OTD: Stuart Carlisle, Zimbabwe’s utility batter was born in 1972

On this day, back in 1972, Zimbabwe star cricketer Stuart Carlisle was born. Notably, the star cricketer has played 37 Test matches and 111 ODIs for Zimbabwe and taken his side to the epitome of the level with his huge success. However, Stuart is the only player from his national side who has scored both an ODI and a Test century against top-ranked Australia in his career. He was known for his unorthodox playing style and was also lauded for his best fielding efforts during his cricket days.

Speaking about his international journey, the stylish right-handed batter made his debut on January 31, 1995, against Pakistan. However, he later made his debut for the ODI against the same team on February 22, 1995. The star cricketer played a very crucial role in the 1999 World Cup. In addition, he also played a very crucial role for his side during the ODI series against Australia in 2001, where he made 119 runs from just 45 balls to chase down the target of 304 runs set by the Australian side, but his side fell short by 2 runs in the last over. Despite the same, his innings was remembered as one of the finest ODI knocks.

Meanwhile, Stuart was appointed as the skipper in 2001, where he guided his national side to defeat Bangladesh in the Test after 17 years. However, later, he lost five out of six Test matches, which made him lose the captaincy. However, the Harare-born cricketer was not picked during the 2003 World Cup, where Ricky Ponting-led Australia defeated Sourav Ganguly’s Men in Blue in the final game.

However, Stuart went on to suffer in his days as he was frequently shuffled up and down the order during his career. Notably, he was known as one of the best utility batters who has played from first position to seventh position and contributed a major role for his national side.