Kwekwe, Nov 9: Former Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer made a sensational return to first-class cricket, claiming a career-best 9 for 144 for Mid West Rhinos in a Logan Cup match against Southern Rocks—his first appearance in the format since the 2017-18 season.
The 39-year-old leg-spinner, who last played a first-class game during Zimbabwe’s Boxing Day Test against South Africa in 2017, produced a spell of vintage brilliance at Kwekwe. His performance marked only the second nine-wicket haul in Zimbabwe’s first-class history, and the first ever achieved by a spinner.
Cremer, who captained Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2018, had retired from professional cricket in 2018 to focus on family life in Dubai, where his wife works with Emirates Airlines. During his time away, he pursued coaching assignments before making a quiet return to the domestic circuit earlier this year. Although included in Zimbabwe’s T20I squad against Afghanistan, he did not get a chance to play.
In the Logan Cup encounter, after rain wiped out the opening day, Southern Rocks reached 202 for 4 by stumps on Day 2, with Cremer bagging three wickets. When play resumed after another washout on Day 3, he spun a web around the Rocks’ middle and lower order. (Agencies)
