Prosper Utseya
Encyclopedia
Prosper Utseya is a Zimbabwe
an cricket
er. Rising from the ranks of township cricket in Harare's Highfield suburb, he attended Churchill High School (the cradle of many black Zimbabwean players), thanks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union scholarships. He bowls a right-arm off break
and is a useful right-hand batsman.
While his initial place in the national team owed much to the withdrawal of several white players after Heath Streak
's dismissal from captaincy, Utseya has more than earned his place since. He was ranked 15th in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings in September 2006.
He has a reputation for being an extremely parsimonious bowler, albeit with less wicket taking prowess. In a Cricinfo article from August 2006, he had the lowest economy rate (3.84) amongst all spinners in the history of ODI cricket. In comparison, the economy rates for Muttiah Muralitharan
and Harbhajan Singh
at the same time were 3.85 and 4.11 respectively.
In July 2006, Prosper was appointed as the National Captain at the age of 21, replacing Terry Duffin at the last minute (see Cricinfo interview of August 2006). He got off to a good start, with a well fought 3-2 series victory against fellow wooden spoon contenders Bangladesh
. He resigned as captain in 2010.
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...
an 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. Rising from the ranks of township cricket in Harare's Highfield suburb, he attended Churchill High School (the cradle of many black Zimbabwean players), thanks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union scholarships. He bowls a right-arm off break
Off break
Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners....
and is a useful right-hand batsman.
While his initial place in the national team owed much to the withdrawal of several white players after Heath Streak
Heath Streak
Heath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi...
's dismissal from captaincy, Utseya has more than earned his place since. He was ranked 15th in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings in September 2006.
He has a reputation for being an extremely parsimonious bowler, albeit with less wicket taking prowess. In a Cricinfo article from August 2006, he had the lowest economy rate (3.84) amongst all spinners in the history of ODI cricket. In comparison, the economy rates for Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
and Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
at the same time were 3.85 and 4.11 respectively.
In July 2006, Prosper was appointed as the National Captain at the age of 21, replacing Terry Duffin at the last minute (see Cricinfo interview of August 2006). He got off to a good start, with a well fought 3-2 series victory against fellow wooden spoon contenders 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 resigned as captain in 2010.