|
|
| Zimbabwe
Squad
|
|
|
|
Douglas
Anthony Marillier
|
| Born: |
24
April 1978, Salisbury (now Harare) |
|
| Major
Teams: |
Midlands,
Zimbabwe |
| Known
As: |
Douglas
Marillier |
| Batting
Style: |
Right
Hand Bat |
| Bowling
Style: |
Right
Arm Off Break |
| Other: |
Wicket-Keeper |
| Test
Debut: |
Zimbabwe v New Zealand at Wellington, Only Test, 2000/01 |
| Latest
Test: |
Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka at Galle, 3rd Test, 2001/02 |
| ODI
Debut: |
Zimbabwe v New Zealand at Bulawayo, 2nd ODI, 2000/01 |
| Latest
ODI: |
Zimbabwe v Kenya at Bulawayo, 3rd ODI, 2002/03
|
|
|
Profile:
Doug Marillier is one of Zimbabwe's most
determined young cricketers, and he has a clear liking for big
scores. His career is all the more remarkable for the fact that he
was once so badly injured in a car accident that it was feared he
would never be able to walk, let alone play again. Doug has a
strong family background in the game - his father Tony was a
stalwart for the Police Cricket Club for years in the sixties and
seventies, represented the national side in a couple of one-day
matches, but without success. Doug grew up in Harare, apart from a
couple of years spent in Masvingo. Doug attended North Park
primary school, the same school that Andy and Grant Flower
attended, and won a place in the school Colts team when in Grade
3, playing with and against boys who were mostly two years older
than he. He progressed to Eaglesvale High School. He was soon
opening the innings and the centuries began to come. He pays
tribute to his coach at the time, Barry Lake, who he recalls
produced a great many good cricketers, including the Marilliers,
the Matambanadzos and the Campbells. In 1994, at the age of 16, he
played for the Mashonaland Under-19 team in the inter-provincial
competition. Two weeks later he was involved in a horrific car
accident. A truck pulled out directly in front of the car in which
he was travelling, and they ran straight into it. He broke both
femurs; he had a compound fracture of the right leg, severing the
main artery, and the bone in his left leg was crushed just above
the knee. He was in a wheelchair for three months, and missed a
whole year of cricket; at the time many thought he might well
never play again. While he was recovering and still unable to play
himself, Doug involved himself in coaching, and a bit of umpiring,
to stay involved in the game. Doug himself never lost faith that
he would one day play again, and this belief helped him through a
difficult time. He finally returned to play in a school match
almost a year after the accident - he padded away the first ball,
to be given out lbw. After this Doug went from strength to
strength, and his final record for the Eaglesvale first team
included nine centuries and two double-centuries. In his Lower
Sixth year at school, Doug was selected for the Zimbabwe Under-18
team as captain. Doug joined Harare Sports Club at the tender age
of 11, although he did not get a game until he was about 15. He
stayed at the club until the age of 19, but was unable to command
a place in the first team, so he moved to Alexandra Sports Club.
He made his highest league score of 130 for them against his
former team. Doug has not kept wicket regularly since he played
for the national Under-18 team, but he still considers himself a
useful stand-in 'stopper' and can take over at times when the
regular keeper may be injured. After leaving school at the end of
1997, Doug coached for three months at Watershed College, and then
went to England to play for Kenilworth in the Birmingham League.
He scored a record 1207 league runs for them at an average of
about 68. They asked him to return in 1999, which he did, scoring
1218 runs this time. He planned to return to the Birmingham League
in 2000, to play for Bromsgrove this time, but his selection for
the Zimbabwe A tour to Sri Lanka prevented him from doing so. This
gave him three months without cricket after four or five years
without a break, but he felt the break did him good. In 1999 he
won selection as a member of the first intake of students in the
Zimbabwe Cricket Academy. The highlights of his year were a couple
of centuries he scored against local teams. Doug's promise and
determination were so highly regarded that he was selected as the
one young Zimbabwe player to visit the Australian Academy for two
and a half weeks. After making a century for the Academy against
the New Zealanders in a warm-up match before the first one-day
international he was named in the squad for the three-match
one-day series, and replaced Craig Wishart as opening partner to
Alistair Campbell in the second match, at Queens Sports Club in
Bulawayo. He was lucky enough to receive his first ball on his
legs, enabling him to put it away for three to midwicket. He
offered a couple of difficult chances but went on to contribute 27
of an opening partnership of 83, a major factor in the eventual
winning of the match, before pulling a long hop to midwicket, much
to his annoyance. He bettered this with 47 in the second match,
this time putting on 97 with Alistair, and he had made an
immediate impression on the international game. On the extended
tour of Sharjah, India, New Zealand and Australia. Opening the
batting in five one-day internationals, his highest score was only
11, but the tour selectors persevered with him, putting him down
to number seven, where he scored 38 against India. He also made
his Test debut against New Zealand, scoring 28. His lack of
consistency meant that he did not play in the triangular
tournament in Australia, which also included West Indies, until
the final match. He could hardly have had a more testing
experience, as a fine Zimbabwe batting performance after Australia
scored over 300 meant that he came in at number seven needing to
score 15 in the final over, bowled by Glenn McGrath, to win the
match. He moved across to the first two balls he received from
McGrath and flicked them over his shoulder to fine leg for
boundaries, reviving hopes of an incredible Zimbabwe victory. But
he was just unable to complete the job, and his team lost by one
run. His two courageous and unorthodox boundary strokes, though,
made him a legend, temporarily at least, with the shot becoming
known as `the Marillier'. He failed to keep his place against
Bangladesh, and decided to take up a club appointment in England
rather than stay at home and hope for selection against India and
West Indies. He won back his place in the one-day side against
England, but failed again with the bat; it was surprisingly his
bowling that kept him in the team, after he took four wickets for
38 against England at Bulawayo and continued thereafter to bowl
his flighted off-breaks usefully. His unorthodox batting was
highlighted during a quite brilliant half-century to win a one-day
international against India in March 2002, resurrecting the
Zimbabwe innings from near-death. As a batsman Doug tends to
favour the leg side, as did his father, and admits to a tendency
to play across the line if he is not careful. At present he is
more confident facing pace rather than spin, and prefers one of
the first three positions in the batting order; he likes to open
in one-day matches, but prefers three in the longer game. He can
field in virtually any position, usually taking the slips or
covers, but he has a good arm and can also field on the boundary
|
|
