Gregg Haakonsen - a short biography

FULL NAME: Gregg Hilton Haakonsen

BORN: 10 May 1980, at Gweru

MAJOR TEAMS: CFX Academy (1999/2000). Present club team: Kwekwe

KNOWN AS: Gregg Haakonsen. Nickname: Haaki.

BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat

BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Fast Medium

OCCUPATION: Student at CFX Academy

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 3-5 March 2000, CFX Academy v Mashonaland, at Country Club

TEST DEBUT: Still awaited

ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (March 2000)

Gregg Haakonsen is a promising all-rounder at the CFX Academy, a player who was nearly lost to cricket in Zimbabwe but for some unusual circumstances. He has Norwegian ancestry, but his family has lived in Southern Africa since his great-grandparents first emigrated to South Africa, and then his grandfather moved to Zimbabwe.

Gregg's grandfather used to play for Gwelo (now Gweru) Sports Club, while his father Hilton represented the country at rugby. Eighteen months after Gregg was born his family emigrated to East London, in the eastern Cape. His grandfather used to live in Cape Town and came to spend about three months a year with Gregg's family, and it was he who first introduced Gregg to the game. Later on his father used to take him to the nets every second afternoon.

Gregg's interest in cricket was also stimulated at about the age of six, when he attended Baker's Mini Cricket in East London. He received valuable coaching from Greg Hayes, director of cricket in Border, and Richard Pybus, who has been Gregg's professional coach since he was aged 13 at school at Selborne College.

Gregg began his schooling at Selborne Primary, and first played for their colts (Under-10) team in Standard Three; after half a term with them he was promoted to the school senior team. He has always been an all-rounder, and was selected for the Border team for the Perm Laser Week for primary schools, where his best performances were an innings of 80 and five wickets in an innings, although he was an off-spinner in those days. For his school he scored two centuries, and in his final year changed his bowling style. As he was the biggest player in the team, they tried him out bowling fast, and he became a seamer.

He progressed to Selborne College in Standard 6, but the following year moved to Kingswood College in Grahamstown when he was offered a rugby bursary there. He went almost straight into the first team there, which was a reamrkable achievement considering that Kingswood was considered to be the strongest school side in the country then apart from Grey Bloemfontein, who included such players as Morne van Wyk and Boeta Dippenaar. Gregg's time in the first team included a tour to Australia. Halfway through Standard 8 he moved back to Selborne, in 1996. His best school bowling performance was seven wickets in an innings against St John's in Johannesburg, and he scored 124 against Dale College.

On the representative side he played for the national teams from the Under-12 level upwards. He also played club cricket for Old Selbornians, alongside Mark Boucher and Brendon Fourie, since Standard 9, for three years, before giving up the game 'for some unknown reason' and did not play for a year, but he hints that he felt he was not treated well by the selectors. He took eight for 26 against Rhodes University for his club, and scored 140 against Villagers. He also played two matches for Border B and one night game for the full Border side, although it was somewhat weakened at that time.

As a teenager in South Africa he benefited from tours to most of the major cricket-playing countries in the world. He toured Australia and New Zealand with his school team and the South African Under-15 team, West Indies with the Under-17s, England with the Under-17 and Under-19 teams, and India and Pakistan with the Under-17s. Of the last-named tour he says, "It wasn't great fun but it had to be done. It was a learning experience. The best place I've been to has to be Australia, hands down - the climate, the people, the places to see; I liked the wickets we played on because they were hard wickets and as I was a quick bowler for my age group I was able to rattle people! It was so much like South Africa that I wasn't really missing home, but when I go to the subcontinent or West Indies or England it affects me. I'm not a great one for being away from home, being away from people I know, so it does take its toll of me. But I coped."

On leaving school Gregg went to Rhodes University to study law, at the urging of his mother, but stayed only one year. His father is a farmer, and Gregg is still considering the possibility of going to an agricultural college at some time in the future. At the moment he is continuing to study law through Unisa.

Gregg has returned to Gweru in Zimbabwe every year for the last six years on holiday, to visit his grandparents and uncle who live there. He loves the country and the people, so it was not difficult to persuade him to stay. He began to play cricket again for the Gweru Baptist Church team, and turned out some performances good enough to earn the attention of Ken Connelly of the Midlands Cricket Union in Kwekwe. He also did some coaching at Midlands Christian College in Gweru, and hopes to return and continue his work there after his spell at the Academy. Ken Connelly asked the national coach Dave Houghton to have a look at Gregg; Houghton invited him to nets and was impressed enough to recommend he apply for the Academy for 2000.

While waiting to join the Academy, Gregg played little quality cricket as he was still waiting for his work permit to be approved, but he concentrated on gymnasium work and fitness training. He did play one or two games for Kwekwe Sports Club, which he considers to be his home club. It was not until the Academy year opened in January 2000 that he was able to play seriously again, and has taken a while to find his form after a long lay-off from the game. After battling with the bat, he finally scored an invaluable 45 against Matabeleland in the Logan Cup, but has yet to take more than three wickets in an innings. He is still enjoying his new life, though, and says, "It's only a matter of time before I get into the full swing of it."

While he was waiting for the Academy to open, he was coached by the Australian Carl Rackemann last December, and had his bowling action changed. He had been bowling 'front-on legs and crossed upper body', a mixed action, so Rackemann remodelled his action, knowing that otherwise he would be prone to injury. Gregg has not get regained full pace, but is following Rackemann's advice to bowl within himself and speed up gradually during the course of the year while he adjusts. "I'm not bowling as quickly as I used to bowl, but it will come in time," he says, and he is being monitored by Academy coaches Gwynne Jones and Shane Cloete.

Gregg can swing the ball, but is concentrating more on seam bowling, finding local conditions more favourable to seam movement. "I can do more off the seam than through the air," he says. "But as I get more into my action maybe it will change. I used to be able to swing the ball a lot and bowl pretty quick."

Gregg's life has certainly taken an unexpected direction, seemingly through chance, but Gregg, as a practising Christian, believes that God has put him where he is. "I attribute everything I've got to the lord jesus Christ," he says. "He has given me everything, he has put me in the place where I am, and I just give thanks for what I've got. The only reason I am who I am today is because of the faith I've got, and I've been helped through my life by people in the church. They;ve just given me opportunities and I'm thankful for that."

As a batsman he feels his main strengths are his ability to stay at the crease and his front-foot play. "I'm not a great hooker, I'm not a great cutter, but I'm able to stay at the crease if push comes to shove," he says. He would like to get up to number six or seven in the batting order, which is where he used to bat. He prefers to field in the covers, but feels he is better off catching and throwing on the boundary.

He opens the bowling for the Academy, and has used the new ball all his career, but he says, "At the moment I don't think I'm quick enough to use the new ball. There are people in the team who are quicker than me and pacewise they will use it better than me, but I enjoy using the new ball because I can move it around, I can work it with my fingers and it seams around quite a bit."

Gregg had hoped to play this coming European season in Holland for Quik Cricket Club, but apparently the law there states that a player must be in the country before 15 February. He is lined up for another club in Yorkshire, but it depends on his work permit there.

At Under-13 level Gregg missed a season after a spasm in the lower back, and he has had minor knee problems during the last two years, but not enough to be regarded as serious.

Cricket hero: "It has to be Steve Waugh. His mental aspect of the game, the way he approaches the game, the way nothing affects him; you can't affect a person like that, with his mental toughness. If I could aspire to be like any cricketer I would go for him. My mentor, my hero in life, has to be Steve Waugh. Everything I've ever wanted in sporting terms, he's got."

Toughest opponents: "The Pakistanis we played when we were in Australia. They had Abdur Razzaq, Shahid Afridi and Hasan Raza - there were five players in the Pakistani Test team in that side in Australia, and it was not nice! Especially on the Waca wicket in Perth, it was not a nice experience. I've played against a lot of people who are in Test sides at the moment and I feel I could handle myself. Hopefully one day!"

Biggest influence: "The biggest influence on my cricketing career has to be Howard Dyer, the Selborne Primary coach. He used to give up his time - I promise you, I could phone him at eight o'clock at night and say, 'Mr Dyer, could I have some throw-downs,' and he would come at eight o'clock at night and give me throw-downs. Or I would say, 'I'm not happy with my run-up,' and he's always been there. I phoned him two weeks ago and said, 'I'm not happy with my run-up; what should I do?" and he said, 'Just relax and run in normally.' I can speak to him any time and he's there for me.

"Also Mark Boucher- I've got a house with him in East London. When I was in Standard 6, he was my prefect, he was in matric and he was the first-team captain. He also helped me a lot in my cricketing career. We also played in the same club, so he's like an older brother to me. He's really been there for me all the way."

Ambitions: "It's everybody's ambition to play Test cricket for your country, so that's my ambition. To enjoy cricket - if you aren'y enjoying it, you shouldn't be playing it, because if you aren't enjoying yourself you should be doing something else. I want to enjoy myself, even if I don't make the national side. If I can be 30 years old and still enjoying my cricket, that's great. If I've never played for the national side, if I'm still enjoying my cricket, that's great."

Captaincy: "I've never been one for captaining a side. In my rugby days I captained at primary school but I wouldn't enjoy being a captain. The pressure would get to me and I'd rather concentrate on my own game and let someone else think about what's going on. I enjoy myself on the field, I dart around and all that, and for me not to dance around I'm sure I'd lose my marbles!"

Proudest achievement: "It would have to be selection for the South African Under-17 side. Getting awarded national colours is something else - I can't explain it, it's just the ultimate in anybody's career. I feel that was my proudest moment."

Best friends in cricket: "Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini - but here at the Academy the whole team's like a family and I get on well with everybody here."

Other sports and interests: "At school I used to be quite good at athletics, 400 metres and triple jump, and fishing. I'm a keen fisherman and I represented Border Schools. I enjoy scuba diving and I enjoy my golf; I played first-team golf at school."