MUDHARA HAMI: BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING

Hamilton Masakadza will go down as a legend in Zimbabwe cricketing circles. Truth should also be told that he did not really fulfill his true potential and his batting statistics will prove that. In his latter stages of his career he was known by the name MUDHARA Hami which to some extent shows his longevity at the top level of cricket at the same time which shows he probably should have called time on his career a bit earlier.

Just like most black kids, he grew up in a township and because of his undeniable talent he got a scholarship to Churchill Boys High which had better cricketing facilities. Together with other young black cricketing talents like Taibu, Chigumbura, Chibhabha they were all part of the Churchill team from the Highfields township.  Talent wasn’t an issue for Hamilton because at the age of 16 and still a schoolboy, Masakadza became the first black Zimbabwean and youngest player to score a first-class century. To just put this into context this was a young black kid who was given an opportunity as a schoolkid to play first class cricket which some section of people used to view it as a white men’s sport. This inevitably made him get a Test debut against the mighty West Indies at Harare Sports Club. In the second innings of that game he scored 119 runs against the likes of Lara and Chanderpaul.  

I don’t think at that time he knew the impact of what he had done not only for the Zimbabwe cricket team but for the black community who historically were marginalized from playing cricket or even going to schools with better facilities. At the age of 17 after that special knock he became the youngest player to make a century on test debut. This inspired everyone that it was possible for anyone regardless of your background to make it as a top cricketer.

Some people might have called it a strange decision at that point but personally as a black kid I totally understood his decision at that time to put briefly his professional cricketing career on hold to study at the University of Free State. That was the beginning of the massive fall from grace for Zimbabwe cricket after the rebel crisis. A period which I managed to learn that mixing sport and politics will never work. Masakadza was recalled back in 2004 and the team he got into at that time was weaker than the one which he was in previously. It’s also not an excuse for the type of form that he got into from that period till the day he called time on his career. One might also say that the frustration from most of us Zimbabwe cricket lovers is that we knew the talent he had and for some reasons till now I fail to pin point why he failed to live up to most of our expectations. With more than 9 000 International runs, 50 wickets and also having the record of scoring most runs in a 5 match ODI series, it is those type of statistics you cannot take away from him.

The decline of his career has also seen the cricket of Zimbabwe in general going down which one might ask the question maybe the players are no longer motivated enough to represent our beloved country. The troubles of Zimbabwe cricket are a story for another day and it’s so sad that a legend like Hamilton Masakadza on his very last game the jersey of the country he loved and represented for years had no sponsor which was an anticlimax. People define a legend in so many ways but personally a legend is someone who left a mark on people and longevity which I feel both fits the bill for Mkoma Hami. A legend who inspired many and It is not a coincidence that his younger brothers Shingi and Wellington went on to represent the country as well which showed the impact he made. Thank you Mdara Hami, a very humble guy who played the gentleman’s game the way it should be played and most importantly for inspiring the black community.