1st TEST: Zimbabwe v Bangladesh at Harare 17th-21st April 2013

[TheParraboy]

Clash of the titans, cant wait for this one should be a cracker

2 test series

Wonder if fox will televise it?

 

[African Monkey]

Zimbabwe missing a few players here. Bangladesh slowly improving. Huge series for Bangladesh where they must win.

 

[Twizzle]

Zimbots for mine, Bangers are mash

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Although I've got a soft spot for Zim I think the Bangles are on the up.

A draw.

 

[Horrie Is God]

I'll watch a bit of it online..

Should be some good cricket with 2 sides that are relatively evenly matched..

I'm interested to see if Ashraful can keep up his recent good form..

 

[Timbo]

Tamim and Shakib will be too good for Zimbabwe.

Taylor is class and some of the other guys (Jarvis, Vitori) look good but Bangladesh should get the bikkies.

 

[African Monkey]

Sibanda can play too. I think Mawoyo's out for Zimbabwe. Big loss if so as he has the ability to bat long periods of time.

 

[Red Bear]

Will Bangladesh ever be competitive outside the sub continent?

They dont seem capable, due to money, conditions and body types, of producing anything even approaching a quality quick/medium pacer

So they could struggle in zimbabwe on that alone. Iqbal and Shakib are quality but beyond that there isnt a heap of consistency.

 

[Sphagnum]

All their stars will be playing in the IPL

Oh wait, you said Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh.

Nevermind

 

[Helmet Man]

Zim's are having problems with player contracts. Very shocking to see that they are paid a measly $100 a week. So a couple of players will be missing for Zim. Even though Zim toppled Ban on the last tour Ban are a much superior team then before undergoing huge success in recent series i.e. Asia Cup, WI series and some good performances against SL. So BD will have confidence going into this tour.

Zim obviously have a much superior pace attack which they need to capitalise on if they want to win. BD's pace attack is shocking so their spinners (Shakib, Gazi, Enamul jnr) will look to take all the wickets.

Bangladesh's batting lineup is very talented. Besides Tamim and Shakib i'm surprised no one has mentioned the newcomer Nasir Hossain who has been a revelation for Bangladesh. Has performed in every series with an average of 44 in tests and in odis and is only 21 years of age. At the moment he is Bangladesh's best batsmen. Mominul Haque is another one to watch out for. Very good technique, very compact and has good balance at the crease.

 

[Helmet Man]

All their stars will be playing in the IPL

Oh wait, you said Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh.

Nevermind

LOL good one. Although Tamim and Shakib do play for Pune and KKR respectively but they are skipping IPL for this tour.

 

[Helmet Man]

They dont seem capable, due to money, conditions and body types, of producing anything even approaching a quality quick/medium pacer

So they could struggle in zimbabwe on that alone. Iqbal and Shakib are quality but beyond that there isnt a heap of consistency.

Well said. The more i watch Ban play the more i come to realise how pace bowlers are the fabrics of a cricket team. They have good batsmen, very good spinners but exceedingly poor pacers. This major weakpoint is solely why they have lost many games e.g. Asia Cup final. If Ban had good pacers then they would be able to consistently match top teams. If they don't invest in this area they will never do well in tests. It explains why they have success in ODIs as the opposition can't exploit the pacers as often. They can hide their weakness in ODIs but they cant do it in tests.

 

[African Monkey]

Zim's are having problems with player contracts. Very shocking to see that they are paid a measly $100 a week. So a couple of players will be missing for Zim. Even though Zim toppled Ban on the last tour Ban are a much superior team then before undergoing huge success in recent series i.e. Asia Cup, WI series and some good performances against SL. So BD will have confidence going into this tour.

Zim obviously have a much superior pace attack which they need to capitalise on if they want to win. BD's pace attack is shocking so their spinners (Shakib, Gazi, Enamul jnr) will look to take all the wickets.

Bangladesh's batting lineup is very talented. Besides Tamim and Shakib i'm surprised no one has mentioned the newcomer Nasir Hossain who has been a revelation for Bangladesh. Has performed in every series with an average of 44 in tests and in odis and is only 21 years of age. At the moment he is Bangladesh's best batsmen. Mominul Haque is another one to watch out for. Very good technique, very compact and has good balance at the crease.

The real test for Nasir Hossain will be when he bats in a proper batting position. Mahmudullah started off like him but has struggled since moving up the order.

 

[Helmet Man]

The real test for Nasir Hossain will be when he bats in a proper batting position. Mahmudullah started off like him but has struggled since moving up the order.

Nasir Hossain reminds me of Michael Bevan. I think he would go alright at #4/5 but i think his best position is in the lower order. He has proven to be a huge success there. Mahmudullah is a good player with a good technique. He has that 'no nonsense' type attitude but really he has been hot and cold for quite a while now.

Tamim is probably out for the first test. Shakib's inclusion will be a massive boost for BD as they have been without the best allrounder in the world for quite some time now. Shakib wont be able to bowl in the first test so he is in the team as a specialist batsmen.

1. Jahurul Islam
2. Mohd. Ashraful
3. Mominul Haque
4. Shakib Al Hasan
5. Mushfiqur Rahim (c)
6. Nasir Hossain
7. Mahmudullah
8. Sohag Gazi
9. Sajidul Islam
10. Enamul Haque jnr
11. Robiul Islam

Other possibilities: Shahriar Nafees

Mominul went quite well in the last series but batted at #4 then. Since the #3 spot has been troublesome for Bangladesh for quite sometime now i would put him there just to experiment. But selectors would probably put Shahriar Nafees into the team as #3 batsmen.

 

[vvvrulz]

Even this game to me is better quality than the IPL, I'd rather watch this.

 

[Helmet Man]

Most likely playing XI for today's match.

Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Timycen Maruma, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller/Sean Williams, 6 Richmond Mutumbami, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Keegan Meth, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Tendai Chatara

Bangladesh (probable) 1 Jahurul Islam, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Mahmudullah/Mominul Haque, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Enamul Haque jr, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Robiul Islam.

I think with Ervine not being in the team it opens up the Zim's middle order a bit. Brian Vitori did trouble BD batsmen last time so a bit of a gamble in that department. In terms of the Bangers i'd leave out SN and go with Mominul Haque at #3 and bump Ashraful to opener. I'd leave Mahmudullah in the team to provide a spin quartet alongside Shakib, Sohag, and Enamul jnr.

 

[Helmet Man]

Bangladesh win the toss and choose to bowl first.

 

[Helmet Man]

Nafees drops a straightforward catch in the slips in the first over

 

[Helmet Man]

Banger pacers bowling really well. Good lengths and Zim batsmen are struggling early on. Very good bounce and carry on the pitch

 

[Helmet Man]

Robiul bowled a very good delivery to get Sibanda out. Fuller delivery, hint of swing in the air and it was enough to clean the middle stump of Sibanda