Match report Zimbabwe v Bangladesh 2003/04 2nd Test day 3 by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

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Lunch: Bangladesh 24/0 (Sarkar 7*, Hossain 11*).
Tea: Bangladesh 88/5 (Manjarul Islam Rana 4*, Mushfiqur Rahman 1*) – rain stopped play.
Close: as above.

 

There is a strong possibility that three hours’ play will be the sum total of entertainment provided by Zimbabwe and Bangladesh at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe took the upper hand, reducing the tourists to 88 for five wickets in that time before another prolonged heavy downpour ended the day’s play, and perhaps also the match on a ground that was only just short of waterlogged the previous two days.

 

After a virtually rain-free 36 hours and with a large area of the Queens Sports Club ground covered by sawdust, the umpires finally decided play could start an hour before lunch on the third day. Umpires David Orchard and Neil Mallender had done numerous inspections of the field for more than two days, and the latter had earned himself the nickname of ‘Moody’ (pronounced with a short ‘oo’ sound to rhyme with ‘woody’) due to his Yorkshire pronunciation of the state of the ground. The ground staff had reportedly spent the night at the ground and so were able to pull the covers over the vital areas during a light shower at about one o’clock in the morning.

 

The pitch as usual was expected to favour the batsmen, with the spinners the most successful bowlers, so it was a little surprising that Zimbabwe should drop second spinner Gavin Ewing for all-rounder Travis Friend. The thinking presumably was that moisture must have affected the pitch underneath, thereby giving the seamers some help. The injured Andy Blignaut was also replaced by Blessing Mahwire. Bangladesh replaced left-arm seamer Monjurul Islam with right-armer Alamgir Kabir.

 

To back up the premise that God and the umpires are always on the side of the big battalions, Zimbabwe won the toss and Heath Streak, deciding that his best chance of victory in three days was to put in the opposition, did so confidently. The first over, from Streak, showed that there was indeed a little movement off the seam, and the bowler also found some swing in the air. At the other end Douglas Hondo also bowled some testing deliveries, but already an approaching downpour could be seen on the northwest horizon, and they could only wait to see whether it would score a hit. Fortunately, it missed.

 

Bangladeshi openers Hannan Sarkar and Shahriar Hossain showed good defensive technique, but there was a tense stalemate for more than half an hour as the only runs to accrue were extras and the bowlers were unable to take a wicket despite a number of appeals that were close but rightly not quite. Finally, after 37 minutes and in the ninth over, Hossain managed to push Streak away through the covers, the first runs off the bat. Five minutes later Hossain joined him in the black.

 

In the 12th over, bowled by Hondo, came the first boundary, a neat leg glance by Sarkar that took the Bangladesh total into double figures. After this Bangladesh progressed at a real gallop, comparatively speaking, and at lunch had reached 24 without loss after 14 overs.

 

After the interval the batsmen’s confidence increased against the bowling of Sean Ervine and Blessing Mahwire, who both promoted the Bangladeshi cause with a profligacy of no-balls. Sarkar hit two off-side boundaries off Mahwire, and then Hossain a four and a three, also to the off, off Ervine. Their fifty came up in the 18th over.

 

The extreme self-discipline of the openers before lunch now began to pay rich dividends as the boundaries continued to flow, eight in the first half-hour after lunch, although some were thick edges. Ervine then tightened up and almost immediately reaped the reward. He bowled a widish swinging half-volley that tempted Hossain (31) into a slash outside the off stump and wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu took the catch; 64 for one.

 

Habibul Bashar, the captain, struggled to get off the mark after failing to score a run in Harare, but he did not last long, recording only 4 before he edged Streak, coming on at the northern end, to third slip where Travis Friend took a sharp catch. Immediately Zimbabwe followed up their advantage further as Sarkar (25) moved too far across his stumps and was bowled behind his legs, leg stump removed, by an off-cutter from Ervine. Bangladesh had slumped to 73 for three.

 

In trouble, Bangladesh resorted again to dour defence and the flow of runs virtually dried up. It did Mohammad Ashraful no good, though: with just a single off 34 balls to his credit, he edged a ball from Friend, who had found a good off-stump line, to first slip, where juggler Stuart Carlisle held it at the third attempt. Bangladesh were 81 for four.

 

The weather at this stage was looking threatening again, and the position regarding the outfield was so dicey that any significant rain would probably end the match, certainly any hope of a result. With the light fading in midafternoon, Zimbabwe struck again, as Rajin Saleh (6) drove uncertainly at Hondo and edged the ball into the gully; 87 for five.

 

Within minutes a light rain began and the players left the field at 88 for five, with the future of the game depending on how long and how heavy the rain would be. It quickly became heavy and it could well prove to be the end of a three-hour Test match.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 John Ward)