Match report Zimbabwe v Bangladesh 2003/04 1st Test day 1 by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

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Lunch: no play Tea: Zimbabwe 101/1 (37 overs; Ebrahim 46*, Carlisle 53*). Close: Zimbabwe 175/4 (74 overs; Taibu 18*, Ervine 25*).

 

On the face of it, the first day’s play between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh was quite evenly balanced. Zimbabwe reached a score of 175 for four wickets, but the cynic would say, not without justification, that their best batsmen remain to be dismissed. The main features of the day were a confident fifty by Stuart Carlisle, a determined one by Dion Ebrahim and some fine bowling from left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique.

 

Heavy overnight rain doomed the match to a late start, but fortunately the morning was warm and dry, if not sunny, so that the outfield dried steadily and play began after lunch. Heath Streak, on winning the toss, decided to bat, as the pitch itself had been unaffected, but the cloud cover meant that bowlers would be able to swing the ball.

 

Groundsman Robin Brown, former national opening batsman, predicted that his pitch would provide bounce and carry. Opener Trevor Gripper presumably did not consult him, nor did he even wait to see what the pitch would do. After Dion Ebrahim played out a maiden over from Monjurul Islam, Gripper slashed at his first ball from Tapash Baishya, found it bouncing more than he expected, and Habibul Bashar at first slip took a good sharp catch above his head. Zimbabwe had once again lost their first wicket cheaply, this time without a run in the board, and to a very foolish stroke. “Please make sure brain is engaged before operating bat.”

 

Excitement continued. New batsman Stuart Carlisle looked well settled right from the start. He slashed at Islam, who was swinging the ball successfully, and was more successful than Gripper, recording a six over third man. In the next over he was almost run out, as Ebrahim called for a foolish run for a push near bowler Baishya, but fortunately for him the throw missed the stumps.

 

Carlisle generally was the aggressor, playing some handsome drives and cuts in particular, while Ebrahim, of whom it could almost be said that he was in the team because there was no available alternative, concentrated on survival. Later he began to find his confidence and score some runs in his own right.

 

The outfield was heavy, but the batsmen managed to maintain a scoring rate of around three an over, with Carlisle always keeping to score on the move and Ebrahim improving until he was scoring at the same rate; in fact, he was catching up with 41 by the time Carlisle reached his fifty, off 96 balls, having slowed down markedly between 45 and 50.

 

The 100 came up in the 34th over, but with tea approaching the batsmen slowed down. They survived, their main traumas having been concerned with their dodgy running between the wickets. But Carlisle fell for 58 soon after the break, driving the ball back to Baishya who took a difficult low catch to his left. The Bangladesh fielding has been a mixture of the good and the occasional poor. Zimbabwe were 107 for two.

 

Ebrahim too had to battle for his fifty, but finally put a short wide ball from Baishya through the covers for four to reach the landmark, off 125 balls. It was a great relief for him, whose place was so insecure after a long lean spell. He and Grant Flower became somewhat bogged down, though, and the frustration eventually caused him to toss his wicket away for 65. With fielders set to block his favourite sweep, he leapt down the pitch to Mohammad Rafique and was easily beaten and stumped. Zimbabwe were 130 for three.

 

Operation Throw-Away was in process. The experienced Flower (5 off 39 balls) was also tempted into an unwise stroke by Rafique, aiming a half-hearted swat to leg off a ball that was not short enough and skyed a catch to midwicket; 135 for four. Once again Zimbabwe’s specialist batsmen had let the team down; two gave their wickets away cheaply and two more reached fifty but failed to go on to the big score. Of four batsmen out, only Carlisle was not guilty of a soft dismissal.

 

Sean Ervine and Tatenda Taibu were now together. Ervine soon played some classy strokes, hitting a couple of boundaries with great force yet minimum effort, but seemed a little too eager to play cross-bat shots to balls that were not quite there for it. He settled down, but found it difficult to pierce the tight off-side field. Taibu had a couple of narrow escapes, one when backing up and almost being run out by a fortuitous rebound from the bowler’s boot, and the other when a mistimed pull landed just short of a fielder.

 

Was it naivety or positive thinking that led Taibu and Ervine to do the unthinkable in Test cricket today: refuse an offer by the umpires to go off for bad light? They survived, and then accepted an offer two overs later when the light had deteriorated further. However, at 175 for five, if there were any honours for the curtailed day’s play, they went to Bangladesh. The batsmen finished on 18 and 25 respectively.

 

The Bangladesh seam bowling was quite tidy and presentable, but no real danger to competent batsmen at Test level. There were enough loose balls for the batsmen to keep the score moving without undue pressure. Monjurul Islam swung the ball early on, and later the spinners found some turn even on the first day. Groundsman Brown, however, did not believe the pitch would break up significantly over the five days. Bangladesh did best when the experienced Mohammad Rafique tied up one end and Zimbabwe were less than patient in handling the situation.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 John Ward)