Zimbabwe Career - All Formats

[Joe Baldwin]

Inspired partly by reading khw's Zimbabwe career updates, and partly by my own drive to see how successful I can be managing the worst international team in Cricket Captain, I've decided to start a Zimbabwe career, managing the side in all forms of the game.

Zimbabwe are regarded as underdogs pretty much every time they take the field. They've won just 11 Tests since they acquired Test status in 1992, though they've fared better in ODI's, winning 129 out of 491, and reaching the Super Sixes at the World Cup in 1999 and 2003. However, with the country ranked 10th out of 10 in all formats. With an average of one Test win every two and a bit years, expectations are low, but I'm hopeful that we can be competitive in our two series in the 17/18 season - we play Sri Lanka and the West Indies at home. Each series has two Tests, three ODI's and two T20's - if you offered me three wins out of those fourteen matches, I'd take it.

Having played very few Tests compared to every other Test playing nation, there aren't really any useful Test averages to go by. Indeed, there are plenty of players who have respectable First Class averages and who have no international experience at all, so there are plenty of possible combinations to try out and not very many matches to try them all out in. Some of the country's best players are well over 30 - the likes of captain Hamilton Masakadza, for example, who is by far the most experienced Test player available - so we need to hope that some decent young players appear over the next few years to replace them.

The first Test against Sri Lanka takes place in Bulawayo in November. The visitors are 7th in the Test rankings and are several points behind Pakistan in 6th, so they're one of the easier opponents we could be facing first up. Nevertheless, they still have the quality to tear us to shreds if their players turn up.

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka - 1st Test - Bulawayo

Zimbabwe	Sri Lanka
Tafadzwanashe Kaitano	Upul Tharanga
Kevin Kasuza	Dimuth Karunaratne
Ryan Burl	Kusal Mendis
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Dinesh Chandimal (wk)
Craig Ervine	Angelo Mathews (c)
Sean Williams	Kusal Perera
Peter Moor (wk)	Dasun Shanaka
Neville Madziva	Shaminda Eranga
Wellington Masakadza	Dammika Prasad
Tendai Chatara	Rangana Herath
Carl Mumba	Amila Aponso

There were five Test debutants in the Zimbabwe side. Kaitano, Kasuza, Burl, Madziva and Wellington Masakadza were all pulling on the Zimbabwe jersey for the first time. The Sri Lanka bowlers were looking forward to getting stuck into the extremely inexperienced Zimbabwe top order, but Angelo Mathews elected to bat after winning the toss in glorious conditions in Bulawayo - not a cloud in the sky.

Two early wickets for Carl Mumba reduced Sri Lanka to 20-2, but Mendis (90) and Mathews (158) dominated the bowling and helped Sri Lanka post a competitive first innings total of 419. Wellington Masakadza took 6-117 in his first bowling innings in Test cricket.

Kaitano didn't have such an auspicious start to his Test career - he edged the very first ball of the innings to slip and had to go for a diamond duck. Kasuza struggled initially but eventually made 49, agonisingly close to a debut half-century, but scores from Ervine (68) and Moor (70) helped Zimbabwe avoid the follow-on, though their 286 was a long way short of Sri Lanka's total. In another twist of bad luck, the final 'wicket' was in fact Carl Mumba retiring hurt, meaning he'd be unavailable to bowl in the second innings.

Without Mumba to face, Tharanga and Karunaratne built an excellent opening partnership of 149 in Sri Lanka's second innings, with Tharanga scoring 65 and Karunaratne 84. Wellington Masakadza excelled with the ball, and incredibly, he took six wickets again! This time he took 6-84, bettering his first innings effort, and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 293. The target had been set at 427 - a very tall order with four sessions left in the game.

The focus for Zimbabwe was primarily on trying to defend for the draw, especially when Kasuza fell for just 1, but Ryan Burl anchored the innings superbly and managed to score 117 in his second Test innings. More importantly, he survived for 356 balls - nearly 60 overs worth - and this single-handedly helped the hosts claim a draw. They finished the final session on 300-7.


