Douglas Hondo - Zimbabwe - Batsman

Douglas Hondo is without a doubt one of Zimbabwe's biggest characters. With his dreadlocks and cheerful nature, he epitomizes the attitude of many Zimbabwean cricketers. Hondo was first introduced to cricket at primary school, his elder brother being the first in the family to take up the game. He and his brother were under the guidance of Peter Sharples, a pioneer of taking cricket into the townships. He was also under the able hands of Dennis Lillie at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai and from there he went on to play domestic cricket in England and Australia.

Douglas Hondo attained International acclaim in 2002 with 15 wickets from 5 ODIs including back-to-back four-fors in the Champions Trophy. He played 9 Tests, where he thrived, mostly due to his ability to swing both ways. At Chester-le-Street, he bowled an inspiring spell, removing Mark Butcher, Robert Key, and Nasser Hussain in a space of 10 balls. His finest moment, however, came in a series against Bangladesh when he routed the hosts with 6 for 59. Unfortunately, he lacked the pace to bother quality batsmen at the highest level.

His career ended prematurely after suffering a series of injuries and later he walked out after a row with the board that demanded he shave his dreadlocks. Hondo retired from both international and first class cricket thereafter and has subsequently played cricket in both Australia and England.

To compliment his playing skills, Hondo is an experienced and practicing Cricket Australia Level 3 coach who was fast-tracked into the national bowling coach role in 2008 and is seen as a potential Zimbabwe coach for the future. Hondo is now seeking a return to the UK for a player/coach role.