ZCO - Guy Whittal Interview - Part Two

We conclude our interview with Guy Whittall, who looks back on some of the highs and lows of his career.

Most memorable match

The most memorable match for me was beating South Africa in England at the last World Cup. It was quite an emotional time for me because I didn't think it was possible. They seemed an invincible side, rather like the Australians now. They were just starting to lose form at that stage, but it was fantastic that we managed to beat them.

Other good ones are when we beat Pakistan in the Test match in Harare, when I got my first Test hundred. Andy got 150, Grant got 200 and Streaky got a five-fer, so it was as if everyone had done well and it was a hell of an achievement. I was chuffed that my team-mates had done so well and that we had all got our first Test victory. We lost the next two games after that, which put a bit of a dampener on it, but we managed to draw that one-day series one-all.

Another highlight was beating England here, three-nil in the one-dayers, and that fantastic draw with them, scores level, in Bulawayo. Then there was my double-hundred against New Zealand in Bulawayo, and my 180 on their next tour in Harare, with our backs against the wall. Again that was a bit of a dampener because we lost the game; we only had to bat for another ten minutes and we could have pulled off a draw.

I've had a fantastic time of it just playing the game, and highlights of my career have also been watching other guys perform: watching Andy Flower getting his double-hundred, and his unbelievable year when he was the International Cricketer of the Year. I watched him from being a good cricketer to one of the best in the world. It was an honour and a privilege to watch how he developed and how he committed himself to the task, the goal-setting and the commitment he put into practice. There was never any laziness about him; he was committed to a task and that was it. I think Grant is on his way to doing the same.

Worst match

I wasn't playing in the match when we scored 38 all out; I wasn't in the game we lost to Kenya, and I wasn't in the Test match when we were 63 all out against West Indies! I'm not too sure about the worst match I've played in; there have been quite a few games where we've got almost all the way there and then thrown it away at the end. That's the difference between the good teams and the weaker teams. That was like Kenya over the last few years, when they've got quite close and then thrown it away at the end. England's great at doing that!

Best innings of career

The best innings I ever played was my pressure knock against New Zealand when I got 188. Our backs were against the wall and I decided I was going to take t to them, that we weren't going to be able to block this out. I think I showed myself that I could do it under pressure; unfortunately Pommie Mbangwa got run out at the end but we were on our way.

The Kiwis were always having a go and they really came hard at us. Parore, Dion Nash, Flem, Nathan Astle - all of them were quite nasty on the field and came hard on us. I was under pressure the whole way and it didn't stop until I was on about 110 or so. I remember Stephen Fleming really trying to slow the game down, trying to make sure every bowler takes his time and commits himself to one ball at a time, the best ball he can bowl, instead of rushing through it.

I put on a good partnership with Streaky that day and I could really feel him feeling the pressure. It's nice when you can sense them feeling the heat, having been in the field a couple of days, and getting irritated and trying different things, and I managed to stay composed. I really enjoyed seeing them wilt around me. But unfortunately Streaky got out to a pretty soft dismissal, and then Pommie got out to a soft run-out. That was a low spot of my life, but I felt that I didn't get out and it was one hell of an achievement.

Best piece of bowling

England, England and England! I got four for 18 in one innings. I get Gary Brent and others who come and chirp me in the changing room, "What are your best figures?", and I can tell them four for 18.

Best bowler faced

I came name a few! I found McGrath very, very difficult; I found Andy Caddick quite a difficult bowler; Javagal Srinath; Wasim; Waqar - all of those guys are extremely difficult to face.

Shane Warne - jeez, he's got so much body into his action he gets it through a bit quicker than you think and there's a lot of fizz on the ball. And Muttiah Muralitharan - just don't even put him in front of me because I won't last long! If I have to try and score off him I won't last, but if I can just try and play him with a dead bat I think that's the only chance I've got.

Most difficult batsman bowled to

The Aussies at the moment! I find it very difficult bowling to all of them. They play so straight, they can whip you, they can do anything they want. When you're bowling against them, your margin of error is very small.

Best captain

Andy Flower was a terrible captain in his first stint! His knowledge of the game has always been very good, but his man-management was terrible. Alistair Campbell was a good captain and he motivated us quite nicely, but he was a lazy guy, he always has been!

But Andy Flower in his second stint as captain identified what his role was and his man-management was good, his performance was good because he identified that he had to captain the side, lead the team and also had to concentrate on his own game, deal with selectors and with the Union. He was the one captain I found who managed all three or four departments very well. He managed to do the best for the players and was a very smart guy. I had the utmost respect for him in his second time as captain because he managed all those departments very well.

Best opposing captain

Steve Waugh had an aura about him and he was a very good captain, I think. Nasser Hussain was probably one of the most irritating guys, but with some of the resources he had I think he was actually quite a good captain. Ranatunga I think was also a very good captain. They really got up the opposition's noses and I think that's good for a captain.

Stephen Fleming was probably also one of the best. I think he learned a lot off Steve Waugh, and also Steve Rixon, who was the coach at the time. Steve Rixon was very good for Flem.

Favourite ground

Harare Sports Club. No doubt about that; I love playing there!

Favourite country to tour

England - a great place to tour. And Sharjah, which is also a great place!

Most sporting opponents

The Australians. They are always in winning positions, and they always dominated us, so we were always invited to the changing room to have a drink with them. I think if we had beaten them it might have been a different story. But there's a lot of respect there.

Best friends in other teams

Caddick from England is quite a nice guy. Glenn McGrath, because he has an interest in hunting. Steve Fleming is a good guy; Chris Cairns. The Indians - basically I get on well with all of them.

When I'm much older, like now, I find it much easier to talk to most of the opposing players. When you are younger you find it very difficult, but now most of the teams have been playing so much against each other over the years, and Kenya as well, so I'm quite friendly with most of the sides.

Most promising youngsters

Travis Friend, Sean Ervine and Andy Blignaut.

Funniest moments

We were playing against South Africa here, and Hansie Cronje hit a ball over the top. Craig Evans was sprinting towards Castle Corner from mid-on, and he was absolutely flicking! The crowd were loving this guy sprinting in front of them, and suddenly it looked like he'd been shot by a 4-16 from behind. He just dropped to the ground and everyone ran up to see what was going on. He had actually pulled a hamstring, but it looked like he had been shot from behind, because at full sprint he just dived, arms out and hit the deck! I think that was one of the funniest and stupidest moments I've seen!

Another funny one that I could hardly believe was Steve Peall, after getting his first Test wicket, Aamer Sohail bowled. He just walked down the wicket with one finger pointing towards the sky and the other hand just scratching his crotch! That was another stupid moment that was quite funny!

Most desirable change in the game

I think the one-day game should improve between 15 and 40 overs - but I think players are going to start doing it, the Australians are setting a different approach, instead of just putting the ball on the ground and running. I think maybe they should bring another guy into the circle, a small thing that needs to be changed.

And more important, the players' body should have a bigger input into the ICC. They are the young generation that are going to set the standard for future years, so a bit more communication between the players and the ICC would be far better. I also think commentators, especially in countries like South Africa, should try to sell the game a lot better, as opposed to being very critical.