Date-stamped : 23 Dec96 - 14:16
18-22 Decmber 1996

England v Zimbabwe, 1st test

Reports from Martin Johnson of the Electronic Telegraph.
and the Herald, Harare

Pre-match Electronic Telegraph

Atherton must staunch the flow

By Martin Johnson in Bulawayo

THIS WINTER'S mission was, and still is, to unearth a team and a
formula for beating Australia next summer, but barely three
weeks after leaving home, the only people seriously suggesting
that this might happen can be located on an upturned orange box
in Hyde Park, arguing that the earth is flat and the moon made
of green cheese.

Once again we are witnessing what is (give or take the odd
arguable selection) a collection of the best cricketers in
England grossly under-performing, accompanied by the familiar
chorus from those in charge that things are not as bad as they
seem. Blood is gushing from a major artery, and this lot would
have us believe that they have merely cut themselves shaving.

The other day, coach David Lloyd and captain Michael Atherton
expressed the opinion that holding Zimbabwe to a two-wicket
margin after scoring only 152 in Sunday's one-day international
was a praiseworthy effort.

It is akin to a drunken motorist pleading for clemency on the
grounds that he had almost made it home from the pub before
ploughing into a lamppost.

It is a measure of what standard England now judge themselves by
that some kind of credit can be plucked from losing to a country
who, if required to select a team made up of full-time
professionals, would be forced to take the field with 10 men.
Two winters ago, after England had been beaten by Zimbabwe in a
50-over game in Sydney, the then coach, Keith Fletcher, said:
"We have really got to start looking at ourselves when we can't
beat the likes of Zimbabwe." Now we hear that Sunday's
'second-half' performance was actually a jolly good show.

The reality of the current situation is that while losing the
one-day games here would be merely an embarrassment, to do the
same in the two-match Test series, which gets under way this
morning at the Bulawayo Queen's Club, would traumatise (or ought
to) the nation. In terms of Test cricket, Zimbabwe are not just
still growing up, they have yet to leave the pram, but here we
are seriously having to contemplate the possibility of defeat.

Atherton will set a record today when he passes Peter May's 35
consecutive appearances as England captain but he will certainly
not survive to carry on to break May's overall total of 41
should his team get beaten (or even just fail to win) this
series. Atherton has won eight of his games in charge, but one
more addition to the 14 in the losses column before England
leave here for New Zealand would be enough to finish him.

The captain, however, is attempting to play down the importance
of this Test match, both personally and for the team. "You go
into every Test preparing as best you can and trying your best
to win," he said. "But the life-or-death thing is not in the
scenario. No Test is more or less important than any other. At
the end of the day it is just another cricket match."

There was also, he said, no danger of any complacency creeping
in, although you could very well argue that the team most in
need of guarding against complacency were Zimbabwe. "Above all,"
said Atherton, "they are very competitive, and we will need to
be at our best to beat them. They are also playing at home,
which in international terms nowadays is an advantage wherever
you go." Apart from England, perhaps.

As for selection, last night's meeting may have set a record for
brevity. Ronnie Irani has been ordered not to bowl for three
days despite nothing serious resulting from the X-ray on his
back (although Craig White has still been asked to fly out as
insurance) and with Jack Russell not in consideration, that
leaves only 12 until White joins the turf in five days' time.

The pitch looks a good one, dry, with not much grass, and the
groundsman is expecting plenty of runs. "I'm a big admirer of
Atherton," he said, "and I'd like to see him score a few." In
which case - on current form - he'd better get there early. The
captain, though, is a big-occasion player, and only if he fails
twice here will there be any serious cause for worry over his
form.

Philip Tufnell and Robert Croft look certain to play, even
though the only significant spin is likely to come out of worn
footholes, which makes the 12th man a straight choice between
Andrew Caddick and Chris Silverwood.

Ominously for Silverwood, who has already impressed the honorary
coaching adviser, Ian Botham, Atherton said that Caddick had
"bowled well" in the four-day game against Matabeleland, which
again is an indication of what currently passes for acceptable
standards.

As for Zimbabwe, they scarcely need motivating against the only
country who voted against their application for Test status. To
be described as not good enough is one thing, but to be
described as not good enough by England is insulting. One way
and another, this is far from the mundane, one-sided tour many
people were expecting.


Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

Day 1 report-  Electronic Telegraph

First Test: Croft plies craft with great effect to salvage day

Martin Johnson in Bulawayo

MICHAEL Atherton is far more of a hard-nosed pragmatist than a
romantic student of the game, and on the eve of this historic
first Test against Zimbabwe he described it as no different to
any other one. Well, in as much as England rarely play any Test
match without making their supporters feel like lying down in a
darkened room, so far he's not far wrong.

For most of the first day it looked as though England had
decided to dispense with the services of Ian Botham as honorary
bowling adviser and hired Devon Malcolm instead. International
bowlers are supposed to be able to land a cricket ball on a
handkerchief, but in the first two sessions, when Zimbabwe
clocked up 200 for three, England's attack wouldn't have left a
red smudge on a tablecloth.

The one honourable exception was Robert Croft, the Glamorgan
off-spinner, who more or less single-handedly saved England from
another embarrassment, particularly in a spell of 12-6-7-2
straight after tea. Even so, Zimbabwe's first-day 256 for six
may yet expand into something very competitive on a pitch
already starting to accommodate spin.

One of the most depressing aspects of the day was the summing up
of it by England's coach, David Lloyd. Having conceded that
England were awful before lunch when they conceded 109 runs in
30 overs, he then claimed that it had been "England's day".

If he had said "we were bloody awful, but Croft got us out of
jail", it would have been more accurate, but these days, a
last-session rally against a country still wet behind the ears
in Test cricket appears to be a cause for breaking open the
champagne.

The fact that Alastair Campbell, the home captain, also awarded
the day to England, is equally revealing. In bald terms,
Zimbabwe expected to do far better yesterday, and were
disappointed that they did not. What England regard as a bad day
is anyone's guess.

Zimbabwe have won just one of their 20 Test matches so far,
although they have been a touch unlucky in that no less than
eight of them have been against Pakistan. England is much more
of an even contest, and if Zimbabwe can bat for another session
today, the Bulawayo Queen's Club could yet prove to be another
gravestone in an ever-expanding cemetery.

This was not a good toss for Atherton to lose, but even the
encouragement of an early wicket - Darren Gough having Stuart
Carlisle smartly taken by John Crawley at short leg with his
third ball - failed to give England the lift it ought to have
done.

Far from keeping the pressure on, Gough, the normally reliable
Alan Mullally and the nervous debutant Chris Silverwood, were
barely able to land two balls in the same place - other, that
is, than when they strung together consecutive long hops.
England know that there is nothing a Zimbabwean batsman enjoys
more than a bit of width, and yet the morning session was one
great orgy of cuts and pulls.

They even managed to turn one of Test cricket's most religious
blockers, Grant Flower, into a frisky stroke player, and
together with the always adventurous Campbell, he put on 127
(106 of them in less than two hours before lunch) for Zimbabwe's
second wicket. It could almost have been a one-day
international.

Another reason for England to feel grateful to Croft was the
disappointing form of Philip Tufnell, who rarely looked like
getting anyone out, and with a Test average now approaching 40
runs per wicket is a bowler whose reputation is slightly at odds
with the statistics.

Croft is an old-fashioned type of off-spinner, who in angling
terms goes fly fishing for his prey, rather than the modern
preference for the spear gun. Apart from taking three of the six
wickets, he might have had Campbell lbw with his first ball, and
saw Grant Flower escape a difficult stumping chance shortly
before he provided Silverwood with his first Test wicket.

