View source for Grant Flower

{{short description|Zimbabwean cricketer (born 1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox cricketer 
| name         = Grant Flower 
| image              = Grant Flower.jpg 
| caption      = Flower in 2005
| country            = Zimbabwe 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|12|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Salisbury, Rhodesia]]
| international = true
| internationalspan = 1992–2010 
| testdebutdate = 18 October
| testdebutyear = 1992
| testdebutagainst = India
| testcap = 7
| lasttestdate = 26 February
| lasttestyear = 2004
| lasttestagainst = Bangladesh
|       odidebutdate = 25 October
|       odidebutyear = 1992
|    odidebutagainst = India
|             odicap = 27
|        lastodidate = 17 October
|        lastodiyear = 2010
|     lastodiagainst = South Africa
|          odishirt  = 68
| batting            = Right-handed
| bowling            = [[Slow left arm orthodox]] 
| role               = [[Batting order (cricket)#Opening batters|Opening batsman]]
| family             = [[Andy Flower]] (brother)
| nickname           = Flower Power

|              club1 = [[Mashonaland cricket team|Mashonaland]]
|              year1 = {{nowrap|1994/95–2003/04}}
|              club2 = [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]]
|              year2 = 2002
|              club3 = [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]
|              year3 = 2005–2010
|              club4 = [[Mashonaland Eagles]]
|              year4 = 2010/11

| columns            = 4 
| column1            = [[Test cricket|Test]] 
| matches1           = 67
| runs1              = 3,457
| bat avg1           = 29.54 
| 100s/50s1          = 6/15 
| top score1         = 201[[not out|*]] 
| deliveries1        = 3,378
| wickets1           = 25 
| bowl avg1          = 61.48 
| fivefor1           = 0 
| tenfor1            = 0 
| best bowling1      = 4/41
| catches/stumpings1 = 43/–
| column2            = [[One Day International|ODI]] 
| matches2           = 221
| runs2              = 6,571 
| bat avg2           = 33.52
| 100s/50s2          = 6/40 
| top score2         = 142[[not out|*]] 
| deliveries2        = 5,462 
| wickets2           = 104 
| bowl avg2          = 40.62
| fivefor2           = 0 
| tenfor2            = 0 
| best bowling2      = 4/32 
| catches/stumpings2 = 86/–
|             column3 = [[First-class cricket|FC]]
|            matches3 = 188
|               runs3 = 10,898
|            bat avg3 = 37.19
|           100s/50s3 = 23/58
|          top score3 = 243[[not out|*]]
|         deliveries3 = 12,511
|            wickets3 = 166
|           bowl avg3 = 33.76
|            fivefor3 = 3
|             tenfor3 = 0
|       best bowling3 = 7/31
|  catches/stumpings3 = 174/–
|             column4 = [[List A cricket|LA]]
|            matches4 = 366
|               runs4 = 10,758
|            bat avg4 = 34.92
|           100s/50s4 = 13/69
|          top score4 = 148[[not out|*]]
|         deliveries4 = 8,962
|            wickets4 = 188
|           bowl avg4 = 35.77
|            fivefor4 = 0
|             tenfor4 = 0
|       best bowling4 = 4/32
|  catches/stumpings4 = 140/–
| date                = 6 January 
| year                = 2022
| source              = http://www.espncricinfo.com/zimbabwe/content/player/55429.html Cricinfo 
}}
'''Grant William Flower''' (born 20 December 1970) is a [[Zimbabwe national cricket team|Zimbabwean]] cricket coach and former [[cricket]]er. He has been the batting coach of the [[Sri Lanka cricket team]], [[Pakistan cricket team]], and [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]].

He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his consistent left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spent hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder usually positioned in the gully. "Flower Power", the combination of Grant and his brother [[Andy Flower]], was the mainstay of Zimbabwean batting for a decade.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-20|title=Grant Flower: Nine facts about the former Zimbabwe batsman|url=https://www.cricketcountry.com/?p=511012|access-date=2021-07-11|website=Cricket Country|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was his team's most successful opening batsman who played the role of anchorman, with strokeplayers coming in down the order.

