Mehluli Sibanda Senior Sports Reporter

MOST sportspersons the world over always fail to plan for the future, which has resulted in many of them becoming a burden to society when their playing days are over. Ex-Zimbabwe international cricketer Travis Friend is a perfect example of someone who thought of a life after a career in sport. Friend is now a commercial pilot employed by world renowned airline, Qatar Airways.

Fired by Zimbabwe Cricket in 2004 together with other 14 players for siding with sacked skipper Heath Streak, Friend headed off to Australia where he played league cricket in Sydney.

In March 2005, Friend moved to the United Kingdom permanently where he signed up for English county cricket side Derbyshire where Zimbabwe coach David Houghton was the director of cricket. Injuries, which had hampered Friend’s international career affected his progress at Derbyshire and he was not able to secure a contract extension the following season. That saw him turn to club cricket in Birmingham where he played for three seasons.

“After our dismissal in 2004, I went and played a season in Sydney, Australia. I played in Sydney shire league for South Sydney. Spent a season there and then in March 2005 I moved to the UK permanently playing for Derbyshire that season. Spent one injury prone season at Derbyshire and subsequently my contract was not renewed due to lack of game time and performances. I spent the next three years playing as the overseas pro for a Birmingham Premier League Club called Knowle and Dorridge,’’ said Friend.

He points out that being sacked by ZC made him rethink a second career to fall back on in future.

Already armed with two Advanced Level passes in Art as well as Geography from Saint George’s College in Harare and a private pilot certificate he had acquired in 2001 while still playing cricket in Zimbabwe, Friend embarked on steps to become a commercial pilot in 2006. His flight training took over a year and Friend secured his UK flying licence in 2007. He attributes his determination to his family back home in Kwekwe who encouraged him all the way.

“I initially held a private pilot’s licence from 2001 while I was still playing in Zimbabwe. It was my first step to gaining a qualification away from cricket. It was not until my third season of playing in the UK (2006) that I decided to pursue it further and take my commercial exams. All my commercial flight training was done in the UK while I was still playing as a club pro. Flight training took just over a year and eventually qualified in late 2007 with a UK licence. Wise words from family, friends in Kwekwe and having my grandfather being a pilot inspired me to become a pilot,’’ said Friend.

Now a holder of an airline transport pilot licence, Friend is flying the Airbus widebody at the moment. He works in the Middle East where he has been resident for three years.

The 34-year-old whose wife is from Zimbabwe is a proud father of one girl. With most of the family still living in Zimbabwe, Friend visits the country about three times a year. Being away from family and friends is what he misses the most with spending time on the Zambezi River and Kariba something he still longs for while he is in the Middle East.

His advice to other up and coming sportspersons especially cricketers is for them to have a qualification to back them up when their playing days are over.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of having a qualification or back up plan outside cricket. This was a realisation that I fortunately found while I was still young. It’s never too late to start studying or training for a qualification, even while you still playing cricket,’’ advised Friend.

A member of the Zimbabwean team for the 2003 International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup held in South Africa, Zimbabwe along with Kenya, in an event where he only made one appearance against Sri Lanka, Friend chose to be practical about Zimbabwe’s chances at this year’s edition of the global showpiece, which got underway last Friday in Australia and New Zealand.

Friend’s view is that he does not expect the team to progress to the next stage of the World Cup but he will be supporting the Elton Chigumbura captained side all the way and hoped they could prove him wrong.

“I think realistic goals should be set. I don’t expect our team to progress beyond the group stages but will be supporting the boys all the way. I hope I am proven wrong and believe there is an outside chance to progress, especially with the positive results in the warm up matches,’’ said the former player.

Friend still misses playing cricket, he often thinks of the missed opportunities and what he could have done better. He feels he should have spent more time on his physical fitness, worked on specific skills that would have allowed him to improve his consistency and performances at international level.

A fast bowler who was also equally capable with the bat, Friend made his international cricket debut at the age of 19. Between 2000 and until he was sacked by ZC in 2004, Friend played 13 Tests and 51 One-Day International matches for the country of his birth, Zimbabwe. He compiled 447 Test runs, 548 in ODI, picked up 25 Test wickets and 37 in ODIs.

While Friend soars higher piloting the planes, his achievement should serve as inspiration to other sportspersons that there is even a better life after sport.