Andy Blignaut

Andy Blignaut
Personal information
Full name Arnoldus Mauritius Blignaut
Born (1978-08-01) 1 August 1978
Salisbury, Rhodesia
Batting Left-hand ed
Bowling Right-arm medium-fast
Role All-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 48) 19 April 2001 v Bangladesh
Last Test 20 September 2005 v India
ODI debut (cap 56) 2 September 1999 v West Indies
Last ODI 3 June 2010 v India
ODI shirt no. 99
T20I debut (cap 25) 4 May 2010 v New Zealand
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I LA
Matches 19 54 1 80
Runs scored 886 626 8 915
Batting average 26.84 18.96 8.00 17.59
100s/50s 0/6 0/5 0/0 0/6
Top score 92 63* 8 63*
Balls bowled 3,173 2,348 - 3,341
Wickets 53 50 - 70
Bowling average 37.05 41.26 - 42.47
5 wickets in innings 3 0 - 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 - 0
Best bowling 5/73 4/43 - 4/43
Catches/stumpings 13/– 11/– 0/– 17/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2 September 2017

Arnoldus Mauritius "Andy" Blignaut (born 1 August 1978) is a former Zimbabwean cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He was a right-arm fast-medium bowler, also known as a hard-hitting batsman in ODIs, where he frequently scored a fast rate; though he was seldom able to sustain this form and keeping his wicket intact through many overs. He more often played ODIs, where many runs in a short time are desired, than Tests.

International career

On his Test debut, he took five wickets in the first innings against Bangladesh in Bulawayo in 2001.[1] Blignaut took a hat-trick against Bangladesh in a Test match at Harare on 22 February 2004. He is the only bowler to take a Test hat-trick for Zimbabwe.

Like Travis Friend and Henry Olonga before him, Blignaut was one of the few Zimbabwean bowlers who could exceed 90mph. In a land full of medium-fast bowlers, Blignaut (on his day) formed a lethal opening combination with the dependable Heath Streak, and often rushed the batsmen for pace off the wicket. In an ODI against England at Durham in 2003, he bowled a delivery at 93mph to Andrew Flintoff, but he conceded nearly 10 runs an over, getting neither his line nor his length right. He had the ability to win or lose a game within the space of a few overs.

After playing the series against New Zealand and India in 2005, he withdrew from Zimbabwe selection because he had not been paid.[2]

His ODI strike-rate is over 100, with a high score of 63 not out, and an average of just 19. His bowling average is just above 41, with best bowling figures of 4/43, and an economy of 5.34. He was also a fine fielder.

Domestic career

In the Australian season 2004-05, Blignaut was contracted to play for Tasmania. Injury and poor form prevented him from playing all but a couple of games for the state. He even struggled to make an impact at club level. Eventually he returned to Zimbabwe to re-join the Test side. The second year of his contract with Tasmania was cancelled.

He signed a contract with South African domestic side Highveld Lions for 2006 season. After 2006, he disappear from cricket for a few years before returning in 2010 for a few matches for Zimbabwe.

After cricket

He works in the family business in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

References

  1. ↑ "1st Test: Zimbabwe v Bangladesh at Bulawayo, Apr 19–22, 2001". espncricinfo. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  2. ↑ "Blignaut: Can't pay, won't play". Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.