Graeme Cremer

Alexander Graeme Cremer (born 19 September 1986) is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is currently the interim captain of the Zimbabwe national cricket team, following the sacking of Hamilton Masakadza.^[1] He is a leg-spinner who got into the Zimbabwe side at the age of eighteen, following the exits of Paul Strang, Andy Whittall and Ray Price from the Zimbabwean team.

Early career

Educated at the prestigious Prince Edward School, Cremer was quite prolific in school cricket, taking many wickets. He made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka on 6 January 2005, a match that Zimbabwe went on to lose handing the Bangladeshi Tigers their first ever Test match victory.

International career

Cremer then played Tests against South Africa and New Zealand. Unfortunately Cremer, seen by many as a Test specialist, had his opportunities limited thereafter due to Zimbabwe's self-imposed exile from Test cricket. After several years on the fringes of the national team Cremer finally broke into the limited overs squad against the West Indies in late 2007. However, Zimbabwe's strong spin attack of Ray Price and Prosper Utseya meant he did not get any game time. It wasn't until the Al Barakah Cup Twenty20 tournament in Canada that Cremer was finally given a chance in the shorter format, and he made the most of it by taking 2/10 from his 3 overs.

He continued to be part of the squad in the subsequent series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, often named 12th man. His ODI debut came in January 2009 against Kenya, and his first ODI series was outstanding. He finished the tournament as the leading wicket taker, with 15 wickets from 5 matches at an average of 11.46.

Cremer has also developed into a bowling all-rounder. His highest First Class score is an unbeaten 171 in the 2006–07 Logan Cup, while his First Class and List A averages are in the 20s.

When Zimbabwe returned to Test cricket in 2011, Cremer missed the one-off Tests against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand due to injury.^[2] He was called up for his return to Test cricket, over six years since his last Test, for the one-off Test against New Zealand in January 2012.^[3]Cremer had announced his retirement from Zimbabwe Cricket after disputes over payments in 2013.And had focused on becoming a professional Golfer.However in 2015 he made a surprise U-turn to play for Zimbabwe again and was selected for Pakistan tour.

As captain

Cremer was appointed as the interim captain of Zimbabwe team and they played first match under Cremer against India on June 2016. Despite loss all 3 ODIs against India, Zimbabwe won first T20I by 2 wickets, which was first victory under Cremer.^[4]

Next, Zimbabwe played another home series against New Zealand, which was also whitewashed by New Zealand 2-0.^[5][6] However, prior to Sri Lanka test tour, former Zimbabwean cricketer Heath Streak was appointed as the coach and Cremer stood as the captain for the series.

During the first Test at Harare, Cremer took four crucial wickets in Sri Lankan first innings and while bat, also scored his maiden Test century, guiding his team to avoid follow-on.^[7] With this, He became the first Zimbabwe player and only the seventh captain to make a hundred and take four wickets in an innings of a Test. His efforts in both innings of the Test ended in vein, where they lost the match by 225 runs. However, Cremer was awarded man of the match for his all-round performance in the match.^[8]

International centuries

Test centuries

Test centuries by Graeme Cremer
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	102*	14	Sri Lanka	Harare, Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	2016	Lost[9]

International record

ODI 5 Wicket hauls

#	Figures	Match	Opponent	Venue	City	Country	Year
1	6/46	9	Kenya	Harare Sports Club	Harare	Zimbabwe	2009
2	5/20	57	Afghanistan	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	Sharjah	UAE	2015

International awards

Test Cricket

Man of the match awards

#	Series	Season	Match Performance	Result
1	1st Test – Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe	2016-17	1st Innings – 42-6-142-4, 1 ct., 102* (207 balls: 10x4) 2nd Innings - 14-0-67-0, 1 ct., 43 (144 balls: 5x4)	Sri Lanka won by 225 runs.[10]

References

External links

• Player profile: Graeme Cremer from ESPNcricinfo

Zimbabwe squads
Zimbabwe squad – 2010 ICC World Twenty20 1 Taylor 3 Masakadza 6 Blignaut 7 Price 19 Lamb 28 Mpofu 30 Cremer 33 Chibhabha 44 Taibu 46 Sibanda 47 Chigumbura 52 Utseya (c) 65 Maruma 74 Coventry 77 C Ervine Coach: Butcher Zimbabwe squad – 2011 Cricket World Cup 1 Taylor 7 Price 14 Sibanda 19 Lamb 23 Panyangara 28 Mpofu 30 Cremer 44 Taibu 47 Chigumbura (c) 52 Utseya 72 Duffin 74 Coventry 77 C Ervine 86 Masakadza 91 Chakabva Coach: Butcher Sean Ervine, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Ed Rainsford and Sean Williams were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament Zimbabwe squad – 2012 ICC World Twenty20 1 Taylor (c) 3 Masakadza 7 Price 8 Jarvis 9 Waller 14 Sibanda 28 Mpofu 30 Cremer 45 Matsikenyeri 47 Chigumbura 52 Utseya 58 Muzhange 60 Vitori 66 Mutizwa (wk) 77 Ervine Coach: Butcher Zimbabwe squad – 2016 ICC World Twenty20 03 H Masakadza (c) 13 Chatara 47 Chigumbura 88 Chisoro 30 Cremer 12 Jongwe 07 Madziva 11 W Masakadza - Moor (wk) 89 Mutumbami (wk) 48 Panyangara 24 Raza 10 Sibanda 9 Waller 14 Williams Coach: Whatmore