Cup’s oddest tagteam: Livewire Price and introvert Utseya

[CrimsonAvenger]

http://cricket.expressindia.com/news/Cu ... ya/762986/

Colombo: He records nature sounds while fishing and converts them into cell-phone ringtones for his team mates. He is a terror for anyone joining him in the swimming pool and there are few guys in the Zimbabwean dressing room who haven’t been at the receiving end of his pranks. At 34, Ray Price — the only seasoned campaigner in the setup — is, as Brendan Taylor puts it, “like a perennially excited two-year-old.”

But the man the veteran left-arm spinner spends most time with during practice sessions, however, is a study in contrast. While Price the entertainer is clearly a live wire in the Zimbabwean team, his spin-partner, Prosper Utseya is quite the opposite: a quintessential introvert.

“With Prosper it is extremely difficult to say whether he is happy or sad. He shows no emotion on his face and is never excited about anything nor is he ever depressed,” says the team’s media manager Jeff Murimbechi.

The combination of the firebrand comic, who breaks into a jig almost whenever a wicket falls, and the impassive off-spinner, though, have proved to be more than a handful for every single opponent that Zimbabwe have come up against during the World Cup so far. Their economy rate, of 3.54 and 4.10 respectively, is a clear indicator of the shackles that Price and Utseya have put on the opposition batsmen.

While Price has opened the bowling in four of the five matches, his 25-year-old spin-twin, has bowled within the first seven overs on a couple of occasions already. Being economical, however, has always been the duo’s forte. And though some might argue that their impressive overall economy rates in ODI cricket are more a result of having played primarily against weaker opposition, they haven’t done too badly against the big teams either.

Compact actions

Both possess compact bowling actions — the only difference being in that Price uses the crease a lot more — and are canny in their use of flight and pace variations.

Their personalities aren’t the only major differentiating factors between the two, though. While Razor (Price’s nickname in the team) — nephew of former British Open champion Nick Price — is an avid golf-fan and comes from a privileged background; Utseya, who made his debut at 18 and was Zimbabwean captain for three years, shot to the limelight from near obscurity.

And their journeys in international cricket too couldn’t have been more contrasting. Having turned his back on his country in 2004 after an impressive start, Price, the journeyman, perfected his art while wheeling away for Worcestershire in county cricket before returning a more accomplished spinner. He has since climbed into the top-five ODI bowlers list and made himself comfortable there.

“County cricket really helped Ray to improve upon his skills and bring in a lot of variations. He now is in perfect control of his bowling,” explains Murimbechi.

Utseya has had to deal with other responsibilities at a young age, however, but has never let it affect his bowling, which has continued to improve rapidly. Though his ascension to captaincy did attract criticism, especially considering the youngster’s reclusive reputation, Murimbechi insists that he proved to be an able leader of a young team.

“He had the ability to make his players listen to him. And he was excellent with his one-on-one interactions,” he says.

While being excellent as defensive bowlers, the duo have also managed to buy themselves wickets on a regular basis — just like they did against Pakistan at Pallekele on Monday. And behind their distinct exteriors, Murimbechi believes, lies an identically strong resolve to win.

“Ray will think about winning the match even if the opposition requires one run to win off 20 overs with all their wickets in hand. Prosper is no different,” he says.

Proven leaders

A few years ago the Zimbabwean players and their priorities were as dispersed as the elephants during their bathing session at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage — one of the must-see destinations in Sri Lanka. But with Price and Utseya leading the way, both with the ball and as mentors, the present lot not only wear a more cohesive look, they also seem well on their path to once again become a force to reckon with in international cricket.