Keith Dudgeon Owned the Weekend
Keith Dudgeon was unplayable against the Lions
In 1983, Duncan Fletcher led Zimbabwe to a near-impossible win. All members of his team were making their ODI debuts and in their first match had to face an Australia team that had been playing white-ball cricket from the mid-70s. Fletcher was the most experienced after his spells in South African provincial cricket and the UK club cricket scene.
Australia’s players were professionals fully funded by Cricket Australia and some had endorsement deals with equipment manufacturers. Zimbabwe’s players had held fundraising events after work and on weekends to raise money for the trip to England. They held large beer festivals with all players acting as barmen and stall-keepers, sold signed miniature bats and auctioned tobacco bales donated by local farmers.
The players’ wives organised cake sales and sold trinkets like cuff links, ties and other memorabilia to the general public when Zimbabwe played games against visiting sides.
In 1975, a newspaper captioned a photo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson: ‘Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Thomson don't get ya, Lillee must.’ They were one of the world’s greatest pace pairs. In 1983 they were a little older, and a little slower, but still effective. They were quicker than the tame medium pace Zimbabwe’s batters were used to.
In fact, to prepare for the World Cup and quicker bowlers, Fletcher and his team had prepared for high pace by facing two baseball pitchers, Arthur Fulton and Kenny Doull, from South Africa. Fulton and Doull were asked to throw balls from 18 yards as fast as they could.
The contest was so lopsided everyone expected Zimbabwe to roll over and die. Zimbabwe’s top four put 86 runs on the board, Kevin Curran added 27 and Duncan Fletcher combined with Ian Butchart for an unbeaten 75-run seventh-wicket partnership that saw Zimbabwe to to 239. Fletcher top-scored with 69 off 84.
Australia’s openers Graham Wood (31) and Kepler Wessels (76) did what was expected of them with a 61-run opening stand. Then Fletcher came in to bowl and changed the game with two wickets in successive overs. Wessels and David Hookes threatened to take the game away before Fletcher broke that partnership. Zimbabwe’s military medium militia supported Fletcher by bowling tights and giving little away. They were miserly than in the last over Australia needed 23 off one ball.
Zimbabwe wasn’t expected to win a single match, they were there to make up numbers. Beating title challengers Australia by 13 runs was an unexpected result.
Normally, I ask you to support the newsletter, but at the moment, I have a bigger ask, if you can spare a little bit, please contribute to my son’s cancer treatment and recovery. We have not yet reached the full amount required. You can also help by sharing the link:
KZN Tuskers is a union in trouble. Their start to their first season in the topflight was rocked by Grant Morgan’s resignation. Morgan, one of the most celebrated coaches in world cricket, shepherded the Tuskers to Division 1 and was the brains behind their team-strengthening acquisitions in the off-season.
According to a Rapport report, Morgan packed his bags and left because of what he termed "systemic dysfunction". He is said to have made numerous suggestions about how things could be improved, but the union failed to deliver. Among his concerns was the state of the practice nets. They lack proper batting tops, which makes them dangerous to bat on.
The union is said to lack basic infrastructure, like an irrigation system that could be used to maintain the field.
A few weeks ago, a three-day match between the Tuskers and Free State B teams was called off after it was noted that the outfield was littered with pins and broken glass. Not long afterwards, a contest between Hilton and Michaelhouse had to be moved to a different stadium because of the same issues. This was not a one-off. There was a time when players and staff walked onto a field with tyre tracks and debris after an event had been held at Pietermaritzburg Oval. Another time, they found the stadium strewn with condoms, beer cans and chicken bones.
According to Rapport, the Tuskers’ management invited players to train at an alternative venue because of the terrible state of their ground. The paper further said that a visiting team had lodged a complaint with CSA after playing at Pietermaritzburg Oval. They also said that the Tuskers’ travel arrangements to away games were often not made correctly. There were also suggestions that the Tuskers hasn’t fielded a full-strength squad because certain players voiced concerns and were sidelined.
The Tuskers’ performance in the 4-day series was a reflection of their crisis. They did not win a single match. Their draws were mainly due to flat track wickets and inclement weather. They had a ‘better’ one-day cup, only because they managed to chalk a victory in their first match of the season. It was their only victory in the tournament.
In March, CSA intervened and decided that Tuskers’ home games would now be moved away from Pietermaritzburg Oval. With their home ground in a state of collapse and player-management relations not looking good, the KZN team travelled to Johannesburg for a CSA T20 Challenge match against the Lions, one of the best-run unions in South Africa.
Four of the Lions’ top six batters are Proteas players. Two of whom dominated in the Pakistan Super League. Had they not rested Ryan Rickelton, they would have fielded five batters with international experience. This lineup catches fire quickly and can bat teams out of the game. That is what everyone expected. But, that’s not what happened.
Keith Dudgeon grew up in the highveld, attended Parktown Boys’ High, featured in Gauteng’s age-group teams, played for SA Under-19 and bowled for the Gauteng Strikers. But, he couldn’t break through into the Lions’ squad so he moved to KZN and joined the Tuskers. His first taste of Division 1 cricket was in the 2023-24 season.
Dudgeon put on a masterclass in new ball bowling against his former union. He had the ball on a string in the first over. He dismissed Rassie van der Dussen with the first delivery of the game and almost sent Temba Bavuma packing with his second ball, but Cameron Shekleton dropped the opportunity. His third was as good as the two that came before it, and with it, he claimed Bavuma’s wicket. Dudgeon wasn’t done yet. He fired in a toe-crunching yorker to trap Mitchell van Buuren lbw. He finished the over with two more impeccable deliveries, a triple-wicket maiden.
When he came back for his second over, Dudgeon delivered three dot balls before dismissing Reeza Hendricks. The 28-year-old had sent down 10 deliveries, taken four wickets and was yet to concede a run. His first two overs put the Lions on the back foot and helped him make history. He became the first South African bowler to take three wickets in the first over and the eighth in T20 cricket.
Dudgeon finished with numbers that read like a fraction, 4/5. You read that right, four wickets for five runs in three overs.
The Lions were shell-shocked and did not recover from the early strikes. They stumbled to 90/5 in 15 overs. The match was reduced to 15 overs a side after rain, lightning and a delayed start. The Tuskers scored 94/2 in 11.4 overs to register an improbable bonus-point win. Their first win in the tournament.
The Tuskers’ victory defied reason. They came into the match on the back of three big losses. But, that’s cricket. Sometimes you get unexpected results and they are what make the game so great to watch.
If you found this interesting, please share it:
You can support Stumped! by leaving a tip:
Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS