Family Affair: Six Brothers, One Test Team
Before Robert Mugabe’s government fell, Zimbabwe was on the brink of becoming a rising force in world cricket. The period from 1997 to 2002 is regarded as the golden era of Zimbabwean cricket. During this time, the team achieved something extraordinary, a rare feat unlikely to be repeated in international cricket anytime soon.
In the Harare Test that started on September 18, 1997, Zimbabwe took on New Zealand. That day, 27 years ago, the Zimbabwean XI included Six brothers —Andy and Grant Flower, Paul and Brian Strang, and Gavin and John Rennie.
The second and final Test in Bulawayo also ended in a draw. Guy Whittall’s remarkable unbeaten innings of 203 in that match remains Zimbabwe’s third-highest individual score in Test cricket. That 1997 series against New Zealand is the only unbeaten home Test series for Zimbabwe to date. In contrast, Zimbabwe has lost all five other home series against the Kiwis, both before and after 1997.
The Flower brothers, Andy and Grant, are considered cricket legends in Zimbabwe. Andy and Grant Flower are among the most iconic sibling duos in world cricket. Both brothers have scored double centuries for Zimbabwe, making them two of the four players to achieve this in Tests. Andy and Grant also hold the top spots for most runs in Zimbabwe’s Test history, with 4,794 and 3,457 runs, respectively. Their partnership of 269 against Pakistan in Harare in 1995 still stands as the highest partnership between brothers in Test cricket.
Andy Flower continues to hold the record for the most ODI runs by a Zimbabwean, with 6,786 runs, and he tops the list for Test centuries, having scored 12, while no other Zimbabwean player has more than six. Currently aged 56 and 53, Andy and Grant Flower are both involved in coaching.
The 1999 Zimbabwe ODI World Cup team marked a time when cricket in the country was experiencing its golden era. Paul Strang, the elder of the Strang brothers, was primarily known for his leg-spin bowling, though his batting was also noteworthy. He holds the distinction of being the only Zimbabwean cricketer to score a century and take five wickets in an innings during the same Test match. His younger brother, Brian Strang, was a left-arm pacer. Despite the challenges posed by the Mugabe regime’s crackdown on cricketers, Brian managed to continue his career in Zimbabwe. He occasionally battled depression but fully recovered through regular yoga practice. Like the Flower brothers, the Strang brothers are both now involved in coaching.
John Rennie, the elder of the Rennie brothers, was a fast bowler. Despite playing 44 ODIs for Zimbabwe, his Test career didn’t flourish as much. The Test match that began 27 years ago was his last in a career that spanned just four matches. John’s younger brother, Gavin Rennie, was a top-order batsman who played 23 Tests and 40 ODIs for Zimbabwe.
Guy Whittall, a member of Zimbabwe’s Test XI during the 1997 defeat, retired from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup. In 2000, during a match against England at the Oval, he became the first Zimbabwean fielder to take four catches in a single ODI. An avid wildlife enthusiast, the former all-rounder suffered serious injuries last April when he was attacked by a leopard. Six brothers
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The twelfth player in that Test was Guy Whittall’s cousin, Andy Whittall. In addition to playing 10 Tests and 63 ODIs for Zimbabwe, Andy has another distinction—he is a former student of the renowned Cambridge University. Currently, Andy serves as a resident teacher at a school in Kent, England, where he also teaches mathematics and coaches the school’s cricket team.