Online Reporter
SIX months ago, Sean Williams walked off the field to the sound of songs praising him for his superb knock at Trent Bridge in a one-off Test against England.
The Chevrons were back in the country where the game started, for the first time in two decades, and the likes of Williams and Brian Bennett were intent on making a big impression.Bennett scored a century and Williams was making the most of his opportunity in the second innings.
The veteran all-rounder set about England’s bowling during the 88 he made on the third morning.
For a man who won his first national call-up way back in 2004, as Under-19s captain, and was thrust into the senior team a year later, it was remarkable that Williams was still performing at this top level.His career started at a time Zimbabwean cricket was falling apart.
And, here he was, 20 years later, playing his first, and most likely his last, Test in England. It was a hell of an innings, full of crisp cuts, punishing pulls and swingeing sweeps.
Williams was always a fine batter, with a Test average of 44, and he played like a man who wanted to take his last chance to make the point.
The pride was there all around the ground, too.The Zimbabwe fans got louder as the game went on.
They seemed to come in greater numbers every day and gave up their seats to seek each other out in the stands so they could dance, sing and chant in Shona: “Zimbabwe! Mai-Mwana!”
“It’s the love of the game that binds everyone here together, not which side they’re cheering for,” one of their cheerleaders told me.
When it was all over, and Zimbabwe had lost by an innings and 45 runs, the team took a slow lap around the ground to thank the fans for all the support. It was one of those defeats that somehow still contained plenty to celebrate and a reminder that Test cricket is not only about who wins and loses and that the value of a game played over multiple days is not just in the finish but what happens along the way.
Williams’ half century in that second innings in Nottingham was a reminder of his amazing talent.
The events of this week, when Zimbabwe Cricket announced that his career has effectively ended amid a fallout over a drug addiction, suggest that knock at Trent Bridge could be his final bow on the big stage.
That means his chapter will close with Williams having played 24 Test matches, 164 ODIs and 85 T20Is.
He scored 1946 Test runs, 5217 ODI runs and 1805 T20I runs.
By his own admission, he should have played more games for his country but this was not possible because Williams kept pulling himself out of contention and then changing his mind again.
That knock at Trent Bridge was a reminder of how good Williams was.
The controversy which has dogged his closing chapter this week is a brutal reminder of the unpredictability of life in sport’s fast lane.
If the Trent Bridge knock was his farewell innings on the big stage then it was fittingly beautiful. — Sports Reporter/The Guardian
Mathew Masinge