Sticking to his game is paying Cephas Zhuwao dividends

Cephas Zhuwao, the Zimbabwe opening batsman, goes by many nicknames.

Mayor, as his teammates call him, goes through life as fearlessly as he does in the cricket.

Big Bully – another moniker for the broad-shouldered left-hand batsman – earned his first cap for Zimbabwe against Ireland in 2008, during a triangular series in Nairobi. He scored just 16 runs in that innings. It meant there was a 10-year hiatus before Zhuwao could put on the national team colours again.

He recalls that period as one that shaped his character and his attitude towards the game. “I was just saying at the back of my mind, ‘I will play for Zimbabwe again, I will represent my country again, and do well for my country and make the people proud’,” he says.

During those 10 years, Zhuwao built a reputation as a big-hitter of the ball, as an aggressive batsman. The approach did not bring him a lot of success, but he stuck with it. “That’s my own type of playing and batting. I am aggressive,” he says. “You must stick to your game. If you do your processes right, everything just pays up.”

He points to his time in the United Kingdom playing for Lashings as critical to his development as a cricketer. There he interacted with players like Pakistan’s former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Indian domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer, and the Windies duo of Tino Best and Kirk Edwards, all of whom encouraged him to go big.

“I remember the guys over there, they were always saying that I was good enough to make it,” he says.

In December 2017, during a first-class match for Harare Metropolitan Eagles against Mid West Rhinos in the Logan Cup, the 33-year-old scored a record double-century – a knock that made headlines all over Zimbabwe. It also refocused attention back on to Zhuwao, now a mature batsman.

“That (double) ton helped me a lot, for me to have confidence in my game,” he says. “Because at some point I was (stuck) in between to change my game – should I keep on playing this attacking game or change? But when I played the longer version of the game, four-day cricket, it really helped me a lot.”

Just a few months later, in February 2018, he was named in the Zimbabwe A squad to play in a 50-over four-match series at home against Kenya in Mutare. In that series, he averaged 58.75, scoring a century along with several handy contributions at a strike rate of around 220. He won the Player of the Series award, and later that month came the big moment – Zimbabwe Cricket recalled Zhuwao back to the national team, ending his long wait.

Graeme Cremer, the Zimbabwe captain, had glowing words for Zhuwao after the win over Ireland in their first Super Sixes match in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. “He’s got a great eye for the ball and he hits the ball a long way,” said Cremer then. “It’s sometimes hit or miss, if it comes off it makes it so much easier for our middle guys. He’s got full license to play his game out there.”

He might be aggressive on the field, but Zhuwao is soft-spoken off it. “Something that I can say is big for me is where I am at the moment,” he says. “I am really happy to be part of the squad, representing Zimbabwe in this tournament. I did play for Zimbabwe some years back, but now I have got an extended run in the squad. It’s something that I was wishing and praying for. That I would come back and play for my country again.”

And this time, he’s hoping to stick around for a while. “The lifespan of a batsman is better than a seam bowler, so I think I still have a couple of years to play for my country, maybe three or two more.”