There is a currently a rebirth taking place in Zimbabwe, especially when it comes to cricket. The recently completed Stanbic Twenty20 series was a huge success where some ageing and some top current cricketers from all around the globe combined with the locals to put on a cricket tournament of significant quality.

The explosive final between Mashonaland Eagles and MidWest Rhinos went down to the last ball and attracted a record crowd of about 10 000 fans at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

The Eagles staggered home to a one-run victory that gave them the trophy and a defining triumph in a quality field.

The Stanbic Twenty20 series staged a coup by luring West Indies legend Brian Lara to come out of retirement and play one more time and there were also a number of other quality players, coming from all around the globe. These included Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand opener; Chris Harris also from New Zealand, the ultimate dibbly-dobbly bowler and bits and pieces player; Nick Compton, grandson of the legendary Denis; Ryan ten Doeschate, the highly rated Dutch all-rounder, born in Port Elizabeth but playing for Essex; Andrew Hall, the one-time Protea; Riki Wessels, son of Kepler, playing for Northamptonshire and rated as a future England wicketkeeper; Paul Horton, an Australian-born Lancashire opening batsman, and Lance “Zulu” Klusener another South African.

All the Stanbic Twenty20 games were also shown live on SuperSport for the African audience and were also screened in Asia where cricket has its biggest market.

After the final, Zimbabwe Cricket chief executive Ozias Bvute said that “Twenty20 is a global phenomenon and we used it to attract a new cricket audience in Zimbabwe and we believe that once we have that audience, it will then be easier to transfer their allegiance to other forms of cricket in this country, including the 50-overs game.

“We will need to do a lot more work to convince people about the relevance of the longer version of cricket but that’s a challenge that we are ready for.”

Bvute said the sight of a full-house at Harare Sports Club on Sunday was a vindication of their efforts to try and take the game to the people.

He also went on to say that “It has always been our wish for cricket to grow out of being just a minority sport into a genuine national sport and I think the support that the public has shown is indicative that we are well on our way to achieve that.”

In related news, Zimbabwe have also named their squad for the tour to Bangladesh, where they will go into the series looking for their first ODI victory since they beat Ireland in September, but will face a Bangladesh side buoyant after their recent 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand.

Elton Chigumbura (capt), Tatenda Taibu (wk), Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingi Masakadza, Regis Chakabva, Chamu Chibhabha, Raymond Price, Ryan Butterworth, Craig Ervine, Prosper Utseya, Keith Dabengwa, Chris Mpofu, Keegan Meth

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Where to Buy Blood, Sweat and Treason

Currently available in Hardcover it is available online through Amazon, in the UK and US

UK
Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.co.uk

USA

Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Cricket in Zimbabwe is seemingly going from strength to strength with the Southern Rocks franchise just completing an incredible double swoop by signing the former England fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom as well as that of the West Indies legend, Brian Lara for the Stanbic T-20 Championships starting at the Harare Sports Club next week.

Along with India’s Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara was for many years regarded as one of the best batsmen of his era. He retired after the 2007 World Cup and has not played that much competitive cricket since, but has had a spell with the unofficial Indian Cricket League in 2007-08, where to be honest he had a forgettable tournament with the bat and as captain of Mumbai Champs.

Ryan Sidebottom played 22 Tests, 25 ODIs and 18 Twenty20s for England, including the recent World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean, in an international career that spanned nine years before his international retirement in September.

Of the Zimbabwean sides, the Rocks have been the most active side in transfer dealings after a disappointing last season when they finished last in the Stanbic T-20 Championships, and failing to make any impact in the Met Bank Challenge and the Castle Logan Cup.

But they have shown serious intentions this time after securing national team wicket-keeper batsman Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyere who both won the T-20 Championships with Mountaineers earlier this year.

They will however be without Sean Ervine as the former Zimbabwe national team all-rounder is switching to champions Mountaineers.

Givemore Makoni, the Rocks’ chief executive officer confirmed the Sidebottom and Lara signings, saying that his team would be mounting a serious challenge after roping in a wealth of experience in the form of the four players.

“It was a bad season the last time on but we have achieved good results in the competitions that have been played so far. In Bottom we signed a player who has proven himself on the big stage and with Lara we just have got ourselves the best batsman to grace the game of cricket.”

In this year’s tournament brochure Makoni declared: “This time Rocks come into the much awaited Stanbic T-20 ready to conquer. We have left no stone unturned in our preparations. With king Lara and speed merchant Sidebottom in your side, who can ever go wrong.”

Rocks start the campaign with a match against the Kwekwe Rhinos.

Kwekwe’s Rhinos
As well as these two great players, there have been a umber of other high profile signings in Zimbabwe, for the domestic competitions: Lou Vincent of New Zealand has also signed for Kwekwe’s Rhinos, joining Garry Balance at the Jason Gillespie-coached team.

Vincent adds to a Rhino’s squad that already has in its books national team opening batsman Brendan Taylor, seam bowler Edward Rainsford, Malcom Waller, Vusa Sibanda and Graeme Cremer, to mention a few.

Mashonaland Eagles
Winners of the Logan Cup last season have been struggling to retain their form this year.

They have roped in veteran Grant Flower into their squad after Andrew Hall also joined Elton Chigumbura’s men.

But with Foster Mutizwa, Raymond Price and Greg Lamb in the fold, they should still mount a good challenge for the 20-over tournament.

The Eagles start their campaign with a match against Matabeleland Tuskers on November 14.