He played a lead role in, arguably, Zimbabwe's finest Test victory, against a strong [[Pakistan national cricket team|Pakistan]] side. He would show a liking for the Pakistani side over his career, averaging over 40 against them and scoring 3 [[Century (cricket)|centuries]] including an unbeaten 201. In July 2014, he was appointed as batting coach of the Pakistan cricket team for a period of two years but went onto serve in the position until August 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newzimbabwe.com/sports-16773-Grant+Flower+starts+Pakistan+job/sports.aspx|title=Grant Flower starts Pakistan job|work=New Zimbabwe|date=15 July 2014|access-date=19 August 2014|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819233954/http://www.newzimbabwe.com/sports-16773-Grant+Flower+starts+Pakistan+job/sports.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-07-26|title=PCB retains Grant Flower as Pakistan batting coach; extends services by a year|url=https://www.firstpost.com/sports/pcb-retains-grant-flower-as-pakistan-batting-coach-extends-services-by-a-year-3860117.html|access-date=2021-07-11|website=Firstpost}}</ref>

He was also the first [[List of cricketers who have carried the bat in international cricket|batsman to have carried his bat]] across two different formats and also the only batsman to have carried out his bat in both ODIs as well as in tests.

==Early days==
Grant Flower was born in [[Harare|Salisbury]], [[Rhodesia]] and was educated along with his brother Andy at North Park School where they were the best players in their age groups. Although always an allrounder, he bowled seamers in his early days and his bowling was rated more than his batting. He changed to spin bowling in high school. Quite clearly, Flower is part of the famous talent production line from St George's College, which also includes England cricketers [[Sam Curran]] and [[Tom Curran (cricketer)|Tom Curran]] as well as New Zealand international [[Colin de Grandhomme]] among a plethora of other internationally capped players.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-12-20|title=Grant Flower: Resolute Zimbabwean batsman who carved out a fine career despite living in brother Andy's shadow|url=https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/grant-flower-resolute-zimbabwean-batsman-who-carved-out-a-fine-career-despite-living-in-brother-andys-shadow-77528|access-date=2021-07-11|website=Cricket Country|language=en-US}}</ref>

In the summer of 1990–91 his elevation to a professional cricketer was confirmed when he was employed by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. His debut first-class game for Zimbabwe came against England A. In his second match he opened the innings and was rewarded with a fifty adding what would be the first of many century partnerships with his brother Andy.

At just 19, Flower was part of the 1990 ICC tournament where the winner would qualify for the World Cup. Zimbabwe would go on to win the competition with Grant Flower scoring heavily in the early games. Had they not won the competition it is likely that Zimbabwe would not have made their rise to Test cricket, at least not until much later. Grant Flower missed out on the [[1992 Cricket World Cup|1992 World Cup]] due to injury. In 1990, Grant spent a season in England with Winscombe Cricket Club, followed by Widnes Cricket Club in the Manchester and District Cricket Association in 1993. He also spent a season at Barnt Green Cricket Club of the Birmingham League in 1995.

==International career==
===Test career===
[[File:Grant Flower (1).jpg|200px|left|thumb|Flower batting for Essex against [[Cambridge UCCE]], April 2005]]
After the World Cup Zimbabwe were promoted to [[Test cricket|Test status]] and Flower was unanimously selected to play against the [[India national cricket team|Indian team]] for the Inaugural Test match on 18 October 1992. On a flat pitch, he opened the batting for his country and dominated in a 100 run opening stand. He would go on to score 82, falling short of a century on Test debut.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-20|title=14 Riveting facts about Grant Flower|url=https://www.crictracker.com/facts-about-grant-flower/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=CricTracker|language=en}}</ref> Zimbabwe again met the Indian team this time on their home turf and again fell just short of a maiden Test century when he fell for 96.

Pakistan toured Zimbabwe in 1995 and in the 1st Test Flower finally scored his maiden Test century. Not content, he went on to register double hundred. He hit only 12 boundaries and faced 523 balls as Zimbabwe scored a massive 4/544 declared. His innings would help Zimbabwe to win their first Test match as they won by a convincing Innings and 64 Runs. He would continue to haunt the Pakistani side, scoring his second Test century at Sheikhupura Stadium in Pakistan.

In 1997 Flower became the first Zimbabwean to score a century in both innings of a Test match. Playing against [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]] in Harare, he scored 104 and 151. A year later he scored his 5th Test century, an innings of 156 not out at Queens Sports Club against Pakistan. He would suffer a form slump after that innings, not scoring a 99 for 33 innings including 6 [[Duck (cricket)|ducks]]. On 25 November 2000 he ended his slump with a fine 106 against India and would go on to score 4 50's in his next 6 innings.

===One Day International career===
[[File:Jefferson and Flower.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Flower (on the right) with Essex teammate [[Will Jefferson]].]]
By the end of his ODI career, Flower had taken more wickets than any other Zimbabwean bowler except [[Heath Streak]]. His ODI statistics make better reading than his Test statistics. He would score 6 ODI tons and had it not been for the [[nervous nineties]] may have had many more. 9 times he was either unbeaten or dismissed in the 90's. One of his most memorable centuries would come in the final of a one-day triangular tournament in [[Bangladesh national cricket team|Bangladesh]]. Playing against [[Kenya national cricket team|Kenya]] he smashed an 82 ball century and finished with 140, just 2 short of the national record at the time. He holds the record for taking the most catches as fielder for Zimbabwe in ODI history(86)<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/fielding/most_catches_career.html?class=2;id=9;type=team|title=Cricket Records {{!}} Records {{!}} Zimbabwe {{!}} One-Day Internationals {{!}} Most catches {{!}} ESPN Cricinfo|work=Cricinfo|access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref>

Flower more importantly was the first batsman to carry his bat right through the completed innings of an ODI.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283150.html|title=Records {{!}} One-Day Internationals {{!}} Batting records {{!}} Carrying bat through a completed innings {{!}} ESPN Cricinfo|work=Cricinfo|access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref> He also holds the unique record for being the only batsman in ODI cricket to have carried his bat in a One Day International match in a winning cause.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65524.html|title=8th Match: England v Zimbabwe at Sydney, Dec 15, 1994 {{!}} Cricket Scorecard {{!}} ESPN Cricinfo|work=Cricinfo|access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/151160.html|title=ENGLAND v ZIMBABWE|work=Cricinfo|access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref>

===Late career===
In 2004 he announced his retirement from international cricket. This was due largely to the dispute between the rebels and the Zimbabwean Cricket Union. He signed a contract with [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] as a [[Kolpak player]] where he played alongside his brother Andy. There was some grumbling amongst Essex supporters at his signing, but this appeared to die down after his first season, when he topped the [[Essex County Cricket Club in 2005#List-A cricket|Essex 2005 List-A]] batting averages and was third in the number of wickets taken.

