Allan Mwayenga - a biography

FULL NAME: Allan Mwayenga
BORN: At Harare, 28 June 1982
MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (2001/02). Present club side: Country Club
KNOWN AS: Allan Mwayenga. Nickname: Cisco
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Left Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy student

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 15-17 February 2002, CFX Academy v Manicaland, at Mutare Sports Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (April 2002)

Allan Mwayenga, left-arm seamer at the CFX Academy, has followed a slightly unusual course to first-class cricket. He had little or no contact with the game at junior school, and was only converted at the age of about 13 due to his father's job.

His father works at St John's College in Harare, and he remembers as a youngster he and his brother Waddington, two years younger and now also a first-class cricketer, used to watch Mr Bill Flower, father of Test players Andy and Grant, coaching in the nets there. This was how their interest was kindled, and Bill soon took an interest himself in the two boys.

Allan attended Vainona High School, and now started playing there. The two boys' great natural talent quickly led to their being the leading players in a weak team, which he found difficult. By the time he was in Form Two, at the age of 15, he had forced his way into the school first team, where he spent three years. His best performance for Vainona was against Gateway School at a cricket festival, where he took eight for 16. He also scored 118 in a match against Lord Malvern High School, his only century to date, sharing a large partnership with his brother, who scored 95.

In 1998 he was selected to play in a three-day match for a Mashonaland Under-19 side at Harare South, but this was to be his only taste of representative cricket. The following year he left school and found a job with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union coaching, having successfully past a coaching course at Harare Sports Club. He coached in Masvingo before returning to Harare, moving to Kutama College in Norton.

He joined Old Georgians Sports Club in 1997, his best performance being three for 11 in eight overs. He has now moved to Country Club, which is clearly below his level. He has also played winter cricket for Enterprise, with five wickets for 20 runs as his best performance. His ambition, though, has always been to play representative cricket, and this led him to apply successfully to join the CFX Academy in 2002.

His main strength as a batsman is off his legs, while he bowls predominantly in-swing to right-handers. He does not consider himself much of a batsman and at present is content to bat low in the order. His usual fielding positions are mid-off and fine leg.

He feels that he owes most to his parents for his career. "They were always picking us up," he says. "My dad is always behind us' if we have any problems, he will help us. I won't say he's a cricket fan himself but he is always there to help with our mental make-up." On the coaching side he pays tribute to Bill Flower.

Cricket heroes: Andy Flower.

Toughest opponents: So far, Hamilton Masakadza.

Personal ambitions: "If everything goes well I would like to be in the Zimbabwe A side."

Proudest achievement so far: When I received the Man of the Match playing first-league cricket for Old Georgians, when I took three for 11.

Best friends in cricket: Innocent Chinyoka and my brother.

Other qualifications: "I'm working to get my computer qualifications."

Other sports: At school athletics, soccer, rugby, a bit of tennis.

Outside interests: "I just enjoy hanging around with my friends."

Views on cricket: