The good, bad and the Cremer
CRICKETER Graeme Cremer appreciates how life can be an emotional roller coaster.
The 30-year-old leg spinner went from the high of leading Zimbabwe to a historic ODI series triumph in Sri Lanka to the nadir of agonizingly missing out on World Cup qualification, losing the national team captaincy and going for months without a salary.
To that series of negative events, add a knee injury that needed surgery.
Cremer last week exclusively told The Sunday Mail Sport that he played ICC-Cricket World Cup qualifiers through the pain of the recurring knee injury that saw him being operated on the 22nd of last month.
Grounded and facing a tough road back to full fitness, the former Chevrons skipper hit the confident notes as he opened up on a number of issues.
“The surgeon was happy with the surgery and I will see him again in two weeks to discuss the rehab process and possibly timeframe,” said Cremer.
“(I am) not feeling too bad, it’s a bit painful at times, but I have been through this process with the knee twice before, so I know what to expect and what to do.
“It’s very frustrating, more mentally challenging than anything else, but it happens in sport.”
Cremer, who is set to miss Zimbabwe’s tour of South Africa, revealed that pain killers and passion helped him play through matches in recent times.
“I love the game, it has given me so much and I hope I still have a few more years playing.
“I struggled through the qualifiers, even long before that, but never had the time to do the operation, injections during the qualifiers made it a bit easier,” he said.
They say ‘family is not an important thing, it’s everything’. Cremer is living up to that statement as he is recovering from his knee surgery at his in-law’s place.
“I am very lucky to have a supportive wife, great kids and the support of all my other family members,” he said.
The injury induced break from cricket and his other hobby - golf - has seen Cremer focusing on reading as much as he can.
“I like to watch cricket, but I don’t follow it obsessively. I like playing other sports like golf, and I am also studying investment management at the moment, which keeps me very busy.
“I like studying, and I’m very interested in anything to do with financial analysis but there is not much correlation between books and sport, I suppose maybe only dedication,” he said.
Cremer turns 32 on September 19 and despite all he has been through, the lad reckons he is one of the few privileged people living their dreams.
“I have always wanted to play cricket for Zimbabwe and having then the privilege to captain the country has made it even more special, it has been a dream come true,” he said.