Christopher Mpofu

One of the most prolific pacers of the Zimbabwe national team, Christopher Mpofu has featured for Zimbabwe on a far more consistent basis than they would have under normal circumstances due to the lack of quality cricketers and the exodus of the existing players.

Mpofu has been a mainstay in the Zimbabwean pace bowling set-up for more than 15 years now. A tall seamer who gets good movement and has technically astute action, the Plumtree-born has time and again come up with match-winning performances with the ball for his country.

The medium-pacer played cricket for the first time when he was 16 and by the time he was 19, he had already become an international cricketer. Mpofu made his Test and ODI debut way back in 2004 but until 2010, had played in less than 50 ODIs, a testament to both his inconsistency and Zimbabwe’s lack of international cricket.

Mpofu had a memorable 2011 World Cup in terms of individual performance. The pacer picked up 7 wickets from 4 matches at an excellent average of 22. Although his team didn’t do well in the tournament, Mpofu was in gripping form.

One of his favourite moments came In an ODI against Afghanistan in 2017 where Afghanistan was cruising at 121/5 while chasing 130 but lost their last 5 wickets for 5 runs thanks to Mpofu’s three-wicket-haul. 

Entering the international arena at just 18 years of age and just two years of cricketing experience, Christopher Mpofu is a testament to the fact that with determination and, trust in oneself, one can go a long way in life.

(As of May 2021)