The dreadful form of the Marshall twins was brought into sharp relief after another rain-affected day at Auckland. After two days of this third-round match, Northern Districts laboured through to 234 for 9 against Auckland. James and Hamish Marshall, both trying to hold on to spots in the New Zealand team for the visit to Sri Lanka in the new year, again failed to impress, James battled through to 19 while his brother managed just 2. Chris Martin was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 59.Wellington look certain to face a fourth-innings chase of more than 300 against Central Districts at the Basin Reserve. Leading by 32 in the first innings Central was 263 for 7 in the second, after Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor led a batting revival after a low-scoring first innings. Oram posted 71 and Taylor 51. Mark Gillespie was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 51.Canterbury were staring at defeat against their southern rivals Otago after another bowler-dominated day at Carisbrook. Otago were 133 for 9 after trailing by 45 in the first innings. Canterbury’s lead was largely thanks to an unbelievable run-a-ball 80 by Brendon McCullum, who was the only batsman who looked comfortable on this pitch. Batting again, Otago struggled, with Chris Cairns snaring 3 for 18 off 14.4 overs.
England 411 for 8 dec (Strauss 147, Key 83, Vaughan 82*, Ntini 4-111) and 332 for 9 dec (Trescothick 180, Vaughan 54) beat South Africa 419 (Gibbs 161, Boucher 64, Hoggard 5-144) and 247 (Gibbs 98, Smith 67*, Hoggard 7-61) by 77 runs, and lead series 2-1 ScorecardDay 5 Bulletin – Hoggard’s super seven launches England to victory Verdict – Swing, shape, and an appetite for labour Quotes – Vaughan: ‘A very special win’ Quotes – Smith: ‘A tough defeat to accept’ The Big Picture – Rudolph bowled neck and crop The Big Picture – Kallis’s first-ball duck Day 4 Bulletin – Trescothick’s ton boosts England on a fluctuating day Verdict – England face final-day headache Roving Reporter – Wandering around the Wanderers The Big Picture – Flintoff’s despairing dive Quotes – Boje braced for final-day chase; Trescothick says ‘We can win’ News – England call up Jon Lewis as cover Day 3 Bulletin – Gibbs frustrates weary England Verdict – Exhaustion fights two-fingered resilience News – Vaughan fined his whole match fee Quotes – Gibbs recovers his balance Quotes – Hoggard reflects on the wind of change The Big Picture – Down and out Day 2 Bulletin – England fight back in final session Verdict – Vaughan batting from memory