Online Reporter
HE loves a quiet life at his family farm in Ruwa, spending time with his parents, playing golf and he wasn’t even a cricket fan when he was a kid.
But, all that has now changed for Brian Bennett who begins his first ICC T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka today when the Chevrons take on Oman.
Bennett, who is only 22, is now one of the key players for the Chevrons.
“I just want to make Zimbabwe very competitive again, compete against the big teams, compete in every World Cup that comes,” Bennett says.
“I just want to win games for Zimbabwe. Try how hard I can, make us compete against those big teams and even cause some upsets.”
Bennett did not grow up glued to the television, memorising cover drives or counting centuries.
There were no posters on the wall, no childhood declarations of destiny. Instead, there was a cricket net in the backyard, a twin brother at the other end, and hours that quietly stacked into something meaningful.
“I didn’t really follow cricket that much when I was young” Bennett told Cricbuzz.
“I used to play cricket at school growing up with my brothers and my dad. It was only around under-19s that I started following Zimbabwe cricket properly.”
That unassuming beginning says a lot about the cricketer Zimbabwe have found themselves leaning on so early.
His twin brother, who played alongside him in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, was central to those formative years, turning backyard sessions into endless contests.
“I got a twin brother that I obviously grew up with,” he says.
“So my dad bought us a cricket net at home. We always used to play in the nets on the weekends after school or holidays. It was nice. There were two of us.
“One could bat, one could bowl. We just used to spend hours in the nets together.”
Cricket wasn’t the only sport competing for his attention.
Like many Zimbabwean schoolboys, Bennett grew up multi-skilled playing hockey, squash and rugby as well.
In school, it predominantly narrowed down to cricket and hockey.
“I went to a good junior school and a good high school here in Zimbabwe,” he recalls.
“So it was compulsory to play at least two category sports. Mine was cricket and hockey. Cricket in the summer and hockey in the winter. It was quite competitive. We always used to have good matches against a few other schools on the weekends.”
Bennett’s father, a blueberry farmer, was a cricketer himself who played club cricket and a handful of first-class games for Young Mashonaland.
“He played with the likes of Andrew Waller, Dave Houghton, Andy Flower, Grant Flower,” Bennett recalls.
“Just like club level or sort of like A-league level, I think. So, yeah, he had good stories of playing with some of the Zimbabwean legends like Heath Streak, Henry Olonga.”
Despite Zimbabwean cricket’s turbulence in the late 2000s around the time Bennett grew up, there was no discouragement from the father when Brian chose the game seriously.
“No, definitely not,” he says when asked if his father had any concerns. He always supported me with my decision of wanting to carry on with cricket. “Look, I think it’s now changed from back how it was then, back in those days. I think it’s very competitive now. I think Zimbabwe cricket is in a good space at the moment.”
And, for him, there is no place like home.
“Back home in Zimbabwe we’ve got a farm out in Ruwa, just outside of Harare” he says.
“So, I can go out there and spend a few days at home with my parents. And also I like to play a lot of golf.
“That’s always a good activity to keep you busy and keep your mind off the game.”
His exploits in red-ball cricket in particular have already grabbed eyeballs.
A century in his first home Test, twin fifties in his maiden Test in the sub-continent (in Bangladesh) and a spectacular 139 at Trent Bridge in Zimbabwe’s first Test in English soil in over two decades. – Cricbuzz
Bongani Ndlovu
derick.khumalo