Silverwood, preferred to Andrew Caddick, was all over the place
in his opening spell (four overs for 25 runs) and his first
wicket was not so much a case of prising a batsman out, as
exciting him out. Flower, having just cut him savagely for four,
went for an open-faced drive next ball and was smartly snaffled
by Nasser Hussain at third slip.

It was a breakthrough England badly needed, as Campbell was in
rare form. Before England came out here Campbell had a Test
average of 28, but after four innings against England, he is
beginning to look like Brian Lara.

Campbell's half-century came off only 72 balls, and he had gone
on to 84 when Croft deceived him in the flight and was rewarded
with a sliced catch to Silverwood at square cover.

After tea, England did at last manage to get their act together,
and it was Croft who removed the dangerous Dave Houghton with a
delivery that bounced a touch more than usual to take a thin
edge into Alec Stewart's glove.

Croft's next wicket also involved a thin edge, according to the
umpire, although Andy Waller certainly looked to have some cause
to feel aggrieved at being adjudged caught off bat and pad at
short leg. Finally, Guy Whittall drove Silverwood to cover, and
Lloyd duly claimed the day. Let's not get greedy, but further
triumphs (such as avoiding the follow-on) may be just around the
corner.

Day 2: Electronic Telegraph

Atherton fails as Zimbabwe tighten grip

Martin Johnson in Bulawayo


IT WAS the former Australian wicketkeeper, Rodney Marsh, who
unkindly described English bowlers as "pie throwers", but the
analogy has been hard to get away from in this match, and
Zimbabwe's Andy Flower yesterday became the latest Test batsman
to gorge himself on an attack that had Melton Mowbray written
all over it.

Flower's six-hour century, his third in Test matches, lifted
Zimbabwe to an imposing first innings total of 376, and while
the pitch is so bland and slow that England really ought to be
able to match it, they will have to do so without further
assistance from their captain, Michael Atherton.

Atherton's form on this tour has been bothering everyone bar
himself, but even he might now concede that all is not well
after being dismissed for 16 just before rain brought a
premature end to the second day's play. It was not so much
getting out, as the way he did so, lbw playing back and across
to a virtually straight ball from leg-spinner Paul Strang.

There has been a certain amount of exaggeration regarding the
captain's allegedly grumpy demeanour out here, largely because
of his deportment at press conferences. He would sooner be in a
dentist's chair having his teeth pulled than facing cameras and
notebooks, but in less formal surroundings, he has rarely been
anything other than chirpy.

However, while Atherton initially took up cricket because he
liked it, as well as being good at it, there is just the
suspicion now that he has fallen victim to English cricket's
relentless treadmill. In short, if the captain is currently
enjoying his cricket, he is doing a pretty decent job of keeping
it hidden.

On the other hand, you cannot entirely rule out the alternative,
in that watching England bowl is enough to have anyone reaching
for the anti-depressants. Yesterday, they required a further 2hr
50min to take Zimbabwe's final four wickets, conceding 120 runs
in the process, and if the home side had not largely contrived
to get themselves out, they would still be batting now.

As was the case on the opening day, it was a 'two's company'
type of a crowd, and had it not been for the contingent of
English supporters who had made the trip, the collective takings
would not have paid for the tea ladies. Every winter they travel
abroad to watch their team, more in hope than expectation, and
every year they sit and suffer. The army may be barmy, but even
the quiet ones must be wondering whether they too must be
totally potty.

With Robert Croft not quite managing to bowl as well as he did
on Wednesday, and the others bowling just the same as they did
on Wednesday, the morning session would have passed without a
wicket - or even the hint of one - had Paul Strang not
obligingly swatted a full toss from Chris Silverwood to mid-on.

Strang, who had just given a passable impersonation of Alan
Knott by uppercutting the previous ball deliberately over the
slips, looked surprised by the delivery, and even more surprised
by the fact that Philip Tufnell brought off a fine catch.
Tufnell is actually a more than decent fielder now, but shortly
before that he had brought back memories of the crowd-baiting he
endured in Australia five years ago by attempting a one-handed
fielding stop on the boundary and coming up with nothing but a
handful of grass.

Strang is no mug with the bat, having previously made a Test
century, but before he got himself out it looked as though
England's next wicket might arrive at the same time as Father
Christmas. Silverwood, Mullally and Gough all bowled too short,
and the Zimbabweans' favourite shots - the cut and the pull -
were once again given a good airing.

The left-handed Flower is Zimbabwe's version of Alec Stewart,
although batting up the order and keeping wicket eventually
forced him to give up the captaincy to Alistair Campbell. If he
was beaten playing defensively to any one of the 313 balls he
faced, no one could remember it, and the only time he stalled
was in the 90s, where he remained for 59 minutes and 57 balls.

He reached three figures with a reverse sweep off Tufnell and
made 112 before an orthdox sweep against Tufnell resulted in a
gloved catch to Stewart, running forward from behind the stumps.
Flower pointed to his pad, but not many lawyers would have taken
the case after viewing the TV evidence.

Before Flower's departure, Zimbabwe's eighth wicket had been
proving every bit as frustrating for England as their seventh.
Heath Streak is no mean batsman, as England found out when he
scored 67 for Matabeleland, and he and Flower added 41 runs
before Streak's routine backward defensive to Mullally saw the
ball bounce down, up on to his pads, and back on to the stumps.

On the other hand, Streak looked no more dangerous with the ball
than England's bowlers, and with Nick Knight playing with great
panache it came as quite a surprise when Atherton got out to the
penultimate ball of the afternoon session.

Rather less of a surprise was the tea-time washout, this tour
having been scheduled in the middle of Zimbabwe's umbrella
season.

Day 3 report

Hussain displays evidence of his growing maturity By Martin
Johnson in Bulawayo

TO SAY that Nasser Hussain's early England career was blighted
by temperament problems is putting it mildly. In cricketers'
parlance, he threw so many toys out of the pram that the area
around his dressing-room peg resembled Santa's grotto.

It was mostly his brattish reputation which kept him out of Test
cricket for three years after making his debut in the West
Indies in 1990, but England rewarded his growing maturity with
the vice-captaincy, and he is now beginning to repay their faith
in him.

Hussain's unbeaten century yesterday transformed another
potential England embarrassment into a position from which they
might yet win this match - although the tourists were no less
grateful for John Crawley's 51 not out in an unbroken
fifth-wicket partnership of 126.

Before this match began, Michael Atherton was asked whether
Crawley's form warranted a higher place in the order. "No," he
said, "No 6 is a very important position" - a point of view that
may have been slightly influenced by a scoreboard permanently
stuck at something like 27 for four, and a tail starting at No
7.

It certainly proved to be an important position yesterday,
because even by England's standards, 180 for four against the
bluntest attack in Test cricket, on one of the flattest pitches
in southern Africa, was no mean achievement. There they were,
the thick end of 200 runs adrift, with Robert Croft the next man
in.

Things might have been even worse had Hussain not survived a
difficult chance to short leg off the leg-spinner Paul Strang to
the first ball he faced, but he and Crawley finally managed to
put the Zimbabwean bowling into proper perspective.

Until they came together in mid-afternoon, an England victory
had been as difficult to forecast as the Bulawayo weather. The
breakfast bulletin offered so many alternatives you scarcely
knew whether to venture out in shorts or an overcoat.

In fact, the clouds brought nothing more inclement than what is
locally known as a guti - a light drizzle - although without the
injured Eddo Brandes, the home attack (Paul Strang excepted) was
not so much a guti as a shower.

How Heath Streak has arrived at No 3 in the world bowling
rankings is, on yesterday's evidence, one of those
answers-on-a-postcard-please conundrums, and while Henry Olonga
may well be one for the future, his bowling is currently far
more ordinary than his haircut. If he is at all disconcerting to
face, it is because the batsman is looking up at someone running
in with what appears to be a tarantula on top of his head.

Bryan Strang, Heath's left-arm new-ball partner, is not quite
dangerous enough to be described as innocuous, and Paul Strang
was the only member of the home attack to cause England
consistent problems. He turns it, has a useful googly, but badly
needs a surface with more pace and bounce.

After Crawley, Hussain has looked the batsman most in form, but
has failed to go on to make a big score. Yesterday, though, a
potential first-ball nought became his third Test match century.
He reached it, just before stumps, after 5 hr 7 min, from 240
balls, with 13 fours.

At 306 for four, England can now envisage a first-innings lead
before lunchtime today and, if they preserve wickets, the chance
to score quickly enough to declare half an hour before the close
with a lead of, say, 200. The bottom-order batting may be a
touch too thin for this to happen, but the chance to be
optimistic does not come along all that often these days.

There were runs on offer for all the batsmen yesterday, and one
or two will feel that it was not so much a case of missing any
ordinary boat as a pleasure cruiser. Nick Knight played as
though it was a benefit game, and had Zimbabwe posted an extra
gully, they might have picked him up three times before Olonga
swung one just enough to have him palpably lbw.

Palpably, however, is not quite the word for the lbw decision
Paul Strang was awarded against the in-form Alec Stewart. Apart
from the fact that Stewart's pad was outside the line of off
stump, and that he was as far forward as he could get, and that
the ball was missing off stump by a spectacular margin, it was a
perfectly good decision.

Graham Thorpe, on the other hand, has batted all through the
tour as though he is in the middle of a London fog and it may
well be that the strain of his eighth consecutive tour is
beginning to take its toll. The crooked blade which blighted his
early Test career is back with him again, and the hearty swings
outside off stump smack of desperation.

It was Paul Strang again who got him, advancing down the pitch,
failing to read the googly, and edging - via a touch from the
wicketkeeper - to slip. Thorpe is in a trough and as a quiet,
reserved character, may not easily emerge from it.

Day 4 report

England conquer shortcomings to scent opportunity for victory

By Scyld Berry

IN a Test match between two established countries, one would not
expect a side to win after perpetrating some of the flaccid
cricket that England offered when they bowled in the opening
session, and again when they batted yesterday. But this is not a
normal Test match, guided by cricket's familiar principles, and
England find themselves in reach of victory and Zimbabwe will
start today only 77 runs ahead with five wickets left.

So England may win some time this afternoon, even easily, on the
back of Zimbabwe's immaturity, and glad tidings a second Test
victory this year would make, provided the joy is not as
unconfined as it would otherwise be. It would make a welcome
stocking, not a main present that is all-satisfying.

The conventional saying that all you can do is to defeat your
opposition therefore does not quite apply here, though it may
sound mean and in conflict with the season's spirit. England's
opponents are the novices of Test cricket, their constituency a
thousand or so players, so the manner in which England win has
to be accounted significant too. Sri Lanka, in their inaugural
Test, having held England on first innings, collapsed to their
spinners, much as Zimbabwe have done, and an England win would
have the same qualified cachet.

Certain parts of England's cricket have been commendable,
promising a brighter New Year, like the enterprise of Nick
Knight in launching England's batting, and the concentrated
dedication of both Nasser Hussain and John Crawley over six
hours. England should not lack for runs if the senior half of
England's batting can match the junior.

But if England improve in some areas, other countries seem to be
doing so more widely and rapidly. New Zealand, from all reports,
are turning into a mini-Australia under their new Australian
coach Steve Rixon. As Harare is expected to offer afternoon
thunderstorms this week, as well as a freshened pitch each
morning, England's chance of winning here may prove to be their
best all winter.

Robert Croft has chipped away as busily as a Welsh miner who has
bought his own mine, and Chris Silverwood is maturing as he
goes. But the new-ball bowling has been wayward in both innings;
the catching sound, the ground-fielding below par; and the
batting approach yesterday smelled of a caution which better
opponents would have converted into a draw.

So cautious were England that they used up the first half of the
day in adding 88 more runs off their bats, together with 12
extras, on Bulawayo's slow turner. The barmiest element of the
travelling army, more a platoon, was alone in being gratified by
the sight of the old Leviathan grinding out a marginal lead over
the minnows of Test cricket.

Well, not entirely alone: the England hierarchy is imperturbable
in proclaiming that everything in England's garden is lovely,
though they have lost half their games here, even that every
petal is perfect.

If the truth be told, Zimbabwe have lost half of their 20 Tests,
and have just been steamrollered in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They
have three cricketers of Test class in David Houghton, Andy
Flower and Paul Strang, and a fourth who is not fully fit in
Heath Streak; and they have two of first-class county standard
as yet, in Grant Flower and Alistair Campbell, while Henry
Olonga has enthusiastic pace. For Zimbabwe to draw this match
and series would be a triumph.

England added 24 runs in the first hour, 61 in the second.
Hussain had hooked square and downwards during Friday's
exhibition of steely composure, but he was never on top of
Streak's bouncer of ideal height and direction. Bryan Strang,
back-pedalling at long leg, stuck up his left hand and kept it
there in celebration of a freakish catch.

As important as Hussain's batting was, his fielding on the first
day was no less so, especially in the opening session when he
was one of the few elements of international excellence in
England's cricket. Happily they have not kept going as they
started.

Crawley was 59 not out, when his vice-captain left, and he
remained so for 39 minutes. He then proceeded with immense
self-restraint to his second hundred in as many Tests, while his
five remaining partners so propped and poked that they used up
95 balls to contribute their 15 runs. Coincidentally, of course,
England's scorer felt sick and went back to his hotel.

The six which Crawley pulled, when 96 and ready at last to
unleash, was born of such magnificently handsome batsmanship
that it made England's strategy the more regrettable. If
confident and aggressive, England might have encouraged Darren
Gough and Alan Mullally to let themselves go, the only method by
which they have made runs in Test cricket, keeping Silverwood
and Phil Tufnell to block in aid of Crawley.

If Zimbabwe's lack of depth needed emphasis, Stuart Carlisle
provided it by his forward-lunging in his two innings here, and
his two missed chances at short leg. If this Carlisle borders on
anything, it is on minor county standard, though even a Rutland
opener would probably not stab with open face so far away from
his body.

Grant Flower was not the first victim of a much-questioned
decision in this match, but they have been evenly spread. After
two wickets in as many overs, Zimbabwe were on the slide,
relying upon Houghton and his experience of a crisis. At last
some urgency and desire to win were evident in England's
cricket, albeit in a Christmas wrapping of hope, rather than
expectation.

With the tacit support of other England followers, the platoon
summoned a chant in the unclouded heat of the loveliest of
evenings, and in response, Croft burst through Campbell's
defence to hit his leg stump; and Tufnell spat a spinner out of
a footmark to have Andy Flower taken at short leg. Everyone else
in the crowd of 1,000 - that is, the friends and relatives of
Zimbabwe's players - fell silent. Houghton's experience was
worth the same in value to Zimbabwe as the product of the shafts
that once attracted Rhodes and are still to be found in the bush
around Bulawayo. It was with horror that he succumbed by
spooning Tufnell to a delirious mid-on.

Against the spinners in tandem, Andrew Waller saw out the fourth
day, his experience so limited - even at the age of 37 - that he
has one first-class hundred to his name. Yes to an England
victory. No to flattery that may follow, in particular any of
their own.


'Wides' put win out of reach

By Martin Johnson

THE bubbly was ready on ice inside the dressing room, but in the
end England reached not for the corkscrew but the bottle opener.
It was not a Bollinger day, as in expensive French champagne,
but a Bohlinger day, as in unexceptional Zimbabwean bottled
beer.

The first Test match between these sides also became the first
Test match to end in a draw with the scores level, but despite
England's role in a historic drama that left barely a fingernail
unchewed inside the Bulawayo Queen's Club, they left for a trip
to Victoria Falls today so racked with disappointment that one
or two might have been contemplating bungey-jumping without the
rope.

It was also a match in which both sides infringed the spirit of
the game (though only England were reprimanded for it) and in
which the agony of coming so close to scoring the 205 runs they
needed off 37 overs led to wildly exaggerated claims as to the
quality of their performance.

David Lloyd, the coach, said afterwards: "We murdered them and
they know it. We flippin' hammered them. One more ball and we'd
have walked it." And he said it again, and again and again. Even
allowing for the emotion of it all and that one of Lloyd's
qualities is his enthusiasm, this was tosh of the highest order.

England, in fact, via their own shortcomings, left themselves
with a horribly difficult target against a side ranked a distant
ninth out of nine in Test cricket's league table, and failed to
beat them. And this is written in the full knowledge that, in
England's eyes anyway, that kind of observation qualifies as a
treasonable offence.

It is a long-standing tour tradition that the media stage a
Christmas pantomime, often of dubious quality, but largely
involving taking the mickey out of themselves, to which all the
players are invited. This year they have voted not to attend,
because they are miffed at what has been written about them. I
dare say that the First World War soldiers were equally miffed
at having several million men machine-gunned, but they still
managed a game of football on Christmas Day.

However, pardon us all for not insisting that losing to the
President's XI, Mashonaland and Zimbabwe in the opening one-day
international was in fact yet another chapter in the glorious
history of the British empire and that everyone in this team
should be knighted.

However, let us at least acknowledge the undeniably laudable
batting effort of yesterday. There is a world of difference
between a routine Sunday League target and chasing on the final
day of a Test match, with the fielders allowed to stand where
they want and the bowlers permitted to bowl what would be
totally illegal deliveries in one-day cricket. To come so close
was no mean feat.

It was arguable whether England ought to have opened with
Michael Atherton, particularly as it was by getting him out that
Zimbabwe were confronted by two of England's most effective
batsmen in a run chase, Nick Knight and Alec Stewart. The
latter, in fact, strode in and hooked the first delivery he
faced from Heath Streak for six.

At tea, England were 36 for one from five overs, and halfway
through their allotted 37 overs they were coasting at 106 for
one. It was almost at that precise point, however, that the home
team decided that saving the game was more important than
preserving the spirit of the game.

At the risk of incurring further approbrium from the England
camp, it does not require a Gypsy Rose Lee to predict that
England would have done precisely the same had the roles been
reversed. Namely, to bowl so wide, on both sides of the wicket,
that the batsmen did not so much require spiked boots as
roller-skates.

Lloyd said: "They [Zimbabwe] have got to live with that." Well,
Alistair Campbell, the home captain, was perfectly happy to live
with it. "When you're trying to save a Test match, you use every
trick in the book," he said. "Other sides have done it, and I'll
defend it to the hilt."

Even though situations such as yesterday's rarely crop up in
Test matches, legislation may be required in the future, though
it has to be said that the umpires' interpretation of what
constituted a wide occasionally appeared to be anything not in
danger of hitting the square leg umpire on the head.

With six deliveries (from Streak) remaining, and England
requiring 13 to win, Knight suddenly brought the occasion down
to five off three balls with a huge six over square leg. The
next ball was so wide it broke the return crease, but the
Zimbabwean umpire, Ian Robinson, who had a wretched match
overall, remained as immobile as a palace guardsman.

Finally, it boiled down to three off the last ball, and though
Knight initially thought he might have struck a boundary with a
speared offside drive, Stuart Carlisle cut it off inside the
rope and Darren Gough was run out when he had barely turned for
the third.

It was gut-wrenching for Knight, whose 96 not out from 118
deliveries was a marvellous effort despite his general inability
to solve the problems of the leg-spinner, Paul Strang, bowling
wide outside his leg stump. As for Stewart, who had earlier
threatened to win the match on his own with 73 off 76 balls, his
dismissal was crucial.

In the end, though, it is not possible to cast a jaundiced eye
over Zimbabwe's tactics without pointing out that England, too,
have crossed the boundaries of fair play here. Some of their
appealing has been, frankly, unappealing, a fact acknowledged on
Saturday by match referee Hanumant Singh when he issued them
with a written warning for bringing the game into disrepute.

For all the improvement in their deportment yesterday, England
appeared to have treated it like unwanted junk mail.
Furthermore, had England not batted so bafflingly slowly on
Saturday (88 runs off the bat in the first three hours) or
bowled so ordinarily yesterday (Zimbabwe's last four wickets
realised 127 runs and used up 56 precious overs) we would now be
celebrating a not very famous victory. As Lloyd said: "We
murdered them." He probably believes in Father Christmas as
well.


Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/)

Inaugural Test had almost everything -despite ill feelings at
end of historic contest

from the Herald, Harare
Despite the acrimony at the end, the inaugural cricket Test
between Zimbabwe and England which ended in a historic draw in
Bulawayo on Sunday - the first draw in which the scores were
level - had almost everything.

In a match which had as many twists and turns as a good Agatha
Christie novel, one team dominated the other and a likely draw
was turned into a more likely England win when the game was
transformed into a rare one-day specatcle whose finish no one
could fathom until the last ball was bowled.

Led by a resolute century by vice-captain Andy Flower Zimbabwe
held the upper hand on the opening two days and held it well
into the third before their grip was loosened slowly and surely
by Nasser Hussain and John Crawley.

Both completed centuries, Hussain rather more fortuitously after
being dropped first ball by Stuart Carlisle, and helped England
overhaul Zimbabwe's first-innings score of 376 on the fourth
day, finishing 30 runs to the good.

With not much in it and a sedate draw on the cards the
complexion of the match suddenly changed when Zimbabwe's
top-order buckled and at the end of the fourth day they were
tottering on 107-5 in their second innings.

The game had turned on its head; England had Zimbabwe against
the ropes for the first time in the match and were sniffing
victory. A brave rearguard action led by half centuries from
debutant Andy Waller and Guy Whittall kept England out for
almost three sessions on the final day before they were finally
bowled out for 234.

This left England needing 205 to win in 37 overs and a frenetic
run-chase ensued. Despite losing captain Mike Atherton early
England met the challenge head-on with a gallant second-wicket
stand of 137 in almost even time between Alec Stewart and Nick
Knight.

To their credit Zimbabwe's bowlers and fielders did not let
their heads drop and frustrated the English no end with bowlers
deliberately bowling wide and boundaries were hard to come by
due to the deployment of their fielders on the boundary.

The smart money was still on England who needed 59 off the last
10 overs with nine wickets in hand, but when Stewart fell for 73
off 74 balls in the 30th over the charge was checked by a
clutter of wickets which followed.

Still the scene was set for a nail-biting finale when the
sixth-wicket pair of Knight and Darren Gough were tasked with
scoring 13 off Heath Streak's last over. Knight smashed the
third ball for a six but, with three needed off the final
delivery, he could only muster two with Gough easily run out
going for what would have been the winning third run.

It was an amazing finish to an extraordinary match. Pity then
that there was ill feeling at the end of the contest.

According to a Reuters report England coach David Lloyd said his
team had dominated the game and was disgusted at Zimbabwe's
negative tactics in the final session.

"We murdered them and they know it." "For them to have nine men
on the boundary at the end was just not on. It might have been
within the laws, but it wasn't within the spirit of the game,"
said Lloyd.

Campbell admitted that they had used defensive tactics. "If he
wants to believe they murdered us then fine, but as far as I was
concerned it was a good game of cricket.

"Sure we used negative tactics in the final seesion, but you
don't throw a Test match away," said Campbell.

Granted it may not have been good sportsmanship but England
would have employed the same tactics had the shoe been on the
other foot.


Source:: The Herald (Harare) 24 December 1996. 
Reproduced with permission.


<END> Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)