Quotes – Vaughan blasts inconsistent umpires Quotes – Pollock rues lost initiative The Big Picture – Take that Day 1 Bulletin – Another century for Strauss before a late flurry of wickets Verdict – Cash in while you can Quotes – Strauss rides the wave Quotes – Jennings: ‘England will be disappointed’ The Big Picture – Driving carefully Preview Package Preview – A question of momentum News – Flintoff passed fit to play The Big Picture – England going around the bend
The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association Draw for Saturday, November 8All matches to start at 9amSenior Traditional Two-day2-day MatchSection1Es1 v Bwu1 Burn10,Med1 v Stac1 Med1,Nb1 v Hals1 Halsd1,Oc1 v Es2 Burw3.Section 2Cagr1 v Hare1 Cagr1,Hals2 v Stac2 Stac2,Hh1 v Es3 Cla1,Oc2 v Syd1 Elm4.Senior Traditional One-daySection 1Bwu2 v Hals3 Halsd2,Es5 v Es4 Clare2,Bwu3 v Sum1 Bar1,Oc3 v Hsob1 Mal1,Oc4 v Med2 Mal2Horn1 v Syd5 Cash1.Section 2Bwu4 v Cagr2 Burn5,Syd7 v Lpw2 Syd2,Med3 v Syd6 Syd3a,Nb2 v Stac3 Stac3,Stc1 v Syd2 Beck2,Sum2 v Horn2 Ilam3,Pk4 v Sum3 Bar2.Section 3Bwu5 v Bwu7 Burn7,Lpw4 v Stc2 Ens2,Upr1 v Med4 Ilam,Mp1 v Bwu6 Emc1,Oc5 v Med6 Ilam1,Oc6 v Med5 Ilam2,Es6 v Oc8 Por1,Oc7 v Syd8 Cash2a.Junior Traditional One-daySection 1Es11 v Syd14 ChSouth1a,Med7 v Oc11 Ilam4,Es10 v Oc15 Ilam5,Pk5 v Oc10 Ilam6.Section 2Bwu9 v Cagr3 Cagr3,Syd15 v Hals4 Halsd3,Hals5 v Sum4 Halsd4,Horn3 v Oc12 Dent1,Oc13 v Nb3 Raw1,Es12 v Syd17 Por2,Hare2 v Lpw5 Red1.Section 3Heath1 v Hals6 Hd1,Oc14 v Stac4 Stac4a,Upr2 v Oc16 Rd1,Syd18 v Bwu8 Burn8,Lpw6 v Pk6 Ens3,Upr3 v Nb4 Southbd1a.Junior ModifiedZone 1Bwu10 v Hals8 West1a,Hals7 v Bwu11 Oak1a,Hsob3 v Oc20 Kirk1a,Oc21 v Oc24 Polo1a,Sum5 v Med8 Polo2a,Oc23 v Oc22 Fns1a.Zone 2Es14 v Es15 Sis1a,Es16 v Syd22 Thor1a,Mp2 v Mp3 Polo4a,Syd21 v Syd20 Polo3a.Junior AverageZone 1Sum7 v Hals12 Brgn1,Lpw9 v Hals10 Brgn4,Hals9 v Heath2 Brgn5,Hals11 v Lpw8 Walt5,Syd30 v Sum6 Walt6,Syd31 v Syd34 Brgn6,Syd32 v Syd35 Brgn7,Hh2 v Syd33 Brgn8.Zone2Stac5 v Es23 BurwN3,Nb6 v Cagr5 Walt4,Cagr4 v Stac6 Walt7,Pk7 v Nb5 Walt8,Es24 v Oc35 BurwN1,Es25 v Oc34 BurwN2,Syd37 v Hare3 Brgn2,Oc36 v Syd36 Brgn3.Zone3Med10 v Ricc1 Jel2,Horn4 v Hsob4 Jel3,Mp4 v Med9 Jel4,Oc30 v Oc32 Jel5,Oc33 v Mp5 Jel6,Oc31 v Oc37 Jel7.KiwiZone1Lpw10 v Syd42 Brad6,Syd41 v Syd40 Brad5,Syd43 v Heath3 Brad4,Sum9 v Hals14 Brad3,Hh3 v Sum8 Brad2Syd44 v Hals13 Brad1.Zone 2Cagr6 v Nb7 Walt1,Nb8 v Med11 Walt2,Cagr7 v Stac7 Walt3.Zone 3Pk8 v Oc43 Elm5,Horn5 v Upr4 Jel9,Oc40 v Horn6 Elm9,Ricc2 v Pk9 Jel8,Oc41 v Oc44 Elm6,Oc42 v Oc45 Elm7,Oc46 v Mp7 Elm8,Mp6 v Tait1 Jel1.
Australia resoundingly, if expectedly, beat England at Hagley Oval in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Super League today.Their 281/5 was far too many for England to chase, and at the finish the margin of victory was a huge 116 runs.Australia move on to the semi-finals with a 100% winning record, which has been the only one remaining in the tournament since early last week.England was reliant on New Zealand losing to South Africa, and even then, due to their poor net run rate, probably need a bonus point from Friday’s match against South Africa to stay in the tournament.George Bailey (69 not out) put the game beyond England when he and man of the match Adam Crosthwaite added 85 off the last six overs of the Australian innings. They hit six sixes and four fours in that time, after England had hauled themselves back into the game.Bailey made 69 off 55 balls and Crosthwaite 48 of 26 balls.”Adam’s performance today was most impressive,” Australia coach Wayne Phillips told CricInfo. “He’s a tremendously skilful young man.””That’s basically the first step covered,” he continued.As for the impending semi-final, the diplomatic Phillips said, “It’s not that we’re not bothered who are opposition is, but whoever our opposition is we’ll be as best prepared as we can be.”Soon to be famous sons of once famous fathers abounded. Denis Compton’s son Richard was here to watch his son Nick play for England, while Australia’s Geoff Marsh looked over his son, Shaun. Both had ordinary matches, although three dropped catches by Compton were particularly unfortunate and costly.He missed Jarrad Burke (30) off Kyle Hogg in the 11th over of the Australian innings and later put down both Bailey and Crosthwaite before the fireworks really began.Burke and Craig Simmons (67 off 86 balls) added 98 for the first wicket in 24 overs, but then four wickets fell for 57 runs in 13 overs, three of whom were dismissed by new wicket-keeper Bilal Shafayat.Shafayat was a last minute replacement for injured wicket-keeper Stephen Pope, who hurt his wrist when batting against New Zealand in England’s last game, when Shafayat, topping England’s averages, was mysteriously dropped.England manager James Whitaker said, “The irony is that if these guys beat Australia and we get a bonus point against against South Africa, we go through.””We’ll have to raise our game considerably for that to happen, because South Africa are a good side. We will have to improve our game in all areas,” said the Leicestershire CEO.”I expected a little more resilience,” he continued. “It was a shame that we dropped three vital catches and three different players all got established.””I’d have liked to have seen a little bit more fight with the middle-order and lower-order,” he told CricInfo.A spell of three wickets for no runs in 11 balls by slow left-arm chinaman bowler Beau Casson (four for 33), allied to Burke’s three for 13 ensured England’s last seven wickets fell for 53 runs.”We have a number of spinners we have confidence in,” said Phillips, who could afford to leave out the impressive Tasmanian slow left-armer Xavier Doherty.In contrast, a more flustered Whitaker could only say, “We’ll have to sit down and think quite hard about the personnel who play in the next match. We’re looking for the best 11 fighters. We’ll let the dust settle then look for the most disciplined eleven.”
ScorecardMarcus Harris top scored with 84 for the Cricket Australia XI•Getty Images
After two of the heaviest defeats imaginable, the Cricket Australia XI broke through for an unexpected maiden victory in their third match of the Matador Cup campaign, against Tasmania at Bankstown Oval. Marcus Harris and William Bosisto both scored half-centuries before Matt Dixon and Jack Wildermuth each claimed three wickets as Tasmania fell four runs short of their target of 242.The youth team was added to this year’s tournament in an effort to provide exposure for fringe players but after being bowled out for 59 by New South Wales and 79 by Victoria, the value of the CA XI’s inclusion was unclear. However, in their third outing the batting clicked; Harris and Jimmy Peirson put on 70 for the opening wicket before Harris and Bosisto added a further 95.Tasmania’s attack boasted three men with international experience, plus the recent Test call-up Andrew Fekete, but they were unable to run through the CA XI in the way New South Wales and Victoria both had earlier this week. Harris, the young opener from Western Australia, was the most experienced man in the CA XI line-up and he took on the responsibility of ensuring a competitive total was reached.He finished with 84 from 94 balls when he was lbw to James Faulkner, and Bosisto had 64 from 91 when he was bowled by Jackson Bird. The Victorian allrounder Matt Short struck some valuable late runs – 41 from 32 deliveries – and when the CA XI reached 7 for 241 from their 50 overs, Tasmania were still the favourites but at least a game had been made of it.The loss of Ben Dunk for 1 in the second over of the chase made things interesting, and although Tim Paine (56) and George Bailey (51) steadied with an 83-run stand for the third wicket, the youth side refused to give up. Legspinner Mitch Swepson bowled Paine and Wildermuth trapped Bailey lbw, and when Dixon had Faulkner, renowned for his finishing ability, lbw for 17 it was game on.Evan Gulbis appeared the key man and when he was bowled by Dixon for 33 in the penultimate over, an upset was on the cards. With only one wicket in hand Tasmania needed 16 off the final over, bowled by Wildermuth, and the Nos. 10 and 11, Fekete and Bird, managed only 12.
