Meet Henry Olonga at Ascension Church on the evening of 21st March 2011. Henry will be performing songs from his album Aurelia and will be interviewed by former president of the MCC and Sussex captain John Barclay. He will answer a range of questions about his cricket career, his brave stand in Zimbabwe, his escape to England, his singing career and his faith. Henry will also be happy to answer questions from the audience and sign copies of his autobiography Blood, Sweat and Treason. The evening is £5 and includes a glass of wine or other refreshments in the ‘Tea Interval’. There may even be a slice of TMS cake.
Please book in advance by phoning 01273 503926, or sending a cheque to Ascension Church Westdene at the address above.
Henry Olonga: Test Cricketer, Cricket Commentator and Singer
A right arm fast bowler, Henry Olonga was the youngest player to represent Zimbabwe in a Test Match. He made his debut against Pakistan at Harare in 1995 when he was 18. Henry went on to play 30 Test Matches for Zimbabwe, taking 68 wickets.
Henry achieved international recognition (along with his team mate Andy Flower) in 2003 by wearing a black armband in a Cricket World Cup match to protest against the policies of the Zimbabwean government. He and Flower released a statement protesting about the death of democracy in Zimbabwe. The protest led to a warrant for Henry’s arrest on charges of treason (which carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe). This forced him to go into temporary hiding and to escape from Zimbabwe. It also ended his International Cricket career. Henry moved to England where he now lives with his family. As well as being a test level cricketer Henry is a cricket commentator and a talented musician and singer.
John Barclay: Sussex Captian, Director of Cricket at Arundel Castle and MCC President
John played international cricket once for Hong Kong, but is best known for his Sussex career which began in 1970 while he was still a pupil at Eton school. He was an opening batsman who bowled off-spin and led his county to second place County Championship in 1981 – 1986 when a finger injury caused his retirement.
After his playing career ended he became the Director of Cricket at the Friends of Arundel Castle Cricket Club, which he continues to this day, in tandem with the Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation. He has been a successful tour manager, as he took the England Under-19’s, the England A’s and also managed the England team for two tours. He briefly returned to management recently with the blind team, but he is now working for the MCC and running a charity, the Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation for young cricketers and underprivileged children in Arundel. He holds a number of posts, such as President of the Cricket Society and the English Schools Cricket Association, Chairman of the Sussex Cricket Board and Chairman of Cricket for Sussex CCC. He was President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2009/2010.