===Return===
Following another fine season for Essex which turned out to be his last season of county cricket, Flower was handed a shock recall to the Zimbabwe team for the tour of South Africa. He was expected to combine playing duties with his role of batting coach of the national side and was in contention to play in the [[2011 Cricket World Cup]] held in India.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grant Flower to make international return|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zimbabwe-in-south-africa-2010-grant-flower-to-make-international-return-479337|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Campbell wants Grant Flower to play World Cup|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zimbabwe-in-south-africa-2010-alistair-campbell-wants-grant-flower-to-play-world-cup-479692|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref> He made his international return in October 2010 during the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flower backs Zimbabwe Test return|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zimbabwe-news-grant-flower-backs-zimbabwe-test-return-483649|access-date=2021-10-25|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
He was appointed as the batting coach of Zimbabwe in October 2010 and served in the position until 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grant Flower Profile - ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats|url=https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/3413/grant-flower|access-date=2021-07-11|website=Cricbuzz|language=en}}</ref> In May 2014, he was appointed as the batting coach of [[Pakistan cricket team]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grant Flower named Pakistan batting coach|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/grant-flower-named-pakistan-batting-coach-744967|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref> His contract was ended in August 2019 by [[Pakistan Cricket Board|PCB]] after Pakistan's dismal performance at the [[2019 Cricket World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-16|title=Grant Flower pinpoints worst things about living in Pakistan|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/grant-flower-pakistan-coach-worst-things-5911009/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-07|title=Grant Flower sacked as Pakistan batting coach|url=https://www.newzimbabwe.com/grant-flower-sacked-as-pakistan-batting-coach/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=NewZimbabwe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref> He was instrumental in Pakistan's triumph at the [[2017 ICC Champions Trophy]] which Flower himself considers as his personal achievement.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Will miss the friendly people, but not the backstabbing ex-players' - Grant Flower|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/will-miss-the-friendly-people-but-not-the-backstabbing-ex-players-grant-flower-1197644|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref> He was appointed as the head coach of [[Rangpur Riders]] for the [[2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-19|title=Grant Flower gets Bangladesh Premier League coaching role|url=https://www.newzimbabwe.com/grant-flower-gets-bangladesh-premier-league-coaching-role/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=NewZimbabwe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In December 2019, he was appointed as the batting coach of Sri Lanka for a contract of two years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-08|title=Flower appointed Sri Lanka batting coach|url=https://www.newzimbabwe.com/flower-appointed-sri-lanka-batting-coach/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=NewZimbabwe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka batting 'the worst I've seen' - Grant Flower|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-vs-england-1st-test-2020-21-sri-lanka-batting-the-worst-i-ve-seen-grant-flower-1247828|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Grant Flower pleased with Sri Lanka application despite 'giving them three wickets'|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-vs-england-2nd-test-grant-flower-pleased-with-sri-lanka-application-despite-giving-them-three-wickets-1248882|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mickey Arthur To Be Sri Lanka's Next Head Coach; Grant Flower, David Sekar Among Support Staff|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-mickey-arthur-to-be-sri-lankas-next-head-coach-grant-flower-david-sekar-among-support-staff/343568|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.outlookindia.com/}}</ref> On 8 July 2021, he was tested positive for COVID-19 on his return to Sri Lanka from England following the limited overs series between Sri Lanka and England.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SL batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for Covid-19 after returning from England|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-batting-coach-grant-flower-tests-positive-for-covid-19-after-returning-from-england-1268971|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|agency=PTI|date=2021-07-08|title=Sri Lanka batting coach Grant Flower tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of India series|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/sri-lanka-batting-coach-grant-flower-tests-positive-for-covid-19-ahead-of-india-series/article35221722.ece|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> It was revealed that Flower is under stable position along with Sri Lanka cricket data analyst GT Niroshan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka allowed to come out of isolation as players return negative tests|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/sri-lanka-allowed-to-come-out-of-isolation-as-players-return-negative-tests-1269320|access-date=2021-07-11|website=ESPNcricinfo|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cricinfo|id=55429}}

{{Pakistan national cricket team coaches}}
{{Zimbabwe ODI Cricket Captains}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flower, Grant}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:South African people of British descent]]
[[Category:Essex cricketers]]
[[Category:Leicestershire cricketers]]
[[Category:Mashonaland cricketers]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Harare]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean ODI captains]]
[[Category:Zimbabwe One Day International cricketers]]
[[Category:Zimbabwe Test cricketers]]
[[Category:21st-century Zimbabwean sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century Zimbabwean sportsmen]]
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[[Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup]]
[[Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup]]
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[[Category:White Zimbabwean sportspeople]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean cricket coaches]]
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