Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean cricket legend Andy Flower was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Saturday, becoming the first Zimbabwean to get the prestigious recognition.
Flower was among nine other legends of the game who were also inducted yesterday, taking the illustrious list of ICC Hall of Famers to a total of 103.
The nine are Monty Noble (Australia), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Aubrey Faulkner (South Africa), Learie Constantine (West Indies), Stan McCabe (Australia), Vinoo Mankad (India), Ted Dexter (England), Bob Willis (England), and Desmond Haynes (West Indies).
Following Flower’s induction, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani hailed the 53-year-old former Zimbabwe captain as a true legend of the sport. Said Mukuhlani:
ZC would like to congratulate Andy on his induction into the ICC Hall of Fame. This is an absolutely awesome and well-deserved acknowledgement that has immortalised him as one of the world’s greatest cricket players ever.
We are not only proud of our true legend for the latest honour bestowed upon him, but also grateful to him for the immense contributions that he has made and continues to make to cricket on and off the field.
Flower played 63 Test matches as a wicketkeeper-batsman for Zimbabwe, scoring 4 794 runs at an average of 51,54 and taking 151 catches and nine stumpings.
He also featured in 213 one-day international (ODI) matches, scoring 6 786 runs at an average of 35,34 and taking 141 catches and 32 stumpings.
Flower also remains the only player to score an ODI hundred on debut in a World Cup match after he announced his arrival on the big stage with an unbeaten 115 against Sri Lanka on February 23, 1992, at New Plymouth in New Zealand.
Flower holds the Zimbabwean records for the most Test career runs, the highest Test batting average and most ODI career runs.
His 12 centuries and 27 fifties in Test cricket as well as 55 ODI fifties have also not been surpassed by any other Zimbabwean player.
Flower’s international career came to an end during the 2003 World Cup when he and the fast bowler Henry Olonga wore black armbands during all of Zimbabwe’s games to protest what they termed “the death of democracy” in their country.
He continued playing county cricket in England thereafter, before turning to coach and masterminding England’s climb to the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket in 2011.
