Mark Vermeulen's life and career changed forever on January 20, 2004, when he was struck a sickening blow on the head by Irfan Pathan. during Zimbabwe's VB Series campaign in Australia. Two-and-a-half erratic years later, in October 2006, he was arrested after setting fire to the offices of the Harare Sports Club and the National Academy, but pleaded not guilty at his subsequent trial in January 2008, on the grounds that he had been suffering psychiatric problems, including partial complex epilepsy, ever since the injury. During his career he was attacking and naturally athletic, and was first drafted into the Zimbabwe team for the second Test against Pakistan in November 2002, at the expense of Guy Whittall. At his most comfortable against pace bowling, Vermeulen was a back-foot player by inclination, particularly strong on the cut, pull and hook shots, although he was also a sweet timer of the ball through the covers. A former captain of Zimbabwe's Under-19 team, Vermeulen had a desire to succeed that - even before his injury - could spill over into petulance and worse. In 1996 he was banned from representing his school, Prince Edward High in Harare, for walking off with the stumps after receiving a poor lbw decision and locking himself in the changing room. That was a sign of things to come. He was sent home during the second Test of the 2003 England tour when, after becoming only the 13th man in Test history to record a pair on the same day of a match, ignored a management instruction to travel with the rest of the squad on the coach, instead choosing to leave the ground on his own. He had earlier refused to stop a ball at Hove because "it was too cold" and had also had run-ins with the team manager. On the pitch he made a few decent scores in one-day internationals and played three matches in the 2003 World Cup. He was an excellent slip fielder, an occasional offbreak bowler, and a former national junior javelin champion, but will sadly be remembered for what followed off the field.
Andrew Miller January 2008

• Vermeulen offers to help rebuild Academy (May 12, 2008)
  
• Vermeulen eyes international comeback (Feb 14, 2008)
  
• Vermeulen cleared of arson (Jan 31, 2008)
  
• Bad boys (Jan 31, 2008)
  
• Vermeulen pleads not guilty to arson (Jan 10, 2008)
  

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Sep 27, 2004 Mark Vermeulen at the World Cup © Getty Images

Jan 20, 2004 Zimbabwe began disastrously as Mark Vermeulen was struck on the head © Getty Images

Jan 20, 2004 The blow to Mark Vermeulen was so sickening that even the opposition was worried © Getty Images

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