Eastnor Cricket Club’s new captain Clive Chadhani has quipped that he loves the sport more than his wife.

In a cricketing sense, he tied the knot with the Herefordshire club after choosing between Shahid Ahmed and Duncan Catterall.

“I was at Worcester Norton in 2006 and I decided to call time on my playing career,” recalled the 37-year-old who was born and raised in Zimbabwe.

“I became more into coaching and was manager of the Old Elizabethans women’s cricket team.

“I had played with Shahid in the evening league and I bumped into him when I was taking my children to an evening fete and he asked me to play at Eastnor.

“Duncan Catterall is another player who I greatly admire and to play at Ombersley was another option for me.

“Basically, it was a choice between the two clubs and I thought that Eastnor would be a challenge and they could benefit from my experience.”

Left-handed batsman Chadhani, who can also bowl and keep wicket, joined Eastnor in 2009. This will be his fourth season at the club.

He admits that one of his top priorities is securing the services of Pakistani overseas player Atiq Rehman.

“Atiq is a phenomenal cricketer and he’s so passionate for cricket.

“He’s been our overseas player at Eastnor for seven years and getting him back is my top priority.”

The Zimbabwean has a lot of respect for former captain, Jabran Khalid, and thinks the club has a challenging time ahead.

“It’s going to be a challenging time but I have every confidence in the team.

“A lot of hard work has gone on during pre-season and there will be a lot more communication between the players.

“A lot of people come from outside the area and I don’t know if that’s because of the location of Eastnor.

“But we want to have a community feel to the club and get more people from the local area involved.”

Chadhani played in the same team — and went to the same school — as England’s head coach Andy Flower.

He secured a scholarship to St George’s College in Harare and played a couple of first-class matches for Mashonaland.

Chadhani played representative cricket for two years with Zimbabwe Under-19, alongside the likes of Heath Streak and Bryan Murphy.

He toured South Africa in 1993 and came up against former South African Test star Herschelle Gibbs.

“I had to stop playing for financial reasons and I became a chartered accountant,” he said.

“It was only when I came to England to live with my girlfriend when I was 26 years old that I started playing cricket and getting back into it.”

He moved to Hereford with his then girlfriend Nyasha, now his wife of 10 years.

“My first club here was Burghill and Tillington and they will always be my first love.

“I can’t express my gratitude to them and I had a fantastic time at Burghill in the Marches League.

“Neil Box was the captain. He’s a fantastic guy and, like me, he’s so passionate about cricket.

“We had some fantastic times.”

However, Chadhani, who is now a financial controller, secured a job in Bewdley and moved to Worcester. He now works in Redditch.

Eastnor’s new first-team captain has been working hard ahead of their campaign in Division Two of the Birmingham and District Premier League.

He said: “Cricket is a simple game and you have to make things simple and break everything down into little bits.

“We have had first, second and third teams at Eastnor but, for whatever reason, they have never come together.

“We need to break those boundaries down and move away from a single team focus and pull everyone together in a squad. We need to work together now.”

Eastnor are holding their indoor nets at Malvern College on Sundays from 2pm to 3.30pm.

He added: “I was a late developer in cricketing terms but I love cricket and I am passionate about it.

“I have actually told my wife that I love cricket more than her.”

Who is your sporting hero?

Brian Charles Lara.

Who is your sporting mentor?

Grant and Andy Flower (Flower Power).

What is your best sporting moment?

Being selected for the Zimbabwe Under-19 team as that helped shape the direction of my life.

And the worst moment?

Having to give up my dream of playing professional cricket at the age of 20 due to economic woes in my country of birth.

Do you have any sporting ambitions?

To be a big-name coach who makes a difference.

What was the last trophy you won?

Crowned winners of Birmingham League Three in 2010. It’s been too long now.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Keep it simple.

And the best piece of advice you can give a youngster?

Try different activities or skills with a view to discover your own abilities.

Do you have any superstitions?

No. I just trust my instincts.

What one possession would you save if your house was burning down?

Must be my wallet. Money talks.

What five people would you invite around for a dinner party and why?

Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela,Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and my late father, to discuss mainly on leadership and empathy, the dying art of human emotional intelligence.

Do you have any hobbies outside your sport?

Research on different subject matters, keeping the brain active.