An extremely skillful batsman who bore the brunt of the team management's inefficiency as well as the country's political mishaps, Stuart Carlisle was a wonderful package with the willow in hand. He could unfurl those classy drives through cover and point with elan while also being a dynamic fielder at point. However, for a man with a lot of talent, he never really got backed well, which is a shame, considering that he even captained the team at one point. Apart from being an attractive strokemaker, he had plenty of spunk and grit in the way he went about his innings.

The fact that three of his five international centuries came on the Australian pitches of the early 2000s is testament to this. Carlisle never got a settled spot to bat at and once he became a senior player, Zimbabwean cricket got struck with issues that were political and connected to the administration. As a result, several star players left, one of which was Carlisle himself. In fact, the captaincy post that he acquired had come at a time when Zimbabwean cricket was under siege with several senior men being axed due to their rebellion against the system. A similar incident in 2004 saw the end of Carlisle's career.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan