For the first time since attaining Test status in
1992, Zimbabwe went into a series as favourites and under
pressure 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 in
1992, Zimbabwe went into a series as favourites and under
pressure to win every match as they hosted Bangladesh,
newcomers to the world of Test cricket.Bangladesh, who attained Test status in June last
year, were on their first away tour and were more
concerned with improving their game than winning. At
the end of the month-long tour Bangladesh had lost all
its matches against Zimbabwe. However the tourists
were far from being disgraced.In Zimbabwe for two Tests and three one-day
internationals, Bangladesh opened their tour with a
one-day warm-up match against CFX Academy at Alexandra
Sports Club, and as expected they won convincingly.The tourists won by seven wickets with 17.4 overs to
spare. Batting first, Zimbabwe’s cricket cadets were
dismissed for 183 in 48.5 overs. New boy Mohammad
Sharif was the toast of the Bangladeshi attack with
five wickets for 30 in nine overs.CFX Academy’s only defiant acts came from Terrence
Duffin who scored 55 and Barney Rogers who hit five
fours on his way to 46 from 69 balls. The two featured
in a 84-run partnership for the third wicket after the
first two wickets fell for 18.Six of the Academy batsmen were out for single figures
with three ducks. The last five wickets fell for just
15 runs in five overs.Habibul Bashar scored a blistering 79 off 77 balls
with nine fours as the CFX Academy struggled to find a
breakthrough.Zimbabwe won the first ODI at Harare Sports Club on 7
April by seven wickets. The tourists won the toss
and decided to bat on a pitch that favoured seamers
with extra bounce and they were made to pay.The first four wickets fell for just 15 runs,
virtually ending the match as a contest. Bangladesh
recovered somewhat to reach 151 in 50 overs, with a top
score of 35 coming from sixth-man Akram Khan. Those
before him had gone for single figures.Zimbabwe reached the victory target of 152 virtually
Blindfolded, but they still needed 43.1 overs to do so.
Andy Flower, unbeaten, and Stuart Carlisle were the
joint top scorers with 40 runs. Sharif claimed his
first international wicket, bowling Alistair Campbell
for five.The second match was at the same venue the following
day and again Bangladesh won the toss but this time
they were much wiser and elected to field.
Unfortunately for the tourists, the pitch was closer
cut than the previous day and this was of some help to
the batting.Led by a seventh ODI century by Campbell, Zimbabwe
were 230 for seven after 50 overs. Campbell made 103
from 145 balls and featured in a 133-run partnership
for the second wicket with Carlisle.Zimbabwe lost the last five wickets for 42 runs as
batsmen sacrificed everything to increase the
run-rate. Monjurul Islam and Sharif took three wickets
each.Bangladesh’s reply was rocked right from the start as
they lost their first wicket after scoring just one run and
the second with the total on nine. In the end they
just managed to get past their lowest total against
Zimbabwe of 92 and were all out for 103 with 18.2
overs to spare. Opener Javed Omar carried his bat
through the innings for an unbeaten score of 33.David Mutendera recorded the best innings bowling of
the ODI series with three wickets for 23 in 5.4 overs.Zimbabwe duly wrapped up their ODI series with a third
straight win at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club on 11 April
for a 3-0 series whitewash.Flower brothers Grant and Andy led Zimbabwe to their
Fourth-highest innings total of 308. The brothers made
a fourth-wicket partnership of 148 with Grant’s
unbeaten 142 equalling Zimbabwe’s previous best by
Dave Houghton against New Zealand in the World Cup of
1987/88. Andy scored 81 runs off 91 balls.This turned out to be the most entertaining match
of the series as Bangladesh staged a fightback which,
however, fell 32 runs short.Bangladesh made 272 for eight in 50 overs. Opener
Javed Omar scored 69 while Bashar was their highest scorer
With 74 runs from 91 balls.Omar finished the series as Bangladesh’s best batsman
with an average of 52.50, while Bashar was next
best, averaging a distant 26.33. Islam and Sharif were
the leading bowlers with five and four wickets
respectively.For Zimbabwe, Grant Flower was the best batsman with
174 runs, his average from the two innings he batted.
Carlisle and Andy Flower were the other successful
batsmen, averaging over 50 with 69 and 63.50
respectively.In bowling, Mutendera, Brian Strang and Andy Blignaut
all took six wickets.
