Have bat, will travel: Raza and cricket’s wanderers follow in footsteps of WG Grace

Zimbabwe player’s high-profile trip around the world this week should prompt more players to think global and play localDo you remember the first of Zimbabwe’s three ODIs against Bangladesh in 2022? No? Let me refresh your memory. Bangladesh’s batters had racked up 303 for two. Zimbabwe had lost both openers by the end of their second over. They were 62 for three when Sikandar Raza came to the crease. He scored 135 of the 240 runs the home side needed and Zimbabwe won with nearly two overs to spare.Raza rescued them in the ODI that followed, too – another century – and ended up top-scoring in Zimbabwe’s first series win in three years. The then 36-year-old put his determined spirit down to his training in the Pakistan Air Force: “I couldn’t become a fighter pilot,” he said, “but I think, as a person, I will always be a fighter.” Continue reading...

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