Campbell's Diary: we should be firm favourites for the Test

Alistair Campbell

April 19, 2001

As all cricket followers expected, and as we needed to do, we beat Bangladesh convincingly, 3-0 in the recently concluded one-day series.

In the first two games in Harare a sporty wicket and very thick outfield produced low-scoring games. These conditions were obviously very foreign to the Bangladesh players who are used to playing on very flat wickets and lightening quick outfields. Their batsmen never really came to grips with the conditions as their scores reflected and we were able to go 2-0 up and clinch the series.

The third game in Bulawayo was played on a predictably good wicket prepared by the groundsman Noel Peck and where conditions were more suited to Bangladesh. It was a good game of cricket with lots of runs scored and Bangladesh showed that they do have some depth in their batting .

Before this one-day series started the Bangladesh side was virtually an unknown quantity to us but we now have a better idea ahead for the two Test matches. They are a very young and enthusiastic side who are trying to learn and improve with every outing.

Their seventeen-year-old opening bowler Sharif has impressed as well as Javed Belim, Bashar, and Naimur with the bat. We had some solid performances with bat and ball which augers well for the forthcoming season.

On the batting front for Zimbabwe, the presumed top six for the Test match have all contributed heavily in the one-day series which bodes well, especially on the Queens wicket, which apart from some early lateral movement should turn into a batting paradise.

Bowling-wise, although our main strike bowler Heath Streak has struggled, the contributions from the other seamers have been outstanding , especially Blignaut, and of course Murphy has yet to be unleashed. He will, I think, be more effective than his Bangladesh counterparts as he gets more purchase on the ball and with the Queens wicket being conducive to spin in the latter stages he could play an intergral part.

At the risk of sounding presumptious, when comparing the two teams man for man, one feels that Zimbabwe hold more than a slight advantage in both the batting and bowling departments and, of course, are streets ahead on experience. Hence with the recent one-day series whitewash still fresh in the minds of the opposition, Zimbabwe go into the fray as firm favourites, hoping for our first win in Bulawayo.

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Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe

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