In a time when Twitter is the go-to source for all breaking news, it’s no surprise that the media’s stranglehold over football is at an all-time high. With many journalists using the media channel as their primary form of quick communication to the rest of the world, there is certainly no surprise that the media has such a command in the shaping of football’s landscape.
The media has the power to determine what kind of atmosphere hangs over a club. They’re painting a picture that may or may not be entirely truthful of a situation, but many fall into the trap of believing exactly what is put in front of them and at first glance.
No one needs to tell an Arsenal fan that the 8-2 thrashing away to Manchester United was a bad and even humiliating day for the club. However, the media painted Arsenal as this club in crisis and one who would finish well outside the top four. There was no consideration for the lack of a full squad for the trip to Old Trafford, nor were the recent outgoings of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri put forth as obvious shackles on the team, instead they were viewed as players jumping off a sinking ship.
The recent Bacary Sagna story has also arguably been thrown out of proportion. The Arsenal right-back talks about the disappointment of big name players leaving the club, while also mentioning that he has not been approached over a new contract. Once again, club in crisis with a key member of the first-team looking to depart in the near future. That’s fine, Bacary Sagna may leave the club at some stage in the near future, but is it because of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, or the doubt that has been planted by the media?
It’s a whole self-fulfilling prophecy that footballers have when the media portrays one situation as something completely different. Maybe Arsenal want to wait and see how the player responds following two big injuries before extending a new contract. Arguably, that’s very smart management, especially in a time when Arsenal are so criticised for the way they conduct their contract business. But the media clearly holds a great power in distorting the views of players and even clubs as to where they might be in their career. Obviously, Sagna was asked about the current situation at Arsenal, but why couldn’t the interviewer send across much more positive questions and force a better reaction? Of course, all is not completely harmonious at Arsenal, but it shows the kind of influence the media have following only a couple of questions.
It was extremely embarrassing the way the media mourned Harry Redknapp’s departure from Tottenham this past summer. The media’s favourite had been moved on and Daniel Levy was playing with fire by letting go of a very good manager. Luckily for Levy, a lot of Spurs fans saw straight through all that media blubbering and roundly supported their chairman.
Furthermore, for all the good Redknapp did for Tottenham, he did have his flaws. His lack of tactical awareness and knowledge became apparent as last season went on, and his age certainly meant that something needed freshening up in the dugout. But there’s no mention of that, rather the media tried to portray Tottenham is a club moving backwards and assuring themselves of missing out on Champions League football for next year. That may be so, but that only helps to strengthen the argument that the Premier League is king in terms of competition. And what about Andre Villas-Boas and his views of the game? Surely there’s got to be some form of interest in a young and ambitious manager who was once under the wing of Jose Mourinho.
The media do a good job of creating uneasy environments for football clubs and specifically key individuals in those teams. But what is interesting is that the suits at football clubs seem to put so much worth in the image that is painted of them. Yes, the media are in a position where they have to give their opinions and help to report on the news, but why do clubs give into it? You wouldn’t find managers or owners taking advice from football fans on Twitter, because quite plainly those fans’ opinions don’t mean a damn when you’ve got experienced managers on huge wages running the show. But it reinforces the power of the media and how they can cast doubt on positive steps forward.
