Prosper Utseya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prosper Utseya Zimbabwe (ZIM)

Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling type	Right-arm offbreak
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	1	50
Runs scored	45	277
Batting average	22.50	11.08
100s/50s	-/-	-/-
Top score	45	31
Balls bowled	72	1415
Wickets	-	34
Bowling average	-	49.61
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	N/A
Best bowling	-	3/35
Catches/stumpings	2/-	17/-
As of 5 March 2006 Source: Cricinfo.com

Prosper Utseya (born March 26, 1985 in Harare) is a Zimbabwean cricketer. Rising from the ranks of township cricket in Harare's Highfield suburb, he attended Churchill High School (the cradle of many black Zimbabwean players), thanks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union scholarship s, and now heads the National side. He bowls a right-arm off break and is a useful right-hand batsman with a current average of 22.50 in Tests.

While his initial place in the national team owed much to the withdrawal of several white players after Heath Streak's dismissal from captaincy, Utseya has more than earned his place since. He has turned from a promising spinner to a world class one, and is the only player in the current Zimbabwean side with even a chance of making the national team of any of the eight primary cricket-playing countries. He was ranked 16th in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings in mid-2006, despite the fact that he is more of a Test bowler than an ODI bowler.

He has a reputation for being an extremely parsimonious bowler, albeit with less wicket taking prowess. In a Cricinfo article from August 2006, he had the lowest economy rate (3.84) amongst all spinners in the history of ODI cricket. In comparison, the economy rates for Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbajan Singh at the same time were 3.85 and 4.11 respectively.

In July 2006, Prosper was appointed as the National Captain at the age of 21, replacing Terry Duffin at the last minute (see Cricinfo interview of August 2006). He got off to a good start, with a well fought 3-2 series victory against fellow wooden spoon contenders Bangladesh.

For current statistics, see his Cricinfo profile.