A stable character and highly disciplined sportsman, Zimbabwe Chevrons cricket captain Graeme Cremer is one of the high-profile cricketers who have been able to stay away from any sort of controversy that might have blighted his promising career.

He has been a regular feature on the national team sheet since 2004 when he quit his studies after five sport-filled years of boarding school at Prince Edward School in Harare.

"I was only 17 and still in class when Phil Simmonds, the then Zimbabwe coach, came to PE during break time and asked me to join the senior national team on tour and also convinced me that I could even turn professional a few months down the line," Cremer reminisced.

It all came to pass but Cremer's immediate concern was where he would pitch up tent.

"I did not have a close relative in Harare who I could stay with while playing franchise cricket. I had always been a Kadoma boy and that is why my parents had chucked me into boarding at PE's Rhodes House.

"You see my family had actually moved from Kadoma to farm in Mvurwi during the first years of my high schooling. Still I could not travel to Harare from Mvurwi daily though it was closer than Kadoma,'' the former Eiffel Flats Primary School pupil recalled.

"I had to look up any sort of accommodation and start the lodger's life,'' he laughs and continues:

"Luckily I got a tiny little place in Eastlea. It was just one room and I had to everything by myself - cooking, washing, cleaning and everything as I was only 18 and staying alone at the time."

On his national captaincy, Cremer says it was a shock to be nominated.

"I can't say it was a dream come true because while seasoning with schoolmates at the PE's Avenues Field I never imagined one day I would lead the country. I even thought I would represent Zimbabwe in golf which was my main ambition.''

His cricket career blossomed after he left Mashonaland Eagles in Harare to join Mid-West Rhinos Cremer was forced to abandon his Eastlea digs and move back to his birth town of Kadoma.

"But again I then met the love of my life, my future wife-to-be, and realised I had to settle down sooner rather than later and I returned to Harare in 2009 to be with her and that is when I decided I would need a bigger house than a one-roomed and I chose Avondale West.

"After a couple of years at our first house we moved again just across a few streets to our own place in the same suburb. I like it so much there. I have always admired Avondale since school days when we would do our cross-country training there."

The 29-year old Zimbabwe captain is married to Merna, a pilot with the national airline Air Zimbabwe, and the couple is blessed with two children, the eldest aged three and a half years.

Whenever Graeme is resting his bat and Merna is not flying the young family enjoys whiling time around the swanky Avondale shopping centre, occasionally popping in for a bite at the new Streamwalk Arcade.

Sometimes they also make the short drive in either direction to Westgate or to Sam Levy's Village in Borrowdale.

"Harare is just a lovely city to live in. You cannot really point to a favourite place. But as long as I am in and around Avondale I am very much okay. Avondale West is best for me.''

With that Cremer concludes our chat and rushes to rejoin his teammates in the nets.

What you probably didn’t know about Cremer.

1. Debut at the age of 18: Graeme Cremer made his debut for Zimbabwe when he was just 18 years old. The selectors were impressed with his bowling variations and recognised him immediately as a star for the future.

His debut came amidst difficult times for the team when experienced players Paul Strang,  Andy Whittall, and Ray Price quit the team for strange reasons. His debut series came against Bangladesh in 2005 where he proved that the selectors had made a good decision. He claimed 6 wickets in his first 2 test matches.

2. Variations: It is absolutely necessary for a leg-spinner to have a bunch of variations, especially, in this modern era where the batsmen have developed shots like the "reverse hit" and "Dilscoop". Cremer has excelled in this department, comprising of a terrific googly also known as the "wrong one" mixing it up with the conventional leg-spin.

Many players have struggled to pick his deliveries and more often than not end up exposing their leg before the wicket.

3. Career best Test Figures:  Cremer was on fire against Bangladesh in the Harare Test in 2013 after Zimbabwe returned to the Test Match arena. Cremer ended the game with career-best figures of 4-4 as Zimbabwe thrashed Bangladesh by a massive margin of 335 runs.

Cremer played a key role in the Bangladesh series and cemented his place in the test side.

4. South African tour: Still new to the international stage, Cremer faced his first challenge when he was picked to face South Africa in 2009. Initially, he was powerless against the might of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, and AB de Villiers but Cremer held his nerves and eventually made all the three players the victims to his spin.

5. Break into the limited overs: Considered mainly as a "Test Specialist", Cremer had limited chances since Zimbabwe’s self-imposed exile from Test cricket and it took him a while to enter the ODI format. He broke into the scene three years after his test debut when he was picked in the squad to face West Indies.

But he could not make his debut since the Zimbabweans already had Ray Price and Prosper Utseya in the spin department. He made his debut in 2009 against Kenya where he picked up 15 wickets in 5 games and ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the series.

6. Batting abilities: Apart from his impressive spin bowling, Cremer can be quite useful with the bat as well. He scored an unbeaten 171 in a First Class match, in the 2006-07 Logan Cup. Cremer has also managed to keep his first class batting average above 20 and he can certainly occupy the role of a bowling all-rounder.

7. Success in the T20 format: Cremer has been exceptional in the T20 format as well. The last T20 game he was involved in was a domestic match between Mid-West Rhinos and Matabeleland Tuskers. Cremer conceded just 8 runs in his 4 overs which included a maiden and a wicket, playing the key role in the victory of the Rhinos

8. Surprise retirement: Over disputes with the Board in 2013, Cremer had announced a shock retirement and stated that he would be focusing on becoming a professional golfer. However, in 2015, Cremer made a surprise return to the team and was even picked for the Pakistan Tour.

9. Return to International Cricket: Since his comeback, Cremer has been a consistent performer with the ball, picking up 21 wickets in 18 matches at an average 34.14 in ODIs and conceding less than 5 runs per over while picking up 24 wickets in 15 matches in the T20s.

10. Fourth Captain in a year: When he lead Zimbabwe out in the first ODI against India, Cremer was their fourth captain in the 11 months since India's previous tour. Time will tell if Cremer can remain as their captain and bring consistency to the team.