Players talk about Never Lundu, the bat doctor

International and local players talk about Never Lundu and how he has helped with their bats.

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Chamunorwa Chibhabha

I have known Lundu for a while now. He used to play for a club called Royal in Chitungwiza, I think he still plays there. He used to hangout with my cousin brother so that’s how I got to know him. Before I started sending my bats to him, I used to use Samuel Mwakayeni, he used to be one of the guys that, fix bats but he moved to South Africa so now I go to Lundu. Over the years, he got better at fixing bats and now, he’s really good at it and every time my bat needs a bit of help, I send it to him especially, my favourite bats otherwise most of the time when they break, I just give it to junior players that need bats but my favourite bats, I send them to him and he does a good job and I carry on using them in international cricket. I have got new bats but I like using my favourite bat so when they break, I still use those, I send them to Lundu, he does a great job and then I still use them. If you walk into our changing room right now, especially the majority of the guys they will probably have new bats that they would have just received from their sponsors but they carry on using the older bats that are, half-broken but they still want to use those because they are their favourite bats. So, its just a matter of what you are comfortable with and for me, if I have a bat that I really like and if it breaks but its not really that bad, I send them to Lundu and then carry on using them.

Regis Chakabva

He’s really a master at work, in terms of the job that he does with our bats. I first came to know him when one of my bats had broken, and the guy that I used to go to initially, was not around and the other guys recommended Lundu and I thought, okay, so I gave it to him and, when it came back, it was looking as good as new, He’s really done a tremendous job, with my bats and with pretty much everyone else around, because he is the only one, as far as we know, who does the kind of work that he does, and, even visiting national teams, have come and they have, asked for somebody to mend their broken bats, and Lundu has been the man to do the job, I tell you, he’s really, really good, and I have personally, appreciated what he has done with some of my bats and, you really wonder how he does it, I don’t know. He’s just, a genius with his hands, At times you give him, a bat that is really open, wide cracks and it comes back as good as new, cracks disappeared, nice and strong but, we certainly appreciate having him around and, doing the work that he does for us. There will be a whole lot of bats just lying around if it wasn’t for Lundu. It’s something that I think they, if you are not careful, you can easily pass it by but, in terms of the work that he does with our bats, but it’s so important; especially for us as batsmen, we realize how important it is and . We certainly wish that there was something in terms of a set up, for him to do it on a very professional level, where he can actually, go on the big stage but, he definitely does a very good job and its just amazing, how when you send, broken bats and thinking ‘gees’ how is he going to fix this. It comes back as good as new and you are just wondering, how he does it.

Sikandar Raza Butt

I first heard about the bat doctor, Lundu from Sam Mwakaeni, Sam Mwakaeni used to fix my bats and as he was leaving for South Africa, he recommended Lundu to me. The first time, I gave him just one of my bats. I just wanted to see how well he can perform a job and I tell you, I was very pleased when the bat came back, its exactly how I wanted it and things like that, and since then, I have recommended him to most of the Asian community. Now all of them send their bats to Lundu because he does such a fantastic job. Some of my international bats I broke as well and it hurt me because it was some of the good ones as well but I gave it to Lundu, and when they came back and I started using them, they were the same. So, he’s very good at what he does and some of the bats that I used at international cricket were fixed by Lundu and the one that sticks out in my head is the one that I got my hundred with in international cricket against New Zealand. So I think all in all, I think he does a fantastic job. I think he is great at what he does and I think it helps a lot of us because bats are quite expensive these days so I think what Lundu does, it goes a long way from just fixing the bat. I think, it helps a lot more youngsters who might not be able to afford a second bat. So for them, Lundu comes to their rescue and fix their bats so that they could use it again, that helps them to keep playing cricket . So, I think for me, it’s not just about that this guy fixes bats. I think it goes further away from that. It goes a long long away from just fixing a bat. It gives someone that cushion that if something goes wrong with the bat, which it can then at least there is Lundu to fix and help.

Godwill Mamhiyo

When you have got one of your favourite bats and they have just broken; when you are in the middle of the game, you have got nowhere to go. There are not many people, around, who can fix up anything for you. You may have another bat but; tell you what, it doesn’t feel the same as your favourite bat and that’s the way I got to meet the great man called Lundu, ‘the bat doctor’. My bat had broken in the middle of a game against Ireland and he was kind enough to take it. I really didn’t think he could do anything with it but soon as he took it, overnight, he fixed it and brought it back and tell you what, It felt exactly the same as before. There is nowhere else I would want to take my bat. I have had others look at them and try fix but I don’t think there is anyone around who is better than Lundu. After Lundu had fixed my first bat, I had another bat back at home in Bulawayo which I had also thought had gone but, I couriered it straight away, brought it up to Harare and tell you what, Lundu worked his magic on that bat. So, anyone out there with a broken bat there is nothing that Lundu can’t fix.