Dave Houghton is one of Zimbabwe's best two batsmen in their short Test history, alongside Andy Flower. Houghton hit 121 in Zimbabwe's inaugural Test, against India at Harare in 1992-93, and cracked 266 - his country's highest Test score so far - against Sri Lanka at Bulawayo in 1994-95. Zimbabwe's first Test captain, Houghton has an exceptional cricket brain that helped him become national coach after a spell in charge at Worcestershire. As a batsman he had the ability to play either long, defensive innings or shorter, attacking ones, and he was a brilliant player of spin, but equally adept against pace. He started life as a wicketkeeper, but became a top-class slip fielder too, possibly helped by his time as Zimbabwe's hockey goalkeeper.
Geoffrey Dean

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Mar 6, 2005 Dave Houghton in TV analyst mode © Cricinfo Ltd

Dave Houghton portrait © The Cricketer International

Jun 19, 1999 The Zimbabwe World Cup team before their welcome home parade in Harare © Zimbabwe Cricket Union

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