Chamu Chibhabha is a promising allrounder whose batting is his stronger suit, but who is also capable of bowling useful seamers at surprising pace. Coming from the townships, he was well coached under the ZC development programme and has a sound technique, with the discipline to play straight. He was fast-tracked into the national side in 2005 after the departure of a slew of senior players, and after an inauspicious start (he made a duck on debut against New Zealand and struggled in the Under-19 Afro Asian Cup) he came good with back-to-back fifties in the opening matches of the tour of the Caribbean in 2006.

On the West Indian tour he suffered from a back problem that affected his bowling, so he was forced to concentrate on batting, where he showed character and promise in the crucial No. 3 position. He was particularly impressive in playing the West Indian quick bowlers, but needs to gain experience and work on building big innings. He is a superb fielder, usually in the covers.

Chibhabha captains the Southern Rocks franchise, and was their leading scorer by some distance in the 2009-10 domestic Twenty20 competition, with 230 runs at an average of 57.50 and strike-rate of 127.07, including three half-centuries. But his personal performances mirrored that of his team's in the Faithwear Metbank one-day competition, where he scored just 70 runs in five innings, and the Logan Cup, where he managed 381 runs at 22.41 in the season.

Chibhabha has struggled to cement a spot in the national side and will continue to do so until he can start converting his regular starts into big scores. It also remains to be seen whether he can perform as a true allrounder, and his best chance of national selection may be to concentrate entirely on his batting.

His sister Julia was the first Zimbabwe women's captain and also the first women's player to be contracted as a coach by Zimbabwe Cricket.
Liam Brickhill June 2010