I thought that a central reference point for the tour might be handy, individual ODI's can be put together on here or, of course, on an individual thread for each one
Zim confident ahead of Bangladesh tour
Written by Grace Chirumanzu
Friday, 16 October 2009 13:10
HARARE – Former Zimbabwe cricket captain Heath Streak is satisfied with the progress the national team has made since he came on board as bowling coach and expressed confidence that the team would acquit itself well when it tours Bangladesh this week. (Pictured: Hamilton Masakadza)
The team flies out of the country on Tuesday to try to tame the Tigers in five One Day International (ODI) matches between October 27 and November 4.
“There is a lot of improvement and lots of promise with a big room of getting much better. We look forward to continue working hard and I hope the guys keep up their game so that we give Bangladesh a good run for their money,” said Streak.
Zimbabwe meet Kenya for the 5th Croco Motors ODI match at Harare Sports Club today as part of their preparations for the tougher challenge against Bangladesh away from home.
Zimbabwe’s strength in recent years has been in their bowling attack which has often put up commendable performances. Their top order batting line-up has been their weakest link as it often crumbles rather too easily.
But an impressive show by opening batsmen such as the experienced Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Matsikenyeri promised a light at the end of the tunnel last week against the visiting Kenya.
Masakadza scored a career best of 156 in the opening match while Matsikenyeri top-scored in the second match with an unbeaten 71.
Spin bowler Graeme Cremer claimed 6 wickets for just 46 runs, his career best figure.
Though impressed with the records, cricket fans are still worried about the limited number of international matches played by Zimbabwe and say scoring records achieved against the lowly ranked Kenyans cannot be regarded as a good measurement of the local game.
There is certainly light at the end of the tunnel, but the big question is whether it signals a bright future or a train coming the team’s way.
National team coach Walter Chawaguta admitted to The Zimbabwean on Sunday that the performance against Kenya cannot be a reliable indicator of how his charges will fare in Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh is a much stronger side that can handle pressure well. We aim to beat Kenya and we need to do so convincingly knowing that Bangladesh is a better side,” he said.
“We have been doing our home work, our batsmen have not done well against spinners when we play Bangladesh because they have been conservative. They were worried much about losing wickets and we want them to be resilient on the crease and score a good total that will be defendable when we get on to field.”
Just out of interest at this stage, is anyone aware of whether this squad that has been 'named' today has actually been confirmed, or are we just relying on cricinfo for the information ?
So all things set, the tour kicks off tomorrow with the first of two warm up games. I wonder if Vermuelen has fully recovered from his injury. I would rest him along with Price. Coventry needs to pick up some form. Taibu should be his usualself and we have a good pair of hands behind the wicket.
1. H. Masakadza
2. C. Chibhabha
3. F. Mutizwa
4. B. Taylor
5. T. Taibu+
6. S. Matsikinyere
7. C. Coventry
8. P. Utseya*
9. G. Cremer
10. K. Jarvis
11. C. Mpofu
CHRISTOPHER MPOFU: 'The problem was fear of failure. I used to think that when I played, if I didn't do well in one game, I would lose my place for the next one but now I've let go of that'
DHAKA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has retained the Bangladesh captaincy for the one-day series against Zimbabwe starting later this month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Thursday.
Shakib led Bangladesh to their maiden test series victory against West Indies in July after replacing an injured Mashrafe Mortaza midway through the first match.
Under Shakib's leadership, Bangladesh also won the subsequent limited-overs series 3-0 and beat Zimbabwe 4-1 in a one-day series in August.
Mortaza underwent surgery on both knees in Australia and would not be able to start bowling again until the second week of November, chief selector Rafiqul Alam said.
"He (Mortaza) is not definitely playing against Zimbabwe in this series," Alam told reporters.
In the 14-member squad, named for the first three contests of the five-match series, left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak earns a recall having recovered from an ankle injury while paceman Syed Rasel has been dropped and replaced by Shahadat Hossain.
The first three matches will be held in Dhaka on Oct. 27, 29 and 31 before the teams play twice in Chittagong in early November.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque Jr, Rubel Hossain, Dollar Mahmud, Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Nazmul Hossain.
Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya is hopeful of a better performance against Bangladesh in the Grameenphone Cup compared to the series at home in August which they lost 4-1.
"We have done pretty well against Kenya at home before coming here. We beat them 4-1 and hope to carry the momentum into the matches against Bangladesh. We are targeting an improved performance," said Utseya whose team reached Dhaka on Wednesday night.
Bangladesh have not lost a series to Zimbabwe in three years and have won 15 out of their last 19 meetings and Utseya acknowledged that the task at hand is a tough one.
"Playing any country in their home conditions is tough and looking at the performances in the last few series between the teams we will probably start as the underdogs. But there are a few new faces and some of the players have shown good form recently. We would give it our best and try to put pressure on Bangladesh."
Regarding the left-arm spin threat from Bangladesh the Zimbabwe skipper said they had done their homework.
"We have played against the Bangladesh spinners many times and we have worked on them a bit. We know that pitches here would suit them but we have better experience of the conditions now.
"I also feel that the presence of someone like Heath Streak in the coaching staff would be highly beneficial for our bowlers."
The visitors had an afternoon practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. They kick off their tour with a warm up match against a BCB XI at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah tomorrow. Another warm-up against the same side is scheduled for October 25. The first ODI of the five-game series is on October 27.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe Cricket has confirmed that Zimbabwe has been invited to play a 2 match One Day International Series against South Africa in November. The games are scheduled for the 8th and 10th of November 2009 in South Africa.
