Churchill Boys High School in Harare is becoming to Zimbabwean Test cricket what Eton College once was to British Prime Ministers. In September 2001, Douglas Hondo became Churchill's third Test debutant in as many matches, following in the footsteps of Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza. A handy swing bowler, capable of movement both ways off the pitch, Hondo benefited from a spell at Dennis Lillee's pace-bowling academy in Chennai, and has also played club cricket in England and Australia. He was plucked from a season with Port Adelaide to join the national side in India in March 2002, and immediately took four wickets in the third ODI to win the Man of the Match award; this was followed later that year by two four-wicket hauls in the Champions Trophy, against India and England. In his most recent Test match he took six wickets in an innings against Bangladesh. In the best tailend tradition he rates himself as a batsman - and he has made some big scores in his time - but he is strictly a No. 11 for his club, Universals. Injuries, ranging from intercostal muscles to missing toenails, have hindered his development, but he is credited with a good temperament and is keen to succeed. One of the most laidback of individuals, he hardly fits the traditional image of a pace bowler. His future is now in serious doubt after doctors have given him a pessimistic diagnosis of a stress fracture in his back, and his comeback was barely underway when he walked out after a row over a board demand that he shave his dreadlocks.
John Ward June 2007