Sri Lanka 1st: 419 (Mathews 158, Mendis 90; W. Masakadza 6-117, Mumba 3-86)

Zimbabwe 1st: 286 (Moor 70*, Ervine 68; Prasad 3-50, Eranga 2-26)

Sri Lanka 2nd: 293 (Karunaratne 84, Tharanga 65; W. Masakadza 6-84, Williams 2-89)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 300-7 (Burl 117, Moor 52; Eranga 3-67, Herath 2-88)

Man of the Match: Angelo Mathews


MATCH DRAWN

[khw]

Excellent stuff. I've found coaching Zimbabwe fun - it helps we've had some good results - hope you do too. There's obviously a shortage of talent, especially with the bat, but the likes of Burl, Williams and Moor should come good for you and if you can get Solomon Mire in too, hopefully he'll do as well for you as he's done for me. The lack of openers are a huge problem though. In CC16 Wellington Masakadza did a good job for me and I've not been able to find a place for him as Mufudza was done well so far. We've not had any away tours so far in order to play two spinners but he'd be knocking on the door. I'm interested myself in whether any regens come through in 3-4 years but I suppose the game factors in infrastructure strength. I don't see an Andy Flower or Heath Streak falling into my lap any time soon!

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka - 2nd Test - Harare

Zimbabwe	Sri Lanka
Tafadzwanashe Kaitano	Upul Tharanga
Kevin Kasuza	Dimuth Karunaratne
Ryan Burl	Kusal Mendis
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Dinesh Chandimal (wk)
Craig Ervine	Angelo Mathews (c)
Sean Williams	Kusal Perera
Peter Moor (wk)	Dasun Shanaka
Neville Madziva	Shaminda Eranga
Wellington Masakadza	Dammika Prasad
Tendai Chatara	Rangana Herath
Tafadzwa Muzarawetu	Dushmantha Chameera

Zimbabwe were forced into a change after Carl Mumba's injury, so in came Tafadzwa Muzarawetu, a medium pace bowler, for his debut. Sri Lanka replaced Amila Aponso with Dushmantha Chameera in their only change, going with the extra seamer on a Harare pitch with a little in it for the fast bowlers.

Masakadza won the toss and elected to bat first, but the number four was at the crease sooner than he would have liked - both openers fell cheaply and Zimbabwe were 14-2. A partnership of 63 between Burl and Masakadza was broken when Chameera had the latter caught at slip, and there were further problems - with Burl looking good, Craig Ervine pushed for a single that was never on and ran him out, before Ervine himself departed for a duck. Williams was trapped LBW for a duck as well, leaving Zimbabwe floundering on 84-6. However, the tail wagged brilliantly - Peter Moor dropped anchor, allowing Madziva (19), Wellington Masakadza (48) and Chatara (28) to have some fun. Zimbabwe managed to scrape 277 together, with Moor finishing unbeaten on 90.

Sri Lanka saw out the first day and had all the time in the world to capitalise and make a big first innings lead, but Zimbabwe's bowling was excellent and they reduced the visitors to 81-4 - Wellington Masakadza again among the wickets. Mathews led a fightback, scoring 65, while contributions from Perera (37) and Shanaka (34) bumped Sri Lanka to 264 all out, giving Zimbabwe a narrow first innings lead.

It was still Day 2 when Zimbabwe started their second innings, and they had a fantastic opportunity to post a challenging target and maybe even claim a series victory! Sadly, Sri Lanka took complete control of the test with a brilliant bowling display - Eranga took 4-49 and Chameera 3-18 as they ran through the Zimbabwe line-up, and the hosts were bowled out for 142, setting Sri Lanka 156 to win.

Tendai Chatara led the fight with the ball as Zimbabwe looked to bowl Sri Lanka out cheaply, taking three early wickets and reducing the tourists to 61-4, but they couldn't take advantage, and Sri Lanka reached the target with three wickets in hand.


Zimbabwe 1st: 277 (Moor 90*, W. Masakadza 48; Eranga 3-60, Herath 2-68)

Sri Lanka 1st: 264 (Mathews 65, Perera 37; W. Masakadza 4-97, Madziva 2-39)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 142 (Muzarawetu 23, Ervine 22; Eranga 4-49, Chameera 3-18)

Sri Lanka 2nd: 156-7 (Mendis 34, Perera 33; Chatara 3-58, Masakadza 2-41)

Man of the Match: Shaminda Eranga


SRI LANKA BEAT ZIMBABWE BY 3 WICKETS

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka - ODI series

Having been competitive against Sri Lanka in the Test series, I was optimistic that we could maybe sneak a result in the ODI series which followed.

In the first ODI, we batted first and made 257 all out from 49.4 overs, with half-centuries from Burl (57) and Ervine (51). Shehan Jayasuriya, the off-spinner all-rounder, took 5-37. Sri Lanka eased to a six wicket victory, chasing down the target with 34 balls to spare. None of our bowlers really bowled that well - our lowest economy rate was Williams, who bowled six overs for 30.

Zimbabwe: 257 (Burl 56, Ervine 51; Jayasuriya 5-37)
Sri Lanka: 258-4 (Mathews 71*, Jayasuriya 59*; Cremer 1-34)

Sri Lanka batted first in the second ODI, and they posted an extremely competitive 299-9 - it does feel in CC17 like there are more scores of this size. The openers put on a stand worth 141, and Kusal Perera made a century. Chatara and Madziva took three wickets apiece, but again none of the bowlers could keep their economy rate below five an over. We put up a decent fight in response but the target was too high, and we fell 38 runs short. Ervine made another decent score, supported by Masakadza and Malcolm Waller, while Eranga took 3-51.

Sri Lanka: 299-9 (K. Perera 105, Tharanga 59; Chatara 3-53, Madziva 3-64)
Zimbabwe: 261-5 (Ervine 72*, H. Masakadza 57; Eranga 3-51)

With the series already decided, we batted first in the third ODI and managed our highest total of the series, reaching 270-5. Hamilton Masakadza made a century and shared a brilliant 183 partnership for the first wicket with Peter Moor, but Lasith Malinga bowled extremely well at the back end of the innings and his ten overs went for just 29! At one point, we'd been looking at well over 300. Sri Lanka knocked the runs off with consummate ease - Tharanga and Perera again combined to build a big first wicket partnership, and Perera scored 153 from 113 balls in a match-winning contribution. Only one of our bowlers went at less than six an over - Sean Williams' ten overs went for 45, a decent performance from him - and in the end there were 38 balls remaining when the target was surpassed.

Zimbabwe: 270-5 (H. Masakadza 105, Moor 78; Jayasuriya 2-62, Malinga 1-29)
Sri Lanka: 271-2 (K. Perera 153, Tharanga 73; Chatara 1-42)

Over the course of the series, Sri Lanka just had too much class and too much aggression in their batting for our bowlers to handle. I wasn't impressed with our bowling, and although I only made one change to the side in the series, I'll probably pick different ODI bowlers against the West Indies.

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka - T20i series

Sri Lanka's tour of Zimbabwe concluded with two 20/20 internationals. We won the toss and elected to bat first in Bulawayo, but we could only make 145-5, which was never going to be enough. Indeed, Sri Lanka reached the target with seven balls to spare, and it only took them so long because Mufudza and Muzarawetu were both very economical with the ball. I didn't play Mufudza in any of the ODI's but after this performance, in which he took 2-21, he'll definitely play against the West Indies.

Zimbabwe: 145-5 (H. Masakadza 70, Waller 27; Gunathilleke 1-20)
Sri Lanka: 147-4 (Mendis 50, Samarawickrama 39; Mufudza 2-21, Williams 2-29)

My last chance at winning a game against Sri Lanka on this particular tour began superbly - we restricted Sri Lanka to 140-9, with the wickets shared around the bowlers. I was extremely hopeful that we could record our first victory of this career, but unfortunately my batsmen had other ideas, and a woeful performance meant that we could only manage 118-9 in our chase. Sri Lanka won by 22 runs, with Malinga taking four wickets and Timycen Maruma top-scoring with 21.

Sri Lanka: 140-9 (Mathews 43, Shanaka 22; Williams 3-23, Maruma 2-19)
Zimbabwe: 118-9 (Maruma 21, H. Masakadza 20; Malinga 4-26, Kumara 2-20)

The second T20i was the most disappointing part of the series as a whole - we'd competed well in the Test matches and batted well in the ODI's - our bowling definitely let us down there. It's the West Indies next, which is another chance to win some matches against the side ranked 8th in Tests, 9th in ODI's and 7th in T20i's.

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs West Indies - 1st Test - Bulawayo

Zimbabwe	West Indies
Innocent Kaia	Kraigg Brathwaite
Tendai Maruma	Kieran Powell
Ryan Burl	Shane Dowrich (wk)
Peter Moor (wk)	Marlon Samuels (c)
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Roston Chase
Craig Ervine	Shai Hope
Sean Williams	Jermaine Blackwood
Timycen Maruma	Jomel Warrican
Wellington Masakadza	Jerome Taylor
Tendai Chatara	Devendra Bishoo
Carl Mumba	Miguel Cummins

I selected two brand new openers for the first Test with the West Indies - both Kaia and Maruma had piled on the runs in first class cricket this season so I gave them a chance ahead of Kaitano and Kasuza, who hadn't really looked convincing against Sri Lanka. I also selected Timycen Maruma for his second Test, again due to his performances as a leg-spinning all-rounder. The pitch was already offering a bit for the bowlers, but having won the toss, we elected to bat first as I felt the wicket would degrade to make batting fourth very difficult.

We lost Tendai Maruma early on his debut, but Innocent Kaia performed superbly and formed a partnership worth 106 with the impressive Burl - both made half-centuries. Contributions down the order from Williams and Timycen Maruma, who both scored 47, helped us reach 311 before being bowled out.

The pitch was already offering plenty of turn, and despite Dowrich and Samuels making half-centuries, we managed to reduce West Indies from 169-3 to a very impressive 194 all out. We had a first innings lead of 117, helped enormously by Timycen Maruma's 6-56.

Where we'd failed to capitalise on promising situations against West Indies, this time we made no mistake. Kaia again led the way, sharing a century stand for the first wicket with Tendai Maruma, and contributions from Moor (41) and Masakadza (36) helped build the lead even further. Kaia eventually departed for an incredible 158 - a fantastic effort on debut - and Sean Williams added a half-century of his own as we declared on 393-6 at lunch on the fourth day.

The target for West Indies was 511, and on a very bowler-friendly wicket, this was never going to happen. Brathwaite and Powell offered stubborn resistance and built a partnership worth 102, but once it was broken, the remaining wickets fell fairly quickly. Wellington Masakadza ripped through the top order and ended with 5-67, while Maruma picked up another three wickets and the West Indies were bowled out for 204. It was my first Test match victory, the first victory in any format and it was an absolute humiliation for West Indies - we won by 306 runs!


Zimbabwe 1st: 311 (Kaia 71, Burl 64; Cummins 4-77, Bishoo 3-118)

West Indies 1st: 194 (Samuels 56, Dowrich 50; Maruma 6-56, Chatara 3-44)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 393-6 dec (Kaia 158, Te. Maruma 56; Chase 2-78, Bishoo 2-109)

West Indies 2nd: 204 (Brathwaite 66, Powell 41; W. Masakadza 5-67, Maruma 3-64)


ZIMBABWE WON BY 306 RUNS

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs West Indies - 2nd Test - Harare

Zimbabwe	West Indies
Innocent Kaia	Kraigg Brathwaite
Tendai Maruma	Kieran Powell
Ryan Burl	Shane Dowrich (wk)
Peter Moor (wk)	Marlon Samuels (c)
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Roston Chase
Craig Ervine	Shai Hope
Sean Williams	Jermaine Blackwood
Timycen Maruma	Kemar Roach
Wellington Masakadza	Jerome Taylor
Tendai Chatara	Devendra Bishoo
Carl Mumba	Shannon Gabriel

West Indies response to their humiliating thrashing in the first Test, which was the fault of their batsmen, was to drop two of their bowlers - Roach and Gabriel replaced Warrican and Cummins. Unsurprisingly, we were unchanged. Conditions in Harare were excellent for the batsmen, and West Indies won the toss, electing to bat first.

Their performance with the bat was much better as well. Despite being reduced to 59-2, a third wicket stand of 172 between Powell and Samuels, who both made centuries, put West Indies firmly on the front foot. We hit back, taking six wickets for 67 runs, but a flamboyant cameo from Bishoo bumped West Indies up to 347 all out.

Our response began badly, and at one point we were floundering on 86-4. Our vastly experienced middle order performed well, with Masakadza making a half century, but the stand-out performer was Sean Williams, who got us out of jail and made an unbeaten 89, including a crucial ninth wicket partnership with Chatara (45). We managed to make 346, just one run behind West Indies after our first innings.

So it was essentially a one-innings shoot-out, and we knew we would have to bat on a worse pitch. Our bowlers rose to the challenge and ripped through the top order, dismissing Powell (9), Dowrich (1) and Samuels (10) cheaply and reducing the visitors to 99-6. Blackwood and Roach put on 60 for the seventh wicket to put them back in contention, but we still bowled them out for 193, meaning our target was a reachable 195.

There was plenty in the pitch for the bowlers, and the West Indies removed both Kaia and Maruma early to leave us 31-2. Ryan Burl steadied the ship, making 67, but we lost wickets regularly, and Burl's wicket left us on 161-6. Williams dug in after his first innings heroics, and together with Timycen Maruma, proceeded to inch closer and closer to the target. Eventually, having batted for 75.5 overs, we reached 195-6, and claimed another Test win, and my first series win!


West Indies 1st: 347 (Powell 107, Samuels 106; Ti. Maruma 5-87, Mumba 2-72)

Zimbabwe 1st: 346 (Williams 89*, H. Masakadza 58; Roach 5-89, Bishoo 3-103)

West Indies 2nd: 193 (Blackwood 46, Brathwaite 29; W. Masakadza 4-53, Ti. Maruma 3-63)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 195-6 (Burl 67, Moor 39; Roach 3-42, Chase 2-61)


ZIMBABWE WON BY 4 WICKETS

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs West Indies - ODI series

After our historic Test series victory over the West Indies, we lined up for our three ODI's hoping for a similar result. However, our poor ODI form continued, and we were soundly thrashed in the first ODI. A century from Kieran Powell helped the tourists post 305-8 from their innings, and despite starting okay, we capitulated and slumped to 157 all out - a 148 run defeat.

Sri Lanka: 305-8 (Powell 128, Brathwaite 79; Chatara 4-62, Muzarawetu 2-42)
Zimbabwe: 157 (Burl 35, Chatara 25; Primus 5-54, Narine 2-18)

We'd lost the toss in the first ODI, and we did so again second time around, but this time we were put in to bat first. Other than Sean Williams, who made 80, again the team flopped with the bat and we could only muster 199 all out from 47.4 overs. We finally performed excellently with the ball and we made it very difficult for West Indies, reducing them to 184-8. Jason Holder swung the game their way - his 36* from number nine helped West Indies seal the series with a two wicket win.

Zimbabwe: 199 (Williams 80, Ervine 41; Primus 5-34, Holder 3-37)
Sri Lanka: 201-8 (Samuels 42, Dowrich 41; Maruma 3-28, Muzarawetu 3-31)

With the series outcome already settled, we won the toss and elected to bat first in the final ODI. Finally, finally, our batsmen decided to turn up! We'd been scoring at well over six an over for most of the innings, but a few late wickets slowed the rate and we posted 296-8, which was still a very competitive total. We had West Indies on 194-6 as the visitors tried to chase the total down, but Keddy Lesporis, in only his 3rd ODI for West Indies, made a half-century from number 8 and the West Indies chased the total down with nine balls remaining. Again, the margin of victory was two wickets.

Zimbabwe: 296-8 (Ervine 92*, Burl 66; Chase 3-56, Primus 2-64)
Sri Lanka: 297-8 (Brathwaite 75, Lesporis 50*; Williams 3-66, Muzarawetu 2-53)

So having won the Test series 2-0 (which personally I regard as more important), I was disappointed to lose the ODI series 3-0, especially given that two of the matches weren't very competitive. There are now two T20i's to try and win, although as West Indies are the current T20 World Cup holders I'm not expecting to win either.

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs West Indies - T20i series

The first of the two 20 overs matches was another one-sided affair. West Indies won the toss and inserted Zimbabwe in cloudy conditions, before proceeding to stifle them with some excellent spin bowling. Sunil Narine bowled unbelievably, taking 3-8 from his four overs and proving far too good for the Zimbabwean batsmen. Williams made 45* but couldn't help Zimbabwe post anything better than 117-5. West Indies completed a very easy run chase with 27 balls to spare, Kieron Pollard blasting his way to a half-century in the process.

Zimbabwe: 117-5 (Williams 45*, Moor 29; Narine 3-8, Holder 1-33)
West Indies: 118-4 (Pollard 50*, Dowrich 31; W. Masakadza 2-31, Madziva 1-13)

The West Indies won the toss in Harare as well, choosing to bat first, and a brilliant 64 from Kieran Powell helped West Indies post a very competitive 175-6 from their twenty overs. Zimbabwe began extremely well and were ahead of the run rate all the way until the 14th over, when they lost the wicket of Craig Ervine with the score 96-4. The lower order couldn't muster the ability to keep up with the required run rate and Zimbabwe succumbed to a 21 run defeat, losing the series 2-0.

West Indies: 175-6 (Powell 64, Brathwaite 25; Williams 2-25, W. Masakadza 2-29)
Zimbabwe: 154-7 (Ervine 42, Moor 35; Holder 3-25, Narine 2-26)

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Australia - 1st Test - Bulawayo

Zimbabwe	Australia
Innocent Kaia	David Warner
Tendai Maruma	Matthew Renshaw
Ryan Burl	Steven Smith (c)
Peter Moor (wk)	Hilton Cartwright
Craig Ervine	Peter Handscomb
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Usman Khawaja
Sean Williams	Matthew Wade (wk)
Timycen Maruma	Mitchell Starc
Wellington Masakadza	Joe Mennie
Tendai Chatara	Josh Hazlewood
Charlton Tshuma	Nathan Lyon

Our first series of the 2018/19 season saw the mighty Australia visit Zimbabwe, fresh from their pulsating 3-2 Ashes victory. They didn't hold back, naming a full strength touring squad, and it gave us a chance to test ourselves against the number 2 side in the Test rankings. I gave Charlton Tshuma a Test debut after being the leading wicket taker in first class cricket the previous season. We won the toss and elected to bat first.

Australia's class was immediately obvious, as Hazlewood and Starc ripped through our top order and left us on 21-3. Moor and Ervine made a 50 partnership, but once they were both removed we found ourselves 104-6 and already staring down the barrel of defeat. The tail chipped in with a few runs, but we were bowled out for 172 inside two sessions. Australia's response with the bat was commanding, with Warner and Renshaw putting on 138 for the first wicket. Renshaw went on to complete a century, but we managed to reign Australia in a bit and although they had a sizeable first innings lead, they could have scored more than the 406 they were bowled out for - Charlton Tshuma took 5-99 on debut.

At 18-2, it looked like we were heading for an innings defeat, but a half-century from Burl and contributions from Moor and Ervine helped us surpass Australia's lead, and we posted 242, giving Australia a target of 9. It took them 4.2 overs to score them, but Australia secured a very easy ten-wicket win.


Zimbabwe 1st: 172 (Ervine 34, Moor 31; Cartwright 2-14, Hazlewood 2-22)

Australia 1st: 406 (Renshaw 116, Warner 86; Tshuma 5-99, Chatara 3-72)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 242 (Burl 57, Moor 48; Mennie 3-45, Hazlewood 3-55)

Australia 2nd: 9-0 (Warner 6*)

Australia won by 10 wickets

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Australia - 2nd Test - Harare

Zimbabwe	Australia
Innocent Kaia	David Warner
Tafadzwanashe Kaitano	Matthew Renshaw
Ryan Burl	Steven Smith (c)
Peter Moor (wk)	Hilton Cartwright
Craig Ervine	Peter Handscomb
Sean Williams	Usman Khawaja
Hamilton Masakadza (c)	Matthew Wade (wk)
Timycen Maruma	James Pattinson
Wellington Masakadza	Mitchell Starc
Tendai Chatara	Joe Mennie
Charlton Tshuma	Josh Hazlewood

We made one change for the second Test, dropping Tendai Maruma and bringing Kaitano back into the fold. Australia replaced Nathan Lyon with James Pattinson, going for a four-pronged seam attack and no front-line spinner. Australia won the toss and elected to bat, with the pitch looking excellent for the batsmen and weather conditions absolutely perfect.

David Warner began his innings in his usual aggressive style, and despite losing Renshaw and Smith comparatively cheaply, he built a massive 188-run partnership for the third wicket with Hilton Cartwright. When he was dismissed, having made 169 from 259 balls, Australia were 308-3 and were dominating the bowlers. Cartwright continued his own assault, and Matthew Wade joined in, building another colossal partnership as the two destroyed our bowlers. Cartwright made a double hundred and Wade a century of his own as Australia racked up 606 before declaring just after tea on Day 2.

Could we respond? Well, at 44-3, it looked like being another straightforward Test for the tourists, but Innocent Kaia had battled through and he formed some excellent partnerships with our veteran middle order. Ervine fell short of a half-century, but Williams (70) and Masakadza (87) both formed hundred partnerships with Kaia, who proceeded to nail down his place in the Zimbabwean top order for a long time with an amazing 156 - given the opposition, that's as good an innings as I'm likely to see in this whole career! We managed to avoid the follow-on, reaching 428 all out in 167 overs, and even though we were 178 runs behind, we had a reasonable chance of drawing the game.

Australia's second innings was short, and we acquitted ourselves excellently. We removed both openers very cheaply to leave Australia on 2-2, but Smith produced a superb 84* while wickets fell at the other end. Australia declared on 142-6, a lead of 320, with two and a half sessions of the final day remaining. We needed a solid start, but sadly Hazlewood and Starc ripped through our top order again, reducing us to 50-4 at lunch. My hopes of a draw had vanished quickly, and although Hamilton Masakadza made a half-century, we were bowled out with just over half an hour remaining in the day, losing by 112 runs.


Australia 1st: 606-5 (Cartwright 222*, Warner 169; Chatara 3-126, Tshuma 1-151)

Zimbabwe 1st: 428 (Kaia 156, H. Masakadza 87; Starc 4-132, Mennie 2-72)

Australia 2nd: 142-6 dec (Smith 84*, Wade 30; Chatara 3-39, Tshuma 2-49)

Zimbabwe 2nd: 208 (H. Masakadza 54, Maruma 37; Starc 4-54, Hazlewood 4-61)

Australia won by 112 runs.

