Flower signs with Redbacks for 3 years

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has announced that Zimbabwean cricketer Andy Flower has signed to play for the West End Redbacks for the next three seasons.

Flower, who was one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year in 2002 and topped the PriceWaterhouse Coopers Test Ratings for Batsmen in 2001, will move to Adelaide with his family in September.

The SACA's chief executive Mike Deare said that Flower will be an enormous asset to cricket in South Australia, not only for his sporting ability, but also for his leadership qualities.

"Andy is a world-class, top ten cricketer, and not only does he bring to South Australia his outstanding cricket skills, but he is a natural, proven leader."

"We see Andy as an integral part of the SACA's objective of nuturing identified young cricketing talent in South Australia during the next three years."

"He will not only provide an enormous boost to the Redbacks side as a specialist batsman, but he also will add value in the areas of coaching and mentoring," he said.

Flower, 34, is a specialist wicket-keeper/batsman, who has amassed more than ten thousand first-class runs in his career, including 4,794 Test runs at an average of 51.54.

Having just recently represented Zimbabwe in his fourth World Cup, Flower has scored 6,786 runs in 213 One-Day Internationals at an average of 35.34, including four centuries and 55 half-centuries.

The SACA will announce the remainder of the Redbacks squad for the 2003/04 season during April.