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BORN on December 20, 1970, former Zimbabwe national team cricketer Grant Flower turned 46 on Tuesday. The all-rounder, known for his feats in the One-Day International (ODI) format, was known for forming a formidable alliance with his elder and more prolific brother Andy Flower.
Flower’s Zimbabwe career was disrupted following the 2004 crisis, but he made a surprise comeback in 2010. Rishad D’Souza brings you some facts about the life of the fitness freak.
Promising debut
Grant Flower made his Test debut in 1992 in a match against India. He showed a lot of promise scoring 82 runs in the first innings of that match setting up a commanding total of 456 for his team. However, Flower never quite lived up to that promise through the course of his Test career.
Instead, he became an asset in the ODI circuit.
Zimbabwe’s most prolific ODI opener
Flower finished his Zimbabwean career comfortably as their highest-scoring ODI opener. In 137 innings as an opener, he amassed 4 409 runs at an average of 33.15 with four hundreds to his name. The next best is Hamilton Masakadza with just 2 595 runs as an opener. It looks like Flower will retain that record for a long time to come.
Flower-Power
The Flower brothers — Grant and Andy — learnt their cricket together under the guidance of their father and often played together at the grade level. Years of playing together created a fantastic chemistry between them which they translated into success on the international stage. The brothers were involved in 12 century partnerships in the ODI format, adding 3 942 runs together at an average of 46.92 from 88 innings. Their strong performances earned them the label ‘Flower-Power’. “I’ve always enjoyed batting with my brother Andy. I’ve learned a lot off him and we bat well together. We knew each other’s game very well and that helped us a lot with running between the wickets,” Flower said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.
Early retirement due to rebel crisis
In 2004, Zimbabwe was rocked by a great crisis owing to the sacking of Heath Streak as captain allegedly due to him being a white player. A group of players put their weight behind Streak and threatened to retire if Streak was not reinstated. Unfortunately, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) stood its ground and 13 players called their retirements including Grant Flower.
Success with Essex
Flower was 34 at the time of international retirement, but was confident enough of his cricketing skills to take up a contract with Essex. He joined his brother Andy Flower at the club. He enjoyed great success with the club through the years. In the 72 games he played for England between 2005 and 2009, he scored 2 038 runs at an average of 42.45 and took 36 wickets at a respectable average of 31.47.
Shock return for Zimbabwe
In 2010, on the insistence of former teammate Alastair Campbell, he made a return to the Zimbabwe national side that surprised everyone.
However, he did not find much success in his endeavour and kept his comeback stint short as in his own words he did not wish to hold back any young, upcoming player at his expense. Campbell wanted him to play the 2011 World Cup, but Flower relented.
Genuine passion to help Zimbabwe cricket
Flower seemed genuine in his love for Zimbabwean cricket and hoped to play a role in the re-development of Zimbabwean cricket despite the bitter episode that cut his career short in 2004. He even sacrificed a lucrative contract with Essex in order to make a comeback for Zimbabwe, which he did not pursue on feeling that he could have been a hindrance to the team.
Fitness Freak
The secret to Flower’s longevity was his strict fitness regime. That also explains why he was one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent and valuable close-in fielders. He emphasised on the importance of fitness in cricket with the teams he now coaches.
Coaching career
Flower developed a taste for the job of imparting his knowledge of cricket even while he was still an active player. In fact, while he played the final matches of his career with Zimbabwe in 2010, he was already appointed as their batting coach.
Started career as seam-bowler
Grant Flower in his younger days created ripples in the school cricket circuit more with his bowling than batting and even his style of bowling was different. He started as a seam bowler but later took to spin bowling. — Cricketcountry.com
Online Reporter