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Brendan Rodgers is working to clean up the mess from previous regimes, while also acting as the first line of defence for a set of owners whose financial commitments to the club can also be questioned. But we sometimes get the impression that Rodgers isn’t good at what he does or that Liverpool have shopped in the bargain bins to pick up a manager. To be fair to the club, every team has to shop in the “bargain bins” at some stage in their history, but a little more decency for Rodgers’ position would be welcomed.
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Sri Lanka have landed in Australia in a buoyant mood and are confident of posting their first Test win in the country during the two-match series. Despite losing a one-day contest to England already this month, Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, believes the squad is good enough to compete with the new-look hosts.”We’re confident we can play good cricket and if we play good cricket we will be in with a very good chance of winning some matches,” he said shortly after the team flew into Adelaide. “If I can finish 1-0, I will take that. If I can finish 2-0, I will take that, too. But the most important thing for us is how we compete. To beat Australia you need to be with them for four days. You can’t compete for one-and-a-half sessions and expect to win.”Sri Lanka have arrived during a debate in Australia about crowd behaviour and Jayawardene hoped racism would not overshadow the Test series, which begins in Brisbane on November 8. However, Trevor Bayliss, who coached New South Wales before accepting the Sri Lanka job, expected at least some racist taunts during the tour.”There are idiots in any crowd,” he said. “I don’t know whether you’re going to stop that 100%, but the majority of the crowd realise it’s the wrong thing to do. I think there will be one or two idiots, put it that way.” Sri Lanka had crowd problems in Adelaide the last time they toured and Muttiah Muralitharan is expected to be targeted by the home crowds as he looks for the nine wickets to overhaul Shane Warne’s record of 708.”Murali has not played here for ten years in a Test match and he’s geared up,” Jayawardene said. “He sees Australia as one of the places he has to challenge himself. For him to prove himself that he’s taken so many wickets around the world, he’s looking forward to the challenge.”Muralitharan will play in the tour-opener on Saturday, which is a hastily-arranged three-day warm-up against a Chairman’s XI at Adelaide. It is one of two practice matches before the first Test and Sri Lankan officials requested the extra game having learned from previous tourists who had come unstuck in Australia through insufficient practice.Sri Lanka certainly need the preparation after surprisingly losing at home to England. They recovered to win the last match of a close series, which finished 3-2, and gain some momentum heading to Australia. “The main positive thing was our bowling attack,” Jayawardene said. “All four fast bowlers bowled well.”But the disappointing factor was how we batted throughout that series. We learned a lot, we needed to brush up. But the guys have been working very hard. It was a very good series. We just couldn’t turn it around.”They won’t be underestimating Australia, even though they have lost Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer. “They probably lack a bit of experience and that’s an area we can look forward to,” Jayawardene said. “But we can’t take them lightly at all. They’ve got a very good batting side as well.”We have to be very aggressive against Australia. We want to concentrate to our strengths. We will be aggressive but not to the extent that we will get involved with any silly incidents.”Sri Lanka have been criticised for being unable to deal with the faster surfaces in Australia, but Jayawardene insisted this was in the past and they had shown they could compete here, in the one-dayers at least. “We’ve proved we can handle pace and bounce against quality opposition and it’s a good testing ground for us to see how far we’ve come.”He also warned that teams should not underestimate Sri Lanka as a Test side. “We’ve competed well in the last 18 months – beating New Zealand in New Zealand and England in England. This is another place for us to challenge ourselves and see how far we’ve come as a Test team. That’s a goal we set ourselves three years ago. We’re pretty strong at home but for us to compete away from home we have to be very strong.”
Graeme Smith had recovered sufficiently from a bout of food poisoning tobe able to joke about it – “Don’t eat the fish in Cape Town,” he said -but both he and his team were bristling with determination to reverse theresult of their last home series, when Ricky Ponting’s Australia handedout a 3-0 cricketing lesson. Smith refuses to write off the Indians, butsuggested that he had the quality at his disposal to inflict seriousdamage on a pitch that’s expected to favour the seam bowlers from theoutset.”I think they’d be hoping to bounce back,” he said, when asked about theIndians after a morning training session. “They also had a game in between[at Potchefstroom]. They’ll be well-prepared, and hope to catch us offguard. We’re confident though that we can carry on as we did in theone-day series. We’re pretty focussed. Some new guys have come back in,who didn’t play the one-day games. There’s a lot of hunger around, andwe’ll be looking for some big performances.”India have some big names of their own, and Smith made it amply clear thatthey would be singled out for special treatment once the game commenced at10am on Friday. “India have world class performers with fantastic records.There are some guys in our side who have knocked over big names all acrossthe world, against every side, and will be looking to do it again.”He was especially confident that his pace battery could prey on the mindsof an Indian line-up that performed way below par in the one-day games.”They’ve been bowling at real pace and hitting the areas,” he said, afterhaving played through the net session. “There’s plenty of variety in theattack, and it bodes well for the game. In the one-day matches, we bowledthe right lines and in the channels and it paid off.”The only real change on the bowling side of things is the inclusion ofDale Steyn, whose electrifying pace jolted India at Benoni a month ago.”He adds a new dimension,” said Smith. “Nella [Andre Nel] has been hitting140 [km/h] and so’s Makhaya [Ntini]. Dale’s up at 150. We plan to use himin short bursts. He gets it to swing up front at pace, and that’s a hugeasset. He’s just come back from quadriceps strain, and is raring to go.”Steyn will share the new ball with Ntini, and the pitch, with cracksrunning right through it, will come in for considerable scrutiny. “I’veseen worse cracks here at the Wanderers,” said Smith, who didn’t soundparticularly perturbed. “The pitch looks pretty good. But with all theheat around, the cracks will play a role, as in any Test. The wickets herehave always been pretty good, with pace and bounce. There’s good carry,and you stand well back in the slips.”The South Africans elected not to play for the franchises after theone-day series got over, but Smith said that there had been no complacencywhen it came to preparation. “Most of the guys have worked individuallyduring the break,” he said. “I worked with Gary [Kirsten], and we’ve hadtwo very good sessions here. The new ball might do a bit. Both attacksbowled well in the one-day series, especially with the new ball. It’s justup to the batsmen to apply themselves.”Rahul Dravid had spoken of how the lowered expectations from his teammight benefit them in a positive way, but Smith scoffed at the idea. “I’vetoured India three times now, and never seen a situation where’s there’sno expectation from the Indian team [smile],” he said. “You can’t get awayfrom it. It’s in your face, the demand for results. There are also yourdemands on yourself, both as a team and as individuals.”He was candid when asked about the return of Sourav Ganguly, though heindicated that India’s former captain shouldn’t expect an easy ride. “Isaid from start that Sourav’s record speaks for itself, in both forms ofthe game,” he said. “There was just a big question mark over how he wouldfit in after all that has happened. We have our gameplans for him, andwe’ll be looking to execute them well. But he does bring a hardness and afighting spirit to their middle order.”There was also little doubt in his mind about the danger posed by anotherof India’s old guard. “A bowler of his class will always play a role,” hesaid when asked about Anil Kumble. “Most of us have played against him afew times, and know what he’s capable of. He takes large-wicket hauls, andis much respected in our team. We won’t take him lightly.”He did suggest though that Kumble would face batsmen intent on going afterhim, with AB de Villiers likely to be asked to reprise his performancesagainst Muttiah Muralitharan. “We were pretty aggressive against thespinners in the one-day games,” said Smith. “Harbhajan [Singh] went fornearly 50 in every game. The match situation dictates what you do though.We try and play a positive brand of cricket. Our mindset is moreattacking.”If the cracks widen as the game stretches on, Smith himself may have todo some bowling, with no specialist spinner in the ranks. “I’ve beenfeeling pretty good with the ball,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.”It will be difficult to play our seam attack. Most batsmen can deal withsideways movement, but when it starts to get up and down [the bounce],that’s hard to deal with. The first three days will be crucial in settingup the game. But if I need to bowl, I will.”At a venue that he loves, one where he says the atmosphere can beabsolutely inspiring, he’ll be hoping that it doesn’t come to that.
