Fletcher, and his band of amateur cricketers, stunned the world with an upset win over Australia. © kareem
When an unfancied team breaks new territories by putting up an inspired composition to script a sensational turnaround and defeat heavyweights, there is bound to be a surge of excitement and anticipation surrounding the team. June 9, 1983 turned out to be the milepost in the history of Zimbabwe's cricket as with unflinching courage, 11 men left their imprints on the Trent Bridge ground by upsetting a fine Australian unit in a World Cup encounter.
The Key Moments
* With Grant Paterson, Omarshah, Dave Houghton and Andy Pycroft all back in the hut, it looked like rest of the Zimbabwe batsmen would fall like a pack of cards and leave mighty Australia with a small target to chase down. Enter, Duncan Fletcher the only professional playing for Zimbabwe at that time. In the company of Curran, he frustrated the Aussies by stealing singles from under their very noses. Curran, gave him able support with a well-constructed innings of 27. Curran and Iain Butchart provided some much-needed support, but it was Fletcher who held the innings together by playing with steadfastness to compose 69 crucial runs off just 84 balls. Zimbabwe ended up with 239 for 6 in 60 overs - A highly competitive score.
* With a batting line-up that included the likes of Kepler Wessels, Allan Border, David Hookes, Hughes, Graham Yallop and Rod Marsh, Australia were still expected to chase down the target of 240 in 60 overs. But it was yet again Fletcher, who turned out to be a thorn in their flesh.
Graeme Wood and Wessels, two left-handers, known for playing stoically, had taken Australia to 61 for no loss. Fletcher then, introduced himself into the attack. On a deck, where the ball wasn't coming onto the bat, he twinned out-swingers and the odd off-cutter to telling effect. First, he dismissed Wood and followed it up by sending Hughes back to the pavilion for a duck. He snaffled two more wickets to end up with fine figures of 4 for 42, and take Zimbabwe to within touching distance of a historic win.
* It certainly turned out to be a one-man show as Fletcher also showcased his tactical nous. Earlier in the day, Border, the part-timer, had bowled a beast of a delivery that turned from leg-stump to take out Pycroft's off-stump. Fletcher, renowned for his photographic memory, employed his spin option, John Traicos, to full effect.
With Wessels not exactly known as a fine player of spin and his tendency to eat up deliveries meant that Fletcher used his trump card, the off-spinner, Traicos, to bowl at him. Traicos, who hated to give away runs, bowled 12 overs of unremitting accuracy and went for only 27 runs. The astute Fletcher also knew that Yallop, who was in fine form those days, had a tendency to flick the ball in the air. Fletcher, bowled one on his pads and not surprisingly, Yallop took the bait, and was out caught by Traicos.
Towards the end, Rod Marsh biffed his way to 50 off a mere 42 balls, but that wasn't enough for Australia to flag down a spirited Zimbabwean unit as they eventually lost by 13 runs. The Zimbabwean unit basked in their moment of triumph. It certainly turned out to be the crowning glory for the mastermind behind this victory, Fletcher. The memorable Zimbabwe win went down in the history books as one of the greatest upsets the game has ever seen.
The Key Moments
* With Grant Paterson, Omarshah, Dave Houghton and Andy Pycroft all back in the hut, it looked like rest of the Zimbabwe batsmen would fall like a pack of cards and leave mighty Australia with a small target to chase down. Enter, Duncan Fletcher the only professional playing for Zimbabwe at that time. In the company of Curran, he frustrated the Aussies by stealing singles from under their very noses. Curran, gave him able support with a well-constructed innings of 27. Curran and Iain Butchart provided some much-needed support, but it was Fletcher who held the innings together by playing with steadfastness to compose 69 crucial runs off just 84 balls. Zimbabwe ended up with 239 for 6 in 60 overs - A highly competitive score.
* With a batting line-up that included the likes of Kepler Wessels, Allan Border, David Hookes, Hughes, Graham Yallop and Rod Marsh, Australia were still expected to chase down the target of 240 in 60 overs. But it was yet again Fletcher, who turned out to be a thorn in their flesh.
Graeme Wood and Wessels, two left-handers, known for playing stoically, had taken Australia to 61 for no loss. Fletcher then, introduced himself into the attack. On a deck, where the ball wasn't coming onto the bat, he twinned out-swingers and the odd off-cutter to telling effect. First, he dismissed Wood and followed it up by sending Hughes back to the pavilion for a duck. He snaffled two more wickets to end up with fine figures of 4 for 42, and take Zimbabwe to within touching distance of a historic win.
* It certainly turned out to be a one-man show as Fletcher also showcased his tactical nous. Earlier in the day, Border, the part-timer, had bowled a beast of a delivery that turned from leg-stump to take out Pycroft's off-stump. Fletcher, renowned for his photographic memory, employed his spin option, John Traicos, to full effect.
With Wessels not exactly known as a fine player of spin and his tendency to eat up deliveries meant that Fletcher used his trump card, the off-spinner, Traicos, to bowl at him. Traicos, who hated to give away runs, bowled 12 overs of unremitting accuracy and went for only 27 runs. The astute Fletcher also knew that Yallop, who was in fine form those days, had a tendency to flick the ball in the air. Fletcher, bowled one on his pads and not surprisingly, Yallop took the bait, and was out caught by Traicos.
Towards the end, Rod Marsh biffed his way to 50 off a mere 42 balls, but that wasn't enough for Australia to flag down a spirited Zimbabwean unit as they eventually lost by 13 runs. The Zimbabwean unit basked in their moment of triumph. It certainly turned out to be the crowning glory for the mastermind behind this victory, Fletcher. The memorable Zimbabwe win went down in the history books as one of the greatest upsets the game has ever seen.
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