If one has the will to succeed, failing is never an option!
Well, this quote holds true in every aspect of life and more so in the annals of cricket, with a setback always just serving as a minor road block in a journey of intent for every purposeful cricketer.
Perhaps, such is their mettle to perform against all odds with adversity being just another reason for them to create opportunity.
A cricketer, who has seamlessly demonstrated the desire to fit in this mould is Zimbabwe’s very own Christopher Mpofu.
Having debuted in 2004, when Zimbabwe was facing a mass exodus of seasoned talent, the likes of the Flower Brothers, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, the late Heath Streak and others, owing to political instability and the ever-rising inflation, Mpofu was thrown in the deep end in an ODI game against the mighty English team.
Not to get overawed by the enormity of the occasion, Mpofu held his own with immaculate line and length bowling using the away going delivery to good effect to give the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell some anxious moments conceding just 32 runs from his 10 overs albeit going wicketless.
The start despite being promising did not result in wickets in the initial part of Christopher’s career as he would have hoped in spite of being around the periphery of the Zimbabwean team.
What followed was not very encouraging for this lanky lad with Zimbabwe’s tour of South Africa in 2010 causing nightmares aplenty for Mpofu as he conceded a plethora of runs albeit going light on wickets.
One couldn’t perhaps blame him entirely for this dearth of scalps as the Chevrons laid more emphasis on spin around that time.
Amidst this saga of things going south, Cristopher still kept his belief alive and more importantly continued to nurture his intent.
Under the tutelage of fellow compatriot and then fast bowling coach Heath Streak, fortunes started to change for this Chevrons’ speedster as Streak made Mpofu realize he needed a wider repertoire of balls.
Things began to soar with Christopher picking seven wickets from four matches in the 2011 ODI World Cup at an impressive average of 22.
He then made Zimbabwe ascend to their first test victory against Bangladesh since 2004 taking five wickets in the process.
With a total tally of 155 wickets across all formats for Zimbabwe in the international game, Christopher undoubtedly has been one of the purposeful pillars of the Chevron’s bowling setup, standing tall amid adversity.
Despite retiring from international cricket, Mpofu still hasn’t hung-up his bowling boots as he continues to ply his trade across franchise tournaments and also aspires to become a cricket analyst someday.
Currently playing in the Indian Veteran Premier League (IVPL) for VVIP Uttar Pradesh, Christopher has already notched up 12 wickets in five games being the key instrument of destruction on all opposition teams making him the leading wicket taker in this tournament as things stand.
With the hunger to still notch up scalps and in his next chapter of becoming a cricketing analyst, one would undoubtedly hope to see Christopher’s towering grace in every opportunity’s embrace.
Image source– IVPL (Twitter/ X handle)
