For the first time since attaining Test status in1992, Zimbabwe went into a series as favourites and underpressure to win every match as they hosted Bangladesh,newcomers to the world of Test cricket
Larry Moyo06-May-2001For the first time since attaining Test status in1992, Zimbabwe went into a series as favourites and underpressure to win every match as they hosted Bangladesh,newcomers to the world of Test cricket.Bangladesh, who attained Test status in June lastyear, were on their first away tour and were moreconcerned with improving their game than winning. Atthe end of the month-long tour Bangladesh had lost allits matches against Zimbabwe. However the touristswere far from being disgraced.In Zimbabwe for two Tests and three one-dayinternationals, Bangladesh opened their tour with aone-day warm-up match against CFX Academy at AlexandraSports Club, and as expected they won convincingly.The tourists won by seven wickets with 17.4 overs tospare. Batting first, Zimbabwe’s cricket cadets weredismissed for 183 in 48.5 overs. New boy MohammadSharif was the toast of the Bangladeshi attack withfive wickets for 30 in nine overs.CFX Academy’s only defiant acts came from TerrenceDuffin who scored 55 and Barney Rogers who hit fivefours on his way to 46 from 69 balls. The two featuredin a 84-run partnership for the third wicket after thefirst two wickets fell for 18.Six of the Academy batsmen were out for single figureswith three ducks. The last five wickets fell for just15 runs in five overs.Habibul Bashar scored a blistering 79 off 77 ballswith nine fours as the CFX Academy struggled to find abreakthrough.Zimbabwe won the first ODI at Harare Sports Club on 7April by seven wickets. The tourists won the tossand decided to bat on a pitch that favoured seamerswith extra bounce and they were made to pay.The first four wickets fell for just 15 runs,virtually ending the match as a contest. Bangladeshrecovered somewhat to reach 151 in 50 overs, with a topscore of 35 coming from sixth-man Akram Khan. Thosebefore him had gone for single figures.Zimbabwe reached the victory target of 152 virtuallyBlindfolded, but they still needed 43.1 overs to do so.Andy Flower, unbeaten, and Stuart Carlisle were thejoint top scorers with 40 runs. Sharif claimed hisfirst international wicket, bowling Alistair Campbellfor five.The second match was at the same venue the followingday and again Bangladesh won the toss but this timethey were much wiser and elected to field.Unfortunately for the tourists, the pitch was closercut than the previous day and this was of some help tothe batting.Led by a seventh ODI century by Campbell, Zimbabwewere 230 for seven after 50 overs. Campbell made 103from 145 balls and featured in a 133-run partnershipfor the second wicket with Carlisle.Zimbabwe lost the last five wickets for 42 runs asbatsmen sacrificed everything to increase therun-rate. Monjurul Islam and Sharif took three wicketseach.Bangladesh’s reply was rocked right from the start asthey lost their first wicket after scoring just one run andthe second with the total on nine. In the end theyjust managed to get past their lowest total againstZimbabwe of 92 and were all out for 103 with 18.2overs to spare. Opener Javed Omar carried his batthrough the innings for an unbeaten score of 33.David Mutendera recorded the best innings bowling ofthe ODI series with three wickets for 23 in 5.4 overs.Zimbabwe duly wrapped up their ODI series with a thirdstraight win at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club on 11 Aprilfor a 3-0 series whitewash.Flower brothers Grant and Andy led Zimbabwe to theirFourth-highest innings total of 308. The brothers madea fourth-wicket partnership of 148 with Grant’sunbeaten 142 equalling Zimbabwe’s previous best byDave Houghton against New Zealand in the World Cup of1987/88. Andy scored 81 runs off 91 balls.This turned out to be the most entertaining matchof the series as Bangladesh staged a fightback which,however, fell 32 runs short.Bangladesh made 272 for eight in 50 overs. OpenerJaved Omar scored 69 while Bashar was their highest scorerWith 74 runs from 91 balls.Omar finished the series as Bangladesh’s best batsmanwith an average of 52.50, while Bashar was nextbest, averaging a distant 26.33. Islam and Sharif werethe leading bowlers with five and four wicketsrespectively.For Zimbabwe, Grant Flower was the best batsman with174 runs, his average from the two innings he batted.Carlisle and Andy Flower were the other successfulbatsmen, averaging over 50 with 69 and 63.50respectively.In bowling, Mutendera, Brian Strang and Andy Blignautall took six wickets.