Hamilton Masakadza facts for kids

Hamilton Masakadza is a famous former cricket player from Zimbabwe. He was born on August 9, 1983. Hamilton played for the national team in all three main types of cricket games: Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I).

He was a right-handed batsman and sometimes bowled with his right arm. Hamilton even captained the national team. His two brothers, Shingirai Masakadza and Wellington Masakadza, also played cricket for Zimbabwe. All three brothers played for the Mountaineers team in Zimbabwe.

Hamilton Masakadza made history by being the first player to score more than 150 runs twice in the same series. He did this against Kenya in 2009. In October 2018, he became the fourth Zimbabwean cricketer to play in 200 One Day International (ODI) matches.

He announced his retirement from international cricket in September 2019. His last international match for Zimbabwe was on September 20, 2019, against Afghanistan. After retiring, he took on an important role as the director of cricket for Zimbabwe Cricket.

Early Cricket Days

Hamilton Masakadza started playing cricket at a very young age. In February 2000, when he was just 16 and still in school, he became the first black Zimbabwean and the youngest player ever to score a first-class century. A century means scoring 100 runs in one game.

He made his Test debut soon after, in July 2001, against the West Indies. In that game, he scored 119 runs in his team's second turn at batting. This made him the youngest player to score a century in his very first Test match! He was 17 years and 354 days old. However, this record was broken less than two months later by Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful.

After a short break from cricket to study at the University of the Free State, Hamilton returned to the national team in late 2004. He has been a regular player for Zimbabwe ever since. He was also the top run-scorer for the Mountaineers in the 2017–18 Pro50 Championship, scoring 317 runs in six matches.

International Career Highlights

During the six years when Zimbabwe did not play Test cricket (from 2005 to 2011), Hamilton Masakadza became very good at One Day International (ODI) games. His first century in an ODI game was on August 14, 2009, against Bangladesh.

In October 2009, he scored 156 and then 178 not out in a home ODI series against Kenya. This made him the first Zimbabwean to score 150 or more runs twice in ODIs. He was also the first player from any country to do this in the same series! He holds the record for scoring the most runs in a five-match ODI series, with 467 runs.

When Zimbabwe started playing Test cricket again in August 2011, Hamilton scored 104 runs in the first innings against Bangladesh. This was his second Test century, ten years after his first one. In 2015, he played in his first senior Cricket World Cup. Before that, he had played in two Under-19 World Cups in 2000 and 2002.

In 2014, Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza set a new record for the highest partnership for Zimbabwe in ODIs, scoring 224 runs together for the first wicket.

By November 2015, Hamilton was Zimbabwe's sixth-highest Test run-scorer and fifth-highest ODI run-scorer. He was also the country's top run-scorer in Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. On September 29, 2015, he became the first Zimbabwean to reach 1,000 runs in this format.

In January 2016, during Zimbabwe's tour of Bangladesh, Hamilton set a world record for the most runs scored in a T20I series between two teams. He scored a total of 222 runs across four games. After India's tour to Zimbabwe in June 2016, Hamilton Masakadza became the first Zimbabwean cricketer to play in 50 Twenty20 International matches.

Life After Playing Cricket

After retiring from playing, Hamilton Masakadza took on a new and important role. In August 2019, Zimbabwe Cricket created a new position called "director of cricket" to help manage and improve the sport in the country. Hamilton was chosen to be the very first person to hold this job.

He officially started his duties as Zimbabwe Cricket's director of cricket in October 2019. His job was to help set the rules, plans, and best practices for all of Zimbabwe's cricket teams.

In March 2024, after serving as director of cricket for five years, Hamilton resigned from the position. This decision came after Zimbabwe's national team did not qualify for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.