Salman Butt continued his impressive run in this series with another half-century, again made by eschewing his naturally aggressive game. But his dismissal, in contentious circumstances adding to a litany of such moments in this match, took the spotlight away from his third Test half-century.Just before he was dismissed by Shaun Udal, Butt had taken a single to point to what would have been the last ball of the over. But Darrell Hair called it a dead ball, after it appeared Butt had run on the pitch while completing his single. Pakistan had already been warned twice for running on the pitch during their innings, which prompted Hair to annul the delivery. Butt took guard again as the ball was replayed and was out leg-before.Speaking to reporters later, Butt was reluctant to talk about the incident. “I haven’t got much to say. It was the umpire’s decision. He was just trying to tell me to stay away from patches of the wicket in my running. He didn’t have a word with me before the first warning.”Butt pointed out that it wasn’t intentionally done as he was attempting to run down a different line. “I was just trying to run a different line this time. I had collided with Younis Khan while running with him earlier so I was running a different line.”His dismissal was part of a mini-collapse which saw Pakistan end the day at 183 for 6, having been at one stage, 104 for 1. Butt, however, refused to blame the incident for his subsequent dismissal. “I didn’t lose concentration after that. Things like that happen in cricket sometimes. The pitch has some uneven bounce in it and that was what beat me in the end.”Pakistan’s approach while batting, particularly after lunch when Younis and Butt were at the crease, seemed cautious at the time but Butt said it was part of the team plan. “I think fourth and fifth day pitches change, so it becomes difficult to bat on them anyway. There is uneven bounce and a little spin in it as well. It was the team plan to bat the way we did today.”With Pakistan now 199 runs ahead and four wickets in hand, both teams head into the final day knowing all results are still possible. Butt said: “I think a target of anything over 250 will be good to defend on this pitch. We still have four batsmen left including Inzamam so I think we can set that target.”
The revised itinerary for Zimbabwe’s tour of Bangladesh has been revealed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).Zimbabwe will fly to Dhaka on December 28, two days earlier than planned, and they will then go on to Chittagong the same day for the start of a 33-day tour. This will be Zimbabwe’s first full tour since the International Cricket Council temporarily suspended them in April this year.Two Tests and five one-day internationals are scheduled against the hosts Bangladesh. Zimbabwe will open their tour with a three-day warm-up game against a BCB XI at the newly built Chittagong Divisional Stadiumon January 1 ahead of the first Test at the MA Aziz Stadium which starts on January 6.The first Test was originally scheduled to be held at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium, but the venue was switched as there were insufficient broadcast and media facilities.Zimbabwe’s 16-man squad includes Hamilton Masakadza, who hasn’t played Test cricket for more than two years. The rest of the squad is fairly predictable, with only Terrence Duffin and Graeme Cremer new to a set-up which is beginning to look more settled after the shake-up earlier in the year.The Test series in Bangladesh is a real watershed for both sides. For Bangladesh, it represents a chance for them to prove that they have what it takes and end their dismal record of 29 defeats and no wins in 32 Tests. Zimbabwe need success to prove that the new-look side is not a threat to the integrity of Test cricket, as critics have claimed. Zimbabwe’s squad will be whittled down to 13, and will be announced on January 2.Zimbabwe squad Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor, Barney Rogers, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Mark Vermeulen, Tatenda Taibu (capt/wk), Elton Chigumbura, Tinashe Panyangara, Edward Rainsford, Douglas Hondo, Christopher Mpofu, Mluleki Nkala, Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Terrence Duffin.