[Michael H]

Interesting match reports Joe! I wonder if Burl will have an international career in real life. Zim playing well against SL currently.

[Joe Baldwin]

Interesting match reports Joe! I wonder if Burl will have an international career in real life. Zim playing well against SL currently.

Cheers, he looks a promising talent! I bat him at 3 in the Test side and 4 in the ODI side.

[Joe Baldwin]

Zimbabwe vs Australia - ODI series

I was expecting absolutely nothing from the three-match ODI series against the number 1 ranked ODI side. All of Australia's big guns were involved and having struggled against the West Indies, I thought we'd have no chance, and was just hoping to be as competitive as possible.

Batting first in Bulawayo, Warner and Khawaja combined to put on 199 for the first wicket and set up a commanding total of 301-4, in which Warner made 111. Graeme Cremer excelled with the ball, taking 2-43 from his ten overs, but the other bowlers were all expensive. Hazlewood dismissed Peter Moor for a second ball duck to leave us 0-1, but a second wicket stand of 159 between Tarisai Musakanda and Craig Ervine built the foundations of what proved to be an excellent effort. Musakanda completed a terrific century, but despite having kept up with the rate for the vast majority of the innings, a flurry of quick wickets towards the end slowed our pace and we ended up falling 29 runs short.

Australia: 301-4 (Warner 111, Khawaja 97; Cremer 2-43, Madziva 1-68)
Zimbabwe: 272 (Musakanda 108, Ervine 71; Hazlewood 4-59, Starc 3-50)

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the second ODI as well, and despite keeping them at a relatively slow rate for the first 35 overs, the lack of wickets allowed the visitors to blast their way to another strong total. Half centuries from Khawaja, Smith and Cartwright helped Australia to 298-8, and again I wasn't confident we'd be able to chase that down. A large portion of the blame fell on spinners Sean Williams and Graeme Cremer, who ended with 2-84 and 0-75 respectively - the other bowlers were excellent, especially Chatara, who took 2-39. Our chase began shockingly when we were reduced to 1-2, and we lost wickets earlier in the innings than in the first ODI, so we were never able to build the necessary momentum to chase the target down. This time we could only muster 248-7, succumbing to a 50 run defeat and settling the series.

Australia: 298-8 (Smith 66, Cartwright 63; Chatara 2-39, Madziva 2-57)
Zimbabwe: 248-7 (Williams 51, Cremer 47*; Starc 2-40, Pattinson 2-64)

We won the toss and batted first in the final ODI of the series, and our openers raced out of the traps, building the foundations for a decent total. Musakanda made 49 in quick time, but unlike in the second ODI, the middle order showed some steel and a half-century from Hamilton Masakadza allowed us to capitalise on the strong start - we posted 266-8, a total I thought the Aussies would have no problem chasing down. However, we bowled absolutely brilliantly, and Neville Madziva dismissed Warner, Khawaja and Smith in his opening spell, reducing Australia to 39-4. A fifth wicket stand of 63 between Cartwright and Wade - the latter top scored with 66 - brought Australia back into contention, but a superb display of spin bowling by Cremer (4-42) ripped through the tail and helped us to a brilliant victory against the number 1 ranked side!

Zimbabwe: 266-8 (H. Masakadza 59, Musakanda 49; Mennie 3-55, Paris 2-43)
Australia: 191 (Wade 66, Cartwright 46; Cremer 4-42, Madziva 3-29)

I couldn't quite believe the ease at which we won the third ODI, which came against a full strength Australia side! We'd performed absolutely fantastically, and it has given me a lot of confidence going forwards - if we can beat Australia on our day, then we can beat anyone on our day. We just have to hope we can have our day as often as possible.