Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SOME people can say they have cheated death once.
Yet in the case of former Zimbabwe international cricketer Guy Whittall, the 52-year-old is probably one of a handful who can say they have done it twice.
In fact, there is an argument to be made that the former Zimbabwe Chevrons’ all-rounder has actually evaded the Grim Reaper a total of three times.
But then, again, his first near encounter with death can be said to be a bit of a stretch.
“Well, I have always been into sport for as long as I can remember,” said Whittall.
“Growing up on a farm, we used to play soccer, but it was not with the conventional football balls, but those homemade plastics.
“At school, I tried anything and everything. I tried my hand at water polo and almost drowned after the first two minutes and never went back again.
“I dabbled into a little basketball and even rugby.”
As it turns out, almost drowning while still at Falcon College would be the precursor for two more near-death experiences.
The first one occurred back in 2013 when, years after his retirement from cricket, he spent the night with a 165kg Nile crocodile at Humani Ranch, the Whittalls’ game reserve in southeastern Zimbabwe.
The crocodile had made its way into Whittall’s house from a nearby river and spent the night under his bed.
It was only discovered in the morning by a househelp, who understandably screamed for help as he had his breakfast in the kitchen.
“I woke up in the morning, brushed my teeth, tied my shoelaces and walked out of the room,” he said nonchalantly.
“At the time, I did not know that the crocodile’s jaws were like 20 centimetres away from my feet as they dangled off the bed.
“I then walked out of the room to go and make myself some coffee and only realised something was wrong when I heard our maid screaming. She was mortified and couldn’t speak.”
Whittall went into the room to investigate and found the crocodile under his bed.
Roughly 11 years later, Whittall would then experience his second brush with death.
This time, the Grim Reaper appeared to him in the form of a leopard.
Here, he was mauled by a leopard he had been tracking after it attacked one of his clients at the family conservancy.
His wife, Hannah Stooks-Whittall, is the one who broke the news in a Facebook post that was accompanied by graphic pictures of Whittall being treated in the bush after sustaining cuts on his arms and legs, as well as a huge gash on his head.
A picture taken later showed Whittall in hospital with his head heavily bandaged, but giving a thumbs-up to the camera.
He lost “a lot of blood” in the attack, Hannah added, but his injuries might have been even more severe had it not been for his pet dog, Chikara, which helped to wrestle the leopard off him.
He was then airlifted to a nearby clinic. He was later transferred to Milton Park Hospital.
“The attack happened in the Save Valley Conservancy and the wounds are all healed now,” said the former Zimbabwe all-rounder. “The doctors did a really amazing job patching me up. The back of my head was opened up. I was bleeding profusely but the doctors did a great job stitching me up.”
He added: “When you get ripped apart at the back of your head, you lose a lot of blood and, at my age, one has to be very careful because you are very vulnerable to a lot of things.”
Whittall revealed that the near-death experiences have done very little to quell his love and passion for the wild.
In fact, he is deeply involved in hunting and all things nature.
“After cricket, I went back to the safari industry,” he said. “I am a professional hunter, and do most of my work between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“I hunt down anything and everything, from elephants, buffaloes and leopards, which are the most dangerous game, to some of the smaller species.
“It (hunting) is not something to brag about, but I do love the wild and have a passion for guiding people.
“Sharing a campfire with people who love the wild and have always wanted to enjoy the safari life brings me joy.”
One of the tragedies to come out of these two ordeals, sadly, is that it has become all too easy to forget the one thing that brought Whittall to the global stage — cricket.
Now, when people hear his name being mentioned, one of the first things that comes to mind are the crocodile and leopard attack stories.
However, there is a special place for Whittall in the annals of Zimbabwe cricket.
Born on September 5, 1972, Whittall was known as an aggressive middle-order batter, who could score useful runs, even centuries, at Test level during his days.
He was a handy medium-pace change bowler with the knack of taking useful wickets, besides being a very good outfielder with a fine throw.
Originally selected for his batting, he developed into a seamer, combining away swing with nip off the pitch.
At the age of 16, he was selected for the national schools’ side and scored a century in the Logan Cup (in its pre-first-class days) for Zimbabwe Schools against the Harare Central team.
He made his first-class debut at 18, and his Test debut against Pakistan shortly afterwards.
During his decade-long international career, he played a total of 46 Tests and 147 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), scoring 2 207 and 2 705 runs, respectively.
Whittall’s storied career is full of little nuggets that put him right up there with some of the most colourful characters to ever wear the Chevrons’ red and gold.
Among them are tales of Whittall attempting to walk back to the pavilion, after a dismissal, but going the wrong direction.
He did so on two separate occasions.
“I think we were playing Australia at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) and I got caught behind pretty early into my innings,” said Whittall, a good character on and off the pitch.
“Feeling very sorry for myself, I started to make my way back to the pavilion and, unbeknownst to me, I was going in the wrong direction.
“I then looked up and the crowd was going crazy, some 30 000 or 40 000 people screaming and pointing in one direction.
“I didn’t really know my way around the ground at that time, and decided to go in the direction where everyone was pointing.
“My walk back to the pavilion then turned into a lap of honour, and everything only started to make sense when I saw Dave Houghton walk in to bat.”
It was one of his two favourite nuggets from his time on tour.
The other one included a chance encounter with his favourite rugby player Frank Barnes and the alcohol-laced conversation they had.
“Whisky can talk, hey!” he said. “We were in Hamilton, in a bar called the Bank, which we would frequent every time we toured New Zealand.
“One particular evening, while we were having our drinks, the rugby team came in for a few pints. Frank was among the rugby players in the bar and I couldn’t help it, but go and talk to him.
“I asked him who was the hardest player he had ever played against and his answer was a guy called Moulder from South Africa.
“It was at that time the whisky took over. I told him that he had never played against me and that he was lucky that he had never played against me.”
On the pitch, Whittall did have some good memories too.
He seemed to enjoy playing against Pakistan, making his first Test century in Zimbabwe’s first Test win at Harare in 1995, and in 1998-1999 completing a Test double hundred against them.
His other highs included an unbeaten 188 against New Zealand in September 2000 and playing a key role in Zimbabwe’s successful 1999 World Cup campaign.
Whittall seems to be enjoying retirement as he has ruled out a return to the sport, either as a coach or administrator.
“I don’t see myself as an administrator any time soon. I am not the smartest of guys,” he said. “When it comes to commentary, I get mumbled a lot and doubt if I will ever try that. I take my hat off to anyone who can coach; it is a very difficult job and I doubt if I have the patience for it. I would rather for a day, a session or even a week, help out rather than take up the role full-time.”
Tinaye Agere