Tour of  India 1992-93           Captain: David Houghton

Zimbabwe’s first Test tour

First Test-playing tour of India by Zimbabwe

    (March 1993)

Zimbabwe's first tour abroad as a Test nation was made to India. India had just defeated England 3-0 in a Test series and it is hardly surprising that Zimbabwe, despite playing some good cricket, were comfortably beaten.

Zimbabwe had made only one previous visit to India, for the 1987 World Cup. Yet once arrived, there was no time to get used to the conditions, the first match being the solitary Test match.  The highlight of the Test was the batting of Andy and Grant Flower that marked them out as mainstays of the country's batting for the next decade.

Zimbabwe also lost the three match one-day international series that followed the Test matches.  Finally, there was a forgettable performance against Kenya where a visit was unnecessarily tacked onto the end of a demanding first overseas tour.

Off-spinner Stephen Peall was dropped for disciplinary reasons on the day the team departed and replaced by a similar bowler, Ujesh Ranchod. However, after appearing in the first Test, Ranchod did not play in the ODI series.

Other Zimbabwe tours

No Previous tours

Next tour

Pakistan 1993-94

Next tour of India

2000-01

Members of the Test tour party  (14)

Opening batsmen : Kevin Arnott, Andy Flower, Grant Flower.

Middle order batsmen:   David Houghton, Alastair Campbell, Mark Dekker, Ali Shah, Gavin Briant.

Wicket-keeper Wayne James

Spin bowlers: Ujesh Ranchod, John Traicos

Fast bowlers David Brain, Eddo Brandes, Gary Crocker.

District Teams:   

Mat Matabeleland (2)

Msh Mashonaland  (7)

Y Msh  Young

          Mashonaland (0)

CD Country Districts (5)

Average age of team at time of first Test match

   (13 March 1993):

      28 yrs  6 months

Key to type:

RHB Right-handed bat

RM  Right arm medium-paced bowler

RFM  Right-arm fast medium

OB   Off break

WK  Wicket-keeper

Test Appearances made before the tour

Arnott 3,  Campbell 3,  Crocker 3,  A Flower 3,  G W Flower 3,  Houghton 3,  Traicos 3,  Brandes 2,  Brain 1,  Shah 1,  Briant 0,  Dekker 0,  James 0,  Ranchod 0.

Tour Officials

Meman was appointed manager on 17 February; his parents had migrated from Gujarat to Rhodesia.

John Hampshire was appointed national team coach on 23 September 1992, on a two-month contract for October's inaugural Test against India and the home matches against New Zealand.  He was retained on a season-by-season basis, and appointed coach for this tour on 17 February.

Teresa Bayford was appointed as physio from mid-February 1993 to mid-September.

Selectors

Vince Hogg (convenor),  Derrick Townsend,  David Lake,  Chris Seager,  Babu Meman.

Selection

The Zimbabwe squad returned from the Sharjah Cup tournament on Saturday 6 February in time to play in Sunday club matches.

Unavailable:  none known

Tour Party Announced :  25 February 1993.

John Traicos was recalled 14-man squad named for the Indian tour after missing the Sharjah trip.

Not selected :   Mark Burmester and Ujesh Ranchod were dropped from the Sharjah squad and became non-travelling reserves.

Withdrawn:  The decision to drop Stephen Peall at the last moment was taken by the ZCU executive rather than the selectors; Peter Chingoka as President took responsibility for the decision. Unconfirmed reports said that Peall annoyed officials by being late for a practice session before the President’s Cup one-day final at Harare Sports Club. So Ranchod was in the team and Paul Strang became a reserve.

Time between selection announcement and departure from Zimbabwe  

     11 days

(25 February  -  8 March)

Travel

Harare  Q  New Delhi

The Zimbabwe team flew from Harare Airport on 8 March and into New Delhi on Tuesday 9 March 1993. They dropped plans for a practice match at Karnail Singh Stadium and continued net practice at Kotla II. 

Time spent in India

   x days

(9 March -  March)

Reinforcements

None

Fixtures/Results

§  ODI  Series

ϯ not first-class

Time spent in India before First Test:    

  4 days

(9 March  -  13 March)

Test appearances on tour

1  -   Arnott,  Brain,  Brandes,  Briant,  Campbell,  A Flower,  GW Flower,  Houghton,  Ranchod,  Shah,  Traicos.

0  -   Crocker,  Dekker,  James.

Match appearances

Highlights

•  

•  

•   .

Tour Summary

Return to Zimbabwe

Mumbai   Q  Nairobi   Q Harare

The last match in India ended on 25 March.

The tourists broke into their journey home to stop over in Kenya and play an unofficial one-day fixture at Nairobi on 29 March.

Time away from Zimbabwe

    x days  

(8 March to  31 March?)

Finances

Accounts of the tour

Postscript