Grant Flower
Encyclopedia
Grant William Flower is a Zimbabwean cricket
er. He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his handy left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spends hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder who was usually seen in the gully. "Flower Power", the combination of Grant and his brother Andy Flower
, was the mainstay of Zimbabwean batting for a decade. He was his team's most successful opening batsman who played the role of anchorman, with strokeplayers coming in down the order. He played a lead role in, arguably, Zimbabwe's finest Test victory, against a strong Pakistan side. He would show a liking for the Pakistani side over his career, averaging over 40 against them and scoring 3 centuries
including an unbeaten 201. Grant Flower needs to score 215 runs to overtake his brother Andy as the country's leading run scorer in ODI cricket.
(now Harare); he was educated along with his brother Andy at North Park School where they were the best players in their age groups. Although always an allrounder, he bowled seamers in his early days and his bowling was rated more than his batting. It was in high school, at St. George's College
where he changed to spin bowling.
In the summer of 1990/91 his elevation to a professional cricketer was confirmed when he was employed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. His debut first-class game for Zimbabwe came against England A. In his second match he opened the innings and was rewarded with a fifty adding what would be the first of many century partnerships with his brother Andy.
At just 19, Flower was part of the 1990 ICC tournament where the winner would qualify for the World Cup. Zimbabwe would go on to win the competition with Grant Flower scoring heavily in the early games. Had they not won the competition it is likely that Zimbabwe would not have made their rise to Test cricket, at least not until much later. Despite a good tournament, Grant Flower was not selected for the 1992 World Cup
.
.jpg)
After the World Cup Zimbabwe were promoted to Test status
and Flower was unanimously selected to play against the Indians for the Inaugural Test match. On a flat pitch, he opened the batting for his country and dominated in a 100 run opening stand. He would go on to score 82, falling short of a century on Test debut. Zimbabwe again met the Indians this time on their home turf and again fell just short of a maiden Test century when he fell for 96.
Pakistan toured Zimbabwe in 1995 and in the 1st Test Flower finally scored his maiden Test century. Not content, he went on to register double hundred. He hit only 12 boundaries and faced 523 balls as Zimbabwe scored a massive 4/544 declared. His innings would help Zimbabwe to win their first ever Test match as they won by a convincing Innings and 64 Runs. He would continue to haunt the Pakistani side, scoring his second Test century at Sheikhupura Stadium in Pakistan.
In 1997 Flower became the first Zimbabwean to score a double century in both innings of a Test match. Playing against New Zealand in Harare, he scored 204 and 251. A year later he scored his 5th Test century, an innings of 156 not out at Queens Sports Club against Pakistan. He would suffer a form slump after that innings, not scoring a 99 for 33 innings including 6 ducks
. On 25 November 2000 he ended his slump with a fine 106 against India and would go on to score 4 50's in his next 6 innings.
By the end of his ODI career, Flower had taken more wickets than any other Zimbabwean bowler except Heath Streak
. His ODI statistics make better reading than his Test statistics. He would score 6 ODI tons and had it not been for the nervous nineties
may have had many more. 9 times he was either unbeaten or dismissed in the 90's. One of his most memorable centuries would come in the final of a one-day triangular tournament in Bangladesh. Playing against Kenya he smashed an 82 ball century and finished with 140, just 2 short of David Houghton's national record.
as a Kolpak player where he would play alongside his brother Andy. There was some grumbling amongst Essex supporters at his signing, but this appeared to die down after his first season, when he topped the Essex 2005 List-A batting averages and was third in the number of wickets taken.
to be held in India.
He made his international return in October 2010 the first ODI of a three-match series vs South Africa.
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 rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his handy left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spends hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder who was usually seen in the gully. "Flower Power", the combination of Grant and his brother Andy Flower
Andy Flower
Andrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...
, was the mainstay of Zimbabwean batting for a decade. He was his team's most successful opening batsman who played the role of anchorman, with strokeplayers coming in down the order. He played a lead role in, arguably, Zimbabwe's finest Test victory, against a strong Pakistan side. He would show a liking for the Pakistani side over his career, averaging over 40 against them and scoring 3 centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
including an unbeaten 201. Grant Flower needs to score 215 runs to overtake his brother Andy as the country's leading run scorer in ODI cricket.
