Berry S: Houghton forges links for new neighbours(8May94)

Houghton forges links for new neighbours - By Scyld Berry

It's like new neighbours moving in next door. In England we are not always quick to extend a heartfelt welcome. Zimbabwe became the ninth Test-playing country two years ago. England have yet to play them, or even place them on the schedule. Only India and New Zealand, twice each, and Pakistan, three times, have given them a Test. At least Worcestershire have extended some hospitality, by making David Houghton captain and coach of their 2nd XI. Houghton was Zimbabwe's first Test captain and century-maker, and should play again this autumn against the visiting Sri Lankans, thanks to Worcestershire's contract. Otherwise, aged 36, he would have retired to make a living, out of farming or business, for his wife and three children in Harare. Houghton was also the author of one of the Top Ten One-Day Innings. In hot Hyderabad in south India, in October 1987, Zimbabwe were 104 for seven in reply to New Zealand's 242 in a World Cup game. Fighting for his country's respectability, Houghton hit 141 and Zimbabwe fell short by just three runs. That day he lost 12lb. White Zimbabweans who 'stay on' tend to have oomph without redneck attitudes. As a coach in England, Houghton's problem is to instil that oomph into products of a society which is not so competitive as one in southern Africa. He finds the lack of competitiveness in English cricket most evident in the fielding, and it runs from the bottom to the top. When he saw the Edgbaston international last summer, he was appalled by England's fielding, and reminded of one of his first captains: "Duncan Fletcher said that if we stopped a ball with our feet, he'd kick us off the park, and no exception was made for age." "In Zimbabwe we have a different attitude to fielding, because it's the one area in which we can be better than anyone else. In England the attitude is that it's the easiest part of the game, so let's practise it the least." When Zimbabwe toured Pakistan last winter, their ground fielding was said to be the best some had seen. It helped to turn what could have been a rout into an absorbing three-Test series. The result was 2-0, but Zimbabwe led twice on first innings and were not a world away from winning 1-0. They were 5.1 overs from drawing the first Test in Karachi, and 4.4 from drawing the second on a green Rawalpindi pitch. Afterwards, the Zimbabweans returned home for their inaugural domestic first-class competition. The difficulty, as in Sri Lanka, is that most cricketers are concentrated in the country's capital. As it was, four teams were made out of Matabeleland (mainly those from Bulawayo), Country Districts, Mashonaland Seniors (older folks from Harare), and Mashonaland Juniors, who won it. "I thought it wasn't going to work but I was impressed," said Houghton. "There were four three-day games of 71/2 hours each day, then the top two sides played off. They were good games, the standard was county 2nd XI, and that's not a bad start." Houghton reports that promotion was critical for cricket's survival in Zimbabwe. "I got quite a shock when they gave us Test status, because our cricket was at its lowest point then. But the game is really picking up, double the numbers are playing in school, and our Under-19s have recently beaten England and India Under-19s. Zimbabwe's Under-19 team is half-black, half-white, according to Houghton, but that's not much thanks to the township programme. Holding a few coaching clinics is not enough if prospective players have to travel miles by bus to practice or games. The success has come by awarding cricket scholarships to black children to go to established schools, like Prince Edward, which produced Houghton and Graeme Hick.

(Thanks : The Daily Telegraph) Scyld Berry is cricket correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph