There are a few things to know about Blessing Muzarabani.
He’s very tall – all of 6ft 8in – and he’s a lovely man. Softly spoken, with a near-permanent smile. He also takes wickets. Lots of them.
If it is slightly disingenuous to trumpet the pace bowler as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, external this year – Zimbabwe’s four Tests are more than any other team have played – it is more instructive to look at his achievements along the way.
In the first three of those Tests the 28-year-old took a six-wicket innings haul. Only four other seamers in history have managed that. Two of them, George Lohmann and Tom Richardson, did so in the 19th Century. The other two are all-time greats Imran Khan and Malcolm Marshall. Good company.
Now Muzarabani takes on England.
If Zimbabwe win at Trent Bridge this week it will go down as one of the greatest upsets in Test history, but that does not mean Muzarabani cannot do damage to Ben Stokes’ men. Think of Tim Murtagh taking five for Ireland to bowl England out for 85 at Lord’s in 2019.
Muzarabani will have back-up, sharing the new ball with Richard Ngarava. They have been friends since they were children.
“We grew up together,” Muzarabani tells BBC Sport. “We lived really close. We played street cricket, schools cricket and age-group cricket together. We know each other really well and we’ve always been close.
“I get a little bit nice, but Rich is on you. He’s more aggressive, especially if we’re not getting the wickets. He brings something different.”
For Muzarabani and Ngarava, the first exposure to organised cricket was the Takashinga club, just south of Harare. A predominantly black club, it is a powerhouse of cricket in Zimbabwe, responsible for many internationals.
“I started playing there when I was six,” says Muzarabani. “The club has given me so much, to be the cricketer I am today.
“Some of the facilities, you have to pay, but with Takashinga the ground was available for us for free. I have a lot of respect for Takashinga and everyone there.
“It’s a lot of young guys from humble backgrounds that love the game. I can say a lot about Takashinga. It is a club that has given a lot to Zimbabwe cricket.”
Muzarabani did not seriously consider the prospect of a career as a cricketer until he had a growth spurt about the age of 18 – “I was always tall, then I really started getting tall.” At 21 he was a Test cricketer, a debut against South Africa on Boxing Day in 2017 only his sixth first-class match.
By then, though, the wheels were in motion for Muzarabani to alter his path.
With the help of former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu, agent Rob Humphries and Winston Weekes, a legendary figure born in Barbados and with connections to Zimbabwe, Muzarabani had the opportunity to pause his international career and join county cricket as a Kolpak player.
In 2018 Muzarabani played for Derbyshire’s second XI and, in the next week, impressed enough in Northamptonshire’s reserves to be taken on.
“It was a really, really tough decision,” he says. “I knew that I wanted to learn. I was thinking I would come here, learn how to be a professional player and go back to Zim a better player.”
Back trouble restricted Muzarabani’s playing time with Northants, but the injury did not affect the learning process.
On the field, Ben Sanderson showed him how to bowl a full length in English conditions. Off the field, he formed a tight bond with Saif Zaib, Jack White and Ben Curran, the latter now a Zimbabwe team-mate.
Even when he could not play for Northants, the county still put Muzarabani to work.
“When I was injured I was touring the sponsorship boxes at Northampton,” he says. “I’d go in there and start conversations with fans. It really helped me to communicate, how to carry myself as a professional – outside cricket, just being a good human being.”
Brexit ended the Kolpak era and Muzarabani returned to the plan to resume his international career. He was back in Zimbabwe colours in late 2020, a “better bowler” for his sojourn in England.
Now his career is really gathering pace. A growing reputation as a white-ball operator has earned Muzarabani an Indian Premier League deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore, under coach and compatriot Andy Flower. Muzarabani will head for India straight after the Test in Nottingham.
The whip in Muzarabani’s action have led to comparisons with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. With his height and skid, they may be more similarities with former England pace bowler Steven Finn.
Zimbabwe’s chequered past means there are few very meaningful statistics to overhaul, although Muzarabani has the chance to carve his niche. This year no team play more than Zimbabwe’s 11 Tests, meaning he can build from his current 51 wickets towards becoming only the second bowler from the country to reach 100.
The other to top three figures, external is Heath Streak, his 216 unlikely to be overhauled. Even Streak cannot match Muzarabani’s average of 21.84, by far the lowest of any Zimbabwe bowler to have sent down at least 60 overs in Test cricket.
Zimbabwe have not played a Test against England since 2003.
Before then some of the country’s most famous cricketing moments came against the English: Eddo Brandes at the 1992 World Cup, England coach David Lloyd proclaiming “we flipping murdered ’em” in the first drawn Test with the scores level in Bulawayo in 1996.
And 2025?
“England are one of the best teams in the world,” says Muzarabani. “We believe in ourselves. We believe can win. We just have bring our ‘A’ game to beat these guys.”
