By Anesu Chakanetsa
SIBLINGS in the world of sport have now become a common phenomenon.
However, much attention by the media has been to sporting siblings in the West, yet Africa has a rich store of family members with talent capable of breaking international records.
Serena and Venus Williams (Tennis), Gary and Phillip Neville (Soccer), Roy and Roby Keane (Soccer) Eden and Thorgan Hazard (Soccer), among others, have had much coverage in international media.
In Zimbabwe, Grant and Andy Flower (Cricket) became leading Test players after contributing more to the success of the team in the Pakistani Test tour in 1994-95.
They contributed to Zimbabwe’s success in the 1990s.
During the turn of the millennium, the Flowers rebelled after the highly successful Land Reform Programme initiated by President Robert Mugabe that saw over
400 000 black households getting prime land previously owned by only 4 000 white farmers and moved to England to play for Essex.
Andrew ended up coaching England although he was later laid off.
Currently, the Masakadza family talent has recently obliterated memories of the Flower brothers.
Hamilton, Shingirirai and Wellington are exceptional cricket players who have made a name for their family in the gentlemen’s game.
At the age of 17, Hamilton scored his first Test century on his debut against West Indies in 2001.
On that cheerful day, Masakadza had to get another bat after he broke the one he was using.
Fifteen years later, his young brother Wellington is already making history.
Before the Chevrons were booted out of the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty-20 by Afghanistan, the young Masakadza terrified Scottish batsmen with his left-handed fast-paced bowling and got four wickets.
In Zimbabwe tennis, the Black family comprising Cara, Byron and Wayne confounded the world by scoring great victories in the Davies Cup, US Open, Australian Open, French Open and Grand Slam titles.
Of the three, Cara continued to play tennis and became one of the best in doubles like her elder brother, Byron, with her partner Liezel Huber from South Africa.
In Basketball, Zimbabwe has been driven by the power of family blood, where Norest and Duncan Shenje, Taurai and Tawanda Chitsinde have contributed much to the success of the Zimbabwe team.
Although Norest retired from international basketball, his brother Duncan and the Chitsinde siblings took the Zimbabwe national team to the 2015 AfroBasket tournament held in Tunisia.
It would be unjust to talk about siblings in sport without mentioning the dominance of the Ndlovu Brothers who delighted football fans in the 1990s during the days of the ‘Dream Team’.
Madinda, Peter and the late Adam Ndlovu became regulars in Reinhard Fabisch’s team that nearly made it to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
The three formed a lethal attacking force, with Peter attacking from the middle, Madinda coming from the right and the late Adam manoeuvring from the left.
After Madinda hung his boots, Peter and Adam Ndlovu steered the Warriors to the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations-AFCON, where Peter netted three goals and Adam scored one.
Peter continued riding the wave when he also led the Warriors to the 2006 edition of AFCON.
Besides the Ndlovu brothers, Zimbabwe football has always been blessed with footballing families, with the most successful one being Misheck and Sunday Marimo (now Chidzambwa) who were formidable defenders in the late 1970s and 1980s.
The two later became coaches, with Sunday being most successful, leading Dynamos to the 1998 Champions League finals and the Warriors in their first 2004 AFCON.
There are siblings not so famous who have also championed local soccer.
In the past, the Chieza siblings formed the nucleus of Mhangura FC, a club sponsored by the defunct Mhangura Copper Mine in Mashonaland West.
Tendai, George, Winston and Itai Chieza were the heartbeat of the Mhangura team that won several titles.
Tendai captained the side in the 1960s and 1970s.
Not less than six Chiezas were part of the Mhangura team at any given time.
The Ngodzo brothers Joel, Zephania and Johannes Ngodzo have also dominated the PSL teams.
However, the siblings in Zimbabwean sport are facing tough competition at international level.
The Masakadza brothers failed to take Zimbabwe to the ICC T20 World Cup Super10.
The Musona brothers, Knowledge and Walter, are also failing to take the Warriors to the promised land.
In West Africa, Cote d’Ivore football team has been driven by siblings since its dominance in the 2004 AFCON.
Kolo and Yaya Toure, Bonaventure and Solomon Kalou and Arouna and Bakary Kone steered the cause of the Elephants in the African safari after dominating the last quarter of all AFCON tournaments until it lifted the cup in 2015.
The ‘brothers express’ also took the Elephants to all the World Cup tournaments since 2006.
In Cameroon the Song siblings, Rigobert and Alex, also top the list.
It may be important to note that ‘sport runs in many families’, something that Zimbabweans must always remember