions for 2006 season. After 2006, he seemed to completely disappear from cricket scene. It is believed that he returned to Zimbabwe then and started to play some social cricket there. Nowadays he’s based in both SA and Zim working on the family business. At the age of 31 and keeping in mind that he is a very aggressive potential player, Zimbabwean chief selector Alistair Campbell has talked with him about a possible return and it is said that he is interested in it. It remains to be seen that if he turns out for a franchise side in the brand new Zimbabwean franchise season. His return is almost certain.
He hails from an Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
farming family of French Huguenot extraction, and is by all accounts an easy-going, friendly man.
External links
- http://sandbox.zimcricketnews.com/node/2147
- http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/242009.html
- http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/55259.html