Elton Chigumbura
Encyclopedia
Elton Chigumbura is a Zimbabwean
cricket
er currently playing for English county club Northamptonshire
. He is a current Zimbabwean international and former captain of the national side, who played 6 Test matches
from the age of 18 before Zimbabwe were barred from Test cricket. Chigumbura also has over 100 ODI
caps.
in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh
. He made his international debut sooner than expected due to the absence of the 'rebel' players, playing his first Test aged just 18 during a tour of Sri Lanka
. It was a demoralizing tour for Zimbabwe and Chigumbura looked out of his depth. He missed the majority of 2005 due to a stress fracture in his back which he picked up during a series against South Africa
in March.
Prior to Zimbabwe being barred from Test cricket in 2005, he went on to play 6 Tests for his country. He struggled with the bat, making five ducks in his twelve innings. He made one half century, an innings of 71 against Bangladesh in Chittagong. It turned out to be a good game for Chigumbura as he followed up his batting performance with a career best bowling return of 5/54
He has had more success in ODI cricket, playing some memorable innings. In May 2004 he scored 77 against Australia at Harare but arguably his greatest performance came later in the year against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy. In a man of the match winning effort he made 57 with the bat and took 3/37 with the ball. The next year in a game against Bangladesh in Harare he put on 165 runs for 6th wicket with Stuart Matsikenyeri
as they successfully chased down 246 to win with 5 balls in hand. Chigumbura contributed 70 off 68 deliveries. At the same ground against the same opponent in February 2007 he equalled his highest ODI score of 77 in an innings that included 7 sixes. At the conclusion of the game only 3 other Zimbabwean cricketers had hit more sixes than Chigumbura in their one day careers.
Chigumbura was part of the Zimbabwean squad for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies
. He registered new career-best ODI bowling figures of 3/25 and scored 38 runs from 34 balls in Zimbabwe's shock win against the West Indies on 30 November 2007.
On the 15 March 2010, Chigumbura signed for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
as an overseas player, giving him the chance to return to England
after having a short spell at Eppleton Cricket Club.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er currently playing for English county club Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
. He is a current Zimbabwean international and former captain of the national side, who played 6 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
from the age of 18 before Zimbabwe were barred from Test cricket. Chigumbura also has over 100 ODI
One-day International
A One Day International is a form of limited overs cricket, in which a fixed number of overs, usually 50, but in the past 40, 45 or 60 overs, are played between two teams with international status. The Cricket World Cup is played in this format...
caps.
Playing style
He is an aggressive batsman, who generally bats in the middle order for his team. He is strong on the lofted drive and he consistently clears the fence in ODI with his big hitting in the final overs. He is also a useful seam bowler, regarded as being his country's fastest in the current squad, clocking at more than 140 km/h when at his peak. In the field he is an athletic outfielder, once taking 4 catches in an ODI against the West Indies at Queen's Park Oval.Career
Chigumbura made his first class debut for Mashonaland aged just fifteen and went on to represent Zimbabwe in two consecutive Under-19 World Cups. He took four wickets in their upset win over AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh
Bangladeshi cricket team
The Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
. He made his international debut sooner than expected due to the absence of the 'rebel' players, playing his first Test aged just 18 during a tour of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. It was a demoralizing tour for Zimbabwe and Chigumbura looked out of his depth. He missed the majority of 2005 due to a stress fracture in his back which he picked up during a series against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
in March.
Prior to Zimbabwe being barred from Test cricket in 2005, he went on to play 6 Tests for his country. He struggled with the bat, making five ducks in his twelve innings. He made one half century, an innings of 71 against Bangladesh in Chittagong. It turned out to be a good game for Chigumbura as he followed up his batting performance with a career best bowling return of 5/54
He has had more success in ODI cricket, playing some memorable innings. In May 2004 he scored 77 against Australia at Harare but arguably his greatest performance came later in the year against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy. In a man of the match winning effort he made 57 with the bat and took 3/37 with the ball. The next year in a game against Bangladesh in Harare he put on 165 runs for 6th wicket with Stuart Matsikenyeri
Stuart Matsikenyeri
Stuart Matsikenyeri is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and usually opens the batting for Zimbabwe. Matsikenyeri also bowls part time right-arm off-break and is a sharp fielder in the gully....
as they successfully chased down 246 to win with 5 balls in hand. Chigumbura contributed 70 off 68 deliveries. At the same ground against the same opponent in February 2007 he equalled his highest ODI score of 77 in an innings that included 7 sixes. At the conclusion of the game only 3 other Zimbabwean cricketers had hit more sixes than Chigumbura in their one day careers.
Chigumbura was part of the Zimbabwean squad for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
. He registered new career-best ODI bowling figures of 3/25 and scored 38 runs from 34 balls in Zimbabwe's shock win against the West Indies on 30 November 2007.
On the 15 March 2010, Chigumbura signed for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
as an overseas player, giving him the chance to return to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after having a short spell at Eppleton Cricket Club.