Arnoldus 'Andy' Mauritius Blignaut (born 1 August 1978 in Salisbury - now Harare) is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping his wicket intact through many overs is a rare event. Due to this, he more often plays ODIs, where many runs in a short time are desired, than he plays Tests.

His ODI strike rate is over 100 (as of November 2007), with a high score of 63 not out, and an average of just 19. His bowling average is just above 41, with best bowling figures of 4/43, and an economy of 5.34. He is also a fine fielder.

In the Australian season 2004/2005, Blignaut was contracted to play for Tasmania in the Australian Domestic Competition. Unfortunately injury and poor form prevented him from playing all but a couple of games for the state. He even struggled to make an impact at club level. Eventually he returned to Zimbabwe to re-join the Test side. The second year of his contract with Tasmania was cancelled.

After playing the series against New Zealand and India in 2005, he withdrew himself from Zimbabwe selection because of not being paid by ZC for the both series he played after his return. It seems that ZC was either unable or unwilling to pay him hsi dues. Although he was a very possible candidate for the captaincy for the Kenya series, he made it crystal clear that he is not going to return if he is not paid.

He signed a contract with South African domestic side Highveld Lions for 2006 season. After 2006, he seemed to completely disappear from cricket scene. It is believed that he returned to Zimbabwe then and started to play some social cricket there. Nowadays he’s based in both SA and Zim working on the family business. At the age of 31 and keeping in mind that he is a very aggressive potential player, Zimbabwean chief selector Alistair Campbell has talked with him about a possible return and it is said that he is interested in it. It remains to be seen that if he turns out for a franchise side in the brand new Zimbabwean franchise season. His return is almost certain.

He hails from an Afrikaner farming family of French Huguenot extraction, and is by all accounts an easy-going, friendly man.

External Links

• http://sandbox.zimcricketnews.com/node/2147
• http://www.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/content/story/242009.html
• http://www.cricinfo.com/zimbabwe/content/player/55259.html