Keith Dabengwa: a short biography

FULL NAME: Keith Mbusi Dabengwa
BORN: At Bulawayo, 17 August 1980
MAJOR TEAMS: Matabeleland (1999/2000), CFX Academy (2000/01). Present club side: Bulawayo Sports Club.
KNOWN AS: Keith Dabengwa. Nickname: `Two-Stump' ("because I'm quite thin!")
BATTING STYLE: Left Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Slow Left Arm
OCCUPATION: CFX Academy student

FIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 31 March-2 April 2000, Matabeleland v CFX Academy, at Country Club, Harare
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaited

BIOGRAPHY (February 2001)

Keith Dabengwa is the first black Zimbabwean to win through to first-class cricket primarily as a spin bowler. Like most black Zimbabwean players, he has no family background in cricket. He is the youngest of a family of six children and the only one to take an interest in the sport. Incidentally, he has a relative who is a minister in the Zimbabwean government.

Keith first developed an interest in cricket from the age of about seven, at Baines Junior School in Bulawayo. At junior school level his success was largely his own doing, as the school had no experienced coaches. He does mention, though, that sometimes the school had visiting coaches from Falcon College and CBC (Christian Brothers College), and his school team sometimes played strong cricketing schools like Whitestone, and he could see for himself how good their players were.

Keith remembers taking six wickets against St Thomas Aquinas School as probably his best junior school performance, but cannot remember any real successes with the bat. His chief role in those days was as a pace bowler, and he did well enough to win selection for the Matabeleland Schools team in the national primary schools cricket week in his final year. He also captained his school team that year.

He went to Milton High School where in form Two he was coached by Mr Ian Kemp, who taught him that he could be more successful as a spin bowler, partly at least because of his short stature. Keith also had ambitions with the bat and worked hard to develop that area of his game as well. He won a place in the school first team in Form Three, as a bowler who could bat. He first played in the Prince Edward schools festival in the August of that year, and from then onwards was a regular member of the first team.

He soon earned a place for himself as an opening batsman, his highest score being 96 off 80-odd balls against CBC. His best first-team bowling figures came in a different match against the same opposition, five for 18 in 10 overs, although he had taken seven for 27 in an Under-16 match. He captained the team in his last two years. He did not win selection for any of the provincial or national age-group teams while at high school, but in his final year was selected to make his first-class debut for Matabeleland in the Logan Cup. He says he was a fringe player on the verge of the Matabeleland age-group teams, but never quite won selection.

In his final year at school, in 1999, he joined Bulawayo Sports Club after an unsuccessful time at Queens, and turned in regularly good all-round performances that were obviously noted by the provincial selectors. He recorded an unbeaten century opening the batting in his very first club game, against Busters, but it was his bowling that interested the selectors more, especially with a haul of six wickets for 18 runs in the national league. Matabeleland is strong in pace bowling but has limited spin bowling resources, and when they decided to play a second spinner to Ian Engelbrecht against the CFX Academy in the final match of the 1999/2000 season, Keith got his chance. He took it well, with five wickets in an innings, but had little chance to show his batting skills, being misplaced at number eleven.

Keith spent most of 2000 playing and coaching, and also spent a couple of months in England, although he did not play cricket then. Family income helped to support him before he was accepted at the Academy for 2001, with the encouragement of his club coach Dash Vaghmaria, a former left-arm spinner for Matabeleland.

As a batsman, Keith considers his best strokes to be the cover drive and the pull. He aims to improve his batting enough to play in the top order. With the ball he occasionally spins the ball the other way, varies his flight, has a good arm ball and can swing it in the air as a variation. He is a good close fielder with the ability to take sharp catches.

Cricket heroes: "Viv Richards, Russel Arnold from Sri Lanka - I like the way he prepares to receive the ball, with a high backlift from a crouching stance. He has a straight bat and is very confident. He is not the best player in the world but he strikes me."

Toughest opponents: "Paul Strang. I'm not a very good batsman against spin and every time I face him I seem to get out first or second ball. But I'm working hard on becoming a good batsman against spin. As a bowler, Andy Flower, of course! Not just because he's a class player, but I'm not very good at bowling to left-handers, though I'm working on that. He's a nightmare to bowl to!"

Immediate ambitions: "To play for the national team, to become the regular spinner in the side and a regular batsman as well. But first I need to make it into the Zimbabwe B side. I must concentrate on line and length, and keep my concentration when I'm batting. My short-term plans are to get quite a few wickets in this Logan Cup and improve my batting, with loads and loads of practice."

Proudest achievement so far: "My five wickets in my first first-class game last year, and my performances for my club, which helped us get promoted from the third league to the second league a few years ago."

Best friends in cricket: "Mecury Kenny, who was in the first Academy intake and is in Bulawayo at the moment. Anish Naik, from my Bulawayo cricket club."

Other qualifications: "A couple of computer certificates, and a few A-levels."

Other sports: Hockey goalkeeper at school, representing Matabeleland high schools; soccer.

Outside interests: "I like going out to movies; I like swimming."