Early days
Grant Flower was born in SalisburyHarare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
(now Harare); he was educated along with his brother Andy at North Park School where they were the best players in their age groups. Although always an allrounder, he bowled seamers in his early days and his bowling was rated more than his batting. It was in high school, at St. George's College
St George's College, Harare
St George's College, is a private Catholic boys school based in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is recognised as one of the best secondary schools in Africa...
where he changed to spin bowling.
In the summer of 1990/91 his elevation to a professional cricketer was confirmed when he was employed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. His debut first-class game for Zimbabwe came against England A. In his second match he opened the innings and was rewarded with a fifty adding what would be the first of many century partnerships with his brother Andy.
At just 19, Flower was part of the 1990 ICC tournament where the winner would qualify for the World Cup. Zimbabwe would go on to win the competition with Grant Flower scoring heavily in the early games. Had they not won the competition it is likely that Zimbabwe would not have made their rise to Test cricket, at least not until much later. Despite a good tournament, Grant Flower was not selected for the 1992 World Cup
1992 Cricket World Cup
-New Zealand:-Round Robin Stage:Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They...
.
Test career
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...
and Flower was unanimously selected to play against the Indians for the Inaugural Test match. On a flat pitch, he opened the batting for his country and dominated in a 100 run opening stand. He would go on to score 82, falling short of a century on Test debut. Zimbabwe again met the Indians this time on their home turf and again fell just short of a maiden Test century when he fell for 96.
Pakistan toured Zimbabwe in 1995 and in the 1st Test Flower finally scored his maiden Test century. Not content, he went on to register double hundred. He hit only 12 boundaries and faced 523 balls as Zimbabwe scored a massive 4/544 declared. His innings would help Zimbabwe to win their first ever Test match as they won by a convincing Innings and 64 Runs. He would continue to haunt the Pakistani side, scoring his second Test century at Sheikhupura Stadium in Pakistan.
In 1997 Flower became the first Zimbabwean to score a double century in both innings of a Test match. Playing against New Zealand in Harare, he scored 204 and 251. A year later he scored his 5th Test century, an innings of 156 not out at Queens Sports Club against Pakistan. He would suffer a form slump after that innings, not scoring a 99 for 33 innings including 6 ducks
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. On 25 November 2000 he ended his slump with a fine 106 against India and would go on to score 4 50's in his next 6 innings.
One Day International career
Heath Streak
Heath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi...
. His ODI statistics make better reading than his Test statistics. He would score 6 ODI tons and had it not been for the nervous nineties
Nervous nineties
The Nervous Nineties is a commonly used term in cricket.The term refers to a specific form of analysis paralysis, when a batsman feels when he has scored more than 90 runs in a test innings, and is nervous because of the pressure and desire to convert this into a century . Therefore this situation...
may have had many more. 9 times he was either unbeaten or dismissed in the 90's. One of his most memorable centuries would come in the final of a one-day triangular tournament in Bangladesh. Playing against Kenya he smashed an 82 ball century and finished with 140, just 2 short of David Houghton's national record.
Retirement
In 2004 he announced his retirement from international cricket. This was due largely to the dispute between the rebels and the Zimbabwean Cricket Union. He signed a contract with EssexEssex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
as a Kolpak player where he would play alongside his brother Andy. There was some grumbling amongst Essex supporters at his signing, but this appeared to die down after his first season, when he topped the Essex 2005 List-A batting averages and was third in the number of wickets taken.
Return to international cricket
Following another fine season for Essex which turned out to be his last season of county cricket, Grant Flower was handed a shock recall to the Zimbabwe team for the tour of South Africa. He is expected to combine playing duties with his role of batting coach of the national side and could be in contention to play in the 2011 Cricket World Cup2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
to be held in India.
He made his international return in October 2010 the first ODI of a three-match series vs South Africa.