John Traicos and the word unusual go hand in hand. He holds several unusual records to go with his distinct Geography.

Traicos was born in Zagazig, a small town in Egypt. His parents were of Greek origin and they moved to Rhodesia in 1948. Traicos studied in the University of Natal. His talent was spotted early on and he received coaching from Trevor Goddard, a successful all-rounder for South Africa. Traicos went on to tour England with the South African universities in 1967 and played some cricket for Rhodesia as well. He was called up to make his Test debut at Durban against Australia during the 1969-70 series. However, following that series, South Africa were banned from international cricket because of apartheid.

Following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Traicos turned up to play for Zimbabwe in the ICC World Cup qualifier in 1982. Immediately, he was called up to the national squad for the country's inaugural World Cup match against Australia. Traicos was a steady off-spinner who did not pick many wickets but he bowled economically and maintained the pressure on the batsmen.

With Zimbabwe being granted Test status in 1992, Traicos was chosen in the squad for Zimbabwe's first Test against India at Harare. He played a Test match after a gap of 22 years and 222 days, which is a world record. He showed that time had not blunted his edge as he picked up 5/86 in 50 tight overs. Traicos was also an agile fielder at gully and he demonstrated to many that age was no deterrent.

Due to his business commitments, Traicos finally called time on his international career in 1993/94. Political unrests in Zimbabwe during 1997 forced him to flee and he moved to Australia where he settled in Perth. Traicos has two daughters. His elder daughter Chloe is an actress-cum-director whilst his younger daughter Catherine is a song-writer.

By Siddharth Vishwanathan