Carlisle thing
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:40 pm
This randomly popped up in my email (cookies a hell of a thing) where someone asked who's is your favourite player of all time' and this write up popped up from an Indian bloke. Probably an old article rehashed but it reminded me of exactly why I think Stuart doesn't get the love he deserves here. I get that people don't mind him, but no one has him in the conversation as one of our best which surprises me.
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Who is your favourite Zimbabwean cricketer of all time?
Stuart Carlisle, Zimbabwe's utility batsman who was moved up and down the batting order without getting a good run in any spot.
Carlisle was Zimbabwe’s Shoaib Malik, who represented the Chevrons in 37 Tests and 111 ODIs - he played in all positions from No 1 to No 7 in the batting order. Perhaps this was one of the reasons he did not score as many runs as he should have, given the instability in his batting position.
He was also an excellent fielder, particularly square of the wicket, where he held many stunning catches in Test (34) and one-day cricket (39).
Carlisle inherited the captaincy at the end of a turbulent five-week period in early 2002, after Brian Murphy, Guy Whittall, Heath Streak and Alistair Campbell had all been removed from the post for one reason or another. He lost five out of his six Tests in charge and was sacked and dropped for the 2003 World Cup.
He returned for the England tour later that year, and though he broke his hand during the NatWest series he bounced back with his first Test century in October 2003, against Australia in Sydney.
One of Carlisle’s finest innings came in the 2001 triangular series in Australia where he almost took Zimbabwe home with a century under pressure, after the hosts had put on 303 on the board. Zimbabwe were to fall just two runs short of what would have been an incredible chase, which was majorly due to Carlisle, who scored 119 off 114 balls. Earlier in the tournament, he had pummeled Shane Warne for a couple of half-a-dozens and had invited the foul-mouthed wrath of the bowler, which was caught by the stump microphone and broadcast around the world, much to Warne’s embarrassment.
Stuart Carlisle was finally sickened of the internal strugglesof Zimbabwe Cricket and retired from all forms of the game in September 2005.
Stuart Carlisle was unfortunate to have played for a country that was grappling with political turmoil for the best part of his peak years, Carlisle was denied the opportunity to realise his true potential.
Carlisle took parting shots at the Zimbabwean cricket board, saying, “We can’t be having people who do not know which side of the bat is up at the helm of cricket.”
He also sympathised with the second-string team that was put together by the board following the fallout: “As for the players, it’s not their fault. You cannot expect them to perform when all this is happening around them. I feel sorry for the younger players, they have nothing else to do outside cricket.”
Carlisle chose to highlight the positive memories of his near decade-long career. “We definitely had some good times, as an individual and with the team. I’m proud to be the only Zimbabwean to score an ODI and Test hundred against Australia, and my three ODI hundreds have been very special.”
Unknown to many, Carlisle went to University (Technikon Natal now a part of the Durban University of Technology) and has a degree in marketing, and had become a businessman post retirement from cricket. He revealed to the Zimbabwe Open magazine that he was offered to play in Australia for six months after his retirement, but chose against it because his oldest daughter was due to begin school and “the continued travelling would be unsettling for her.”
Carlisle chose to use his marketing skills and started a business of importing food products to help the cause of his hunger-torn country. However, in 2009, when the Zimbabwean economy opened up, the business was taken over by bigger corporates.
Carlisle then decided to go into sports manufacturing. “We wanted to focus on supplying top-quality goods that would not only last longer but would offer better performance, specifically for our kids market.”
Today, Carlisle runs Absolute Sports, a golf store attached to the Royal Harare Golf Club, which hosts the Zimbabwe Open. Carlisle’s company also sponsors young Zimbabwean golfer Ryan Cairns, who finished the 2013 edition of the tournament in joint-seventh position.
Carlisle has been married to wife Tracy for 18 years and the couple is blessed with two daughters Jay (17)and Jordan (10) who are already taking the route of hockey at their respective schools Peterhouse Girls and Chisipite Junior School.
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Who is your favourite Zimbabwean cricketer of all time?
Stuart Carlisle, Zimbabwe's utility batsman who was moved up and down the batting order without getting a good run in any spot.
Carlisle was Zimbabwe’s Shoaib Malik, who represented the Chevrons in 37 Tests and 111 ODIs - he played in all positions from No 1 to No 7 in the batting order. Perhaps this was one of the reasons he did not score as many runs as he should have, given the instability in his batting position.
He was also an excellent fielder, particularly square of the wicket, where he held many stunning catches in Test (34) and one-day cricket (39).
Carlisle inherited the captaincy at the end of a turbulent five-week period in early 2002, after Brian Murphy, Guy Whittall, Heath Streak and Alistair Campbell had all been removed from the post for one reason or another. He lost five out of his six Tests in charge and was sacked and dropped for the 2003 World Cup.
He returned for the England tour later that year, and though he broke his hand during the NatWest series he bounced back with his first Test century in October 2003, against Australia in Sydney.
One of Carlisle’s finest innings came in the 2001 triangular series in Australia where he almost took Zimbabwe home with a century under pressure, after the hosts had put on 303 on the board. Zimbabwe were to fall just two runs short of what would have been an incredible chase, which was majorly due to Carlisle, who scored 119 off 114 balls. Earlier in the tournament, he had pummeled Shane Warne for a couple of half-a-dozens and had invited the foul-mouthed wrath of the bowler, which was caught by the stump microphone and broadcast around the world, much to Warne’s embarrassment.
Stuart Carlisle was finally sickened of the internal strugglesof Zimbabwe Cricket and retired from all forms of the game in September 2005.
Stuart Carlisle was unfortunate to have played for a country that was grappling with political turmoil for the best part of his peak years, Carlisle was denied the opportunity to realise his true potential.
Carlisle took parting shots at the Zimbabwean cricket board, saying, “We can’t be having people who do not know which side of the bat is up at the helm of cricket.”
He also sympathised with the second-string team that was put together by the board following the fallout: “As for the players, it’s not their fault. You cannot expect them to perform when all this is happening around them. I feel sorry for the younger players, they have nothing else to do outside cricket.”
Carlisle chose to highlight the positive memories of his near decade-long career. “We definitely had some good times, as an individual and with the team. I’m proud to be the only Zimbabwean to score an ODI and Test hundred against Australia, and my three ODI hundreds have been very special.”
Unknown to many, Carlisle went to University (Technikon Natal now a part of the Durban University of Technology) and has a degree in marketing, and had become a businessman post retirement from cricket. He revealed to the Zimbabwe Open magazine that he was offered to play in Australia for six months after his retirement, but chose against it because his oldest daughter was due to begin school and “the continued travelling would be unsettling for her.”
Carlisle chose to use his marketing skills and started a business of importing food products to help the cause of his hunger-torn country. However, in 2009, when the Zimbabwean economy opened up, the business was taken over by bigger corporates.
Carlisle then decided to go into sports manufacturing. “We wanted to focus on supplying top-quality goods that would not only last longer but would offer better performance, specifically for our kids market.”
Today, Carlisle runs Absolute Sports, a golf store attached to the Royal Harare Golf Club, which hosts the Zimbabwe Open. Carlisle’s company also sponsors young Zimbabwean golfer Ryan Cairns, who finished the 2013 edition of the tournament in joint-seventh position.
Carlisle has been married to wife Tracy for 18 years and the couple is blessed with two daughters Jay (17)and Jordan (10) who are already taking the route of hockey at their respective schools Peterhouse Girls and Chisipite Junior School.