Just a few days ago we talked about the Greatest Zimbabwe Cricketers of all time and this man was at the top of the list because he is simply the best ever to come out of Zimbabwe. His performances are proof of that and we will talk about 5 of his best and his records below. I saw him play live only a few times but he was a special player.
Andy Flower has had a glittering 11 year career for Zimbabwe from 1992-2003 and he has done so much in these 11 years that his legacy will be unparalleled. He played 63 Test Matches during his time and in those matches he scored an amazing 4794 Test runs at a very good average of 51.55 with 27 Half centuries and 12 Test hundreds with a highest score of 232*. In the ODI format he played 213 ODIs and he got 6786 runs at an average of 35.34 and scored 6786 ODI runs with 55 Half centuries and 4 ODI hundreds. Let’s look at his 5 best batting Performances.
232* vs India (2000)
This was against India in 2000 and this is his best Innings that he has ever played and came when Zimbabwe were in a pressure situation. It was the second batting innings for Zimbabwe and he was the savior for them by scoring 232* from 444 balls and he hit 30 fours and 2 sixes in his innings meaning a total of 132 runs in boundaries. This was a very special match saving innings for Zimbabwe and one that is celebrated still to this day.
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156 vs Pakistan (1995)
The next batting Performance that we will talk about is the one that he played against Pakistan in 1995. He was in his prime and there was no stopping him and even as he faced the lethal Pakistan bowling attack of Wasim Akram and the others he was scoring at a strike rate of more than 63 and he only took 245 balls to hit 156 runs with the help of 18 fours and 1 six meaning 78 runs in boundaries. This was a masterclass on how to play against top quality bowling.
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183* vs India (2000)
This innings that he played in the first test match vs India in the first innings of this test match is a perfect example of a one man show carrying a team to a great score as it was only him.that crossed the score of 70 and he took 351 balls and hit 24 fours and 2 sixes which means 108 runs in boundaries and he took Zimbabwe to a score of 422 in the first innings of this match on his own. This is a mark of a truly remarkable player.
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115* vs Sri Lanka (1992)
This was the debut ODI match in the career of Andy Flower and he smashed a Hundred against a top class Sri Lanka bowling attack and immediately made a massive statement that he is a serious player and he made 115* from just 152 balls at a strike rate of over 75 with 8 fours and 1 six in his innings and made 312 in the first innings. This was the perfect debut for the young player from Zimbabwe.
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145 vs India (2002)
The last performance that we will talk about is this sole batting performance that came so close to beating India if anyone else had stayed with him they would have won it. While chasing 289 runs to win Andy Flower hit a brilliant 145 from 164 balls at a strike rate of over 88 with 13 fours in it and in the end Zimbabwe lost by just 14 runs. Even though it was a losing cause , this innings is extremely special in his career.
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