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THE Centurion Pub & Grill is an iconic pub in Harare.
It is housed at Harare Sports Club and, for years, it has been the unofficial pub of Zimbabwe Cricket.
This is the pub where cricket fans flock to have a drink or chat about the game, whenever there is an international cricket match at Harare Sports Club.
When you visit the pub you will also see some of the best newspaper headlines related to some of the Chevrons’ finest hours framed for posterity and hung on the pub’s walls.
You will see some of the finest pictures of local cricketers also framed for posterity and hanging on the walls of this pub.
It is like a walk into the history of our cricket and you will see the famous The Herald street bill, “ZIM MURDER ENGLAND” also framed and hanging on the walls of this pub.
It’s a story from England’s tour of Zimbabwe in 1995/1996 when the Chevrons somehow managed to frustrate the visitors and force a 2-2 draw in the Test series.
The then England coach, David Lloyd, was frustrated by the Chevrons’ tactics and thundered: “We murdered them, we got on top and steamrollered them. We flipping hammered them.”
But, it was the Chevrons who had the last laugh as they whitewashed England 3-0 in the ODI series with Eddo Brandes getting a hat-trick.
“Of all the souvenirs that England’s one-day players might wish to bring back from Zimbabwe, a limited-edition print inspired by the 1995/96 tour will probably not be among them,” the BBC noted in their report.
“Pictured in Zimbabwe’s one-day strip, Eddo Brandes, the burly farmer from Mashonaland, can be seen clutching two plucked chickens — one with David Lloyd’s features, the other with Mike Atherton’s.
“Below lies a simple caption: ‘Now that’s what we call murder!’”
You will also see the famous picture of Australia, with nine players in the clip cordon, during a match against the Chevrons in 1999, hanging on the walls of this pub.
They say it was the first time in the history of cricket that a team had nine fielders in the slip cordon.
The iconic pub has hit hard times, workers haven’t been paid since January and the management have conceded that their business is in trouble.
Our view is that the pub should not be shut down but we believe it should be taken over by Zimbabwe Cricket.
We feel the ZC officials can use this pub not only as a revenue generation arm but also to preserve the history of the game.
They can turn it into some sort of museum and cricket fans can go there and take a look at the history of the sport in this country. Every cricket fan associates oneself with this iconic pub, which has served some of the world’s greatest cricketers.
It should not be allowed to be closed and we feel Zimbabwe Cricket have a big role to play to ensure that does not happen.
Online Reporter