Tuskers
Have retained Charles Coventry, Sean Williams, Terry Duffin, Christopher Mpofu and Keegan Meth, among other notables, but loose Andy Blignaut from last season’s squad.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Where to Buy Blood, Sweat and Treason

Currently available in Hardcover it is available online through Amazon, in the UK and US

UK
Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.co.uk

USA

Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

When it was first announced that Grant Flower would return as Zimbabwe’s batting coach it was greeted with much enthusiasm. Now it has just also been confirmed that Grant, who is now 39 has been included in the squad for Zimbabwe’s tour to South Africa next month as a player and is therefore set to make a stunning comeback to international cricket more than six years after his last appearance for Zimbabwe.

Grant, who has been coaching and playing for Essex for the last six seasons, returned home in August to join the national team of Zimbabwe as its batting coach. Besides his role with the national team, Flower was also appointed as the player coach of the Mashonaland Eagles, a domestic franchise of Zimbabwe.

Previous Achievements
Grant is one of Zimbabwe’s most experienced players and during his first 12 years as part of the Zimbabwean cricket team, he played in 67 Test matches scoring 3457 runs at an average of 29.54 including six centuries and 15 half centuries with a highest of 201 not out. As well as the tests, he played 219 One Day Internationals during his first spell with the Zimbabwe side, scoring a total of 6536 runs including six hundreds and 40 fifties at an average of 33.69. Flower’s top score in ODI’s is 142 not out.

Grant is also a more than capable left arm spinner and in his first stint playing for Zim he claimed 25 Test wickets with a best of 4 for 47 and 104 one-day wickets. His best ODI bowling figures were 4 for 32.

Zims loss, Essex’s Gain
After retiring from international cricket for the first time, and when he first joined Essex six years ago under the controversial Kolpak ruling some Essex fans didn’t take too kindly to his arrival, some even booed.

But the cheering for his retirement on after hitting an unbeaten 81 against Middlesex in his last game, showed he has won the hearts and minds of the Chelmsford faithful who screamed ‘There’s only one Grant Flower’.

Flower has so far made 188 first-class appearances scoring 10,898 runs with 23 centuries and 166 wickets.

The Future
Alistair Campbell, now the Zimbabwe selector, has already said that he wants Grant Flower to play in the 2011 World Cup. He said that he feels that the younger batsmen in the Zimbabwe squad will benefit immensely from playing with one of the countries most experienced cricketers. However, he also went on to say that his return to international cricket would be assessed on a case-by-case basis as the batsman himself had concerns about his fitness.

“The agreement we have is that we’ll just play it tour by tour and see where he’s at,” Campbell told Cricket365. “He says he’s got a few niggling injuries and the like, but he’s committed to this tour [South Africa] and for our domestic Twenty20 tournament, and then we’ll play it by ear from there. I wouldn’t say he’s got a couple of years, but I would dearly love him to play up to and including the World Cup – that’s always been my aim.”

Grant admitted that the dual role of batting coach and player would make his position in the team quite complicated. He further added that the dual role can lead to a conflict of interests as his performance as a player is more likely to affect his coaching role. “There can be a conflict of interests with my role as the batting coach if I can’t turn things around as a player,” Flower said. “It can be awkward if I don’t. If it works, however, it can come out in positive fashion.”

As well as Grant, there have been a number of other high-profile cricketers who have joined Zimbabwe cricket this season. Pacer Jason Gillespie from Australia and South African great, Allan Donald have already started as domestic coaches in Zim, whilst former New Zealand all-rounder, Chris Harris has been put in charge of the Zimbabwe U19 team.

Zimbabwe Squads for the tour of South Africa:

ODI Squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Hamilton Masakadza , Chamu Chibhabha, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Shingirai Masakadza, Ian Nicolson, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Ed Rainsford, Chris Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Grant Flower, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor.

Twenty20 squad: Elton Chigumbura(capt), Hamilton Masakadza , Chamu Chibhabha, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Shingirai Masakadza, Ian Nicolson, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Charles Coventry, Ed Rainsford, Chris Mpofu, Keith Dabengwa, Grant Flower, Brendan Taylor.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Where to Buy Blood, Sweat and Treason

Currently available in Hardcover it is available online through Amazon, in the UK and US

UK
Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.co.uk

USA

Blood, Sweat and Treason on Amazon.com

“I have stated heretofore in print and am still ready to maintain my pronouncement, that the tigerfish of Africa is the fiercest fish that swims. Let others hold forth as advocates for the mako shark, the barracudas, the piranah of the Amazon, or the blue fish of the Atlantic. To them I say ‘Pish and Tush’.” L. J. McCormick, 1949.

“Wakey Wakey… Rise and Shine It’s Tiger Time!”
On October 6th 2010 one of the biggest annual fishing events in Africa and certainly in Zimbabwe will begin. The Kariba International Tiger Fish Tournament has been recognized by the International Game Fish Association as one of the greatest Game Fish tournaments in the World and KITFT was made a qualifying round of the IGFA Inshore World Game Fish Championships.

History

The Kariba International Tiger Fish Tournament started way back in 1962, when a bunch of farmers deciding to go fishing.

Since then the tournament has grown and in 1991 there were 333 teams – some 300 more teams than the first tournament. At last year’s tournament 186 teams participated from 6 countries.

The biggest haul was recorded in 2000 when 9 910.700 kgs of fish were caught. The biggest fish was caught by Mike Otto in 1989 weighing 10.210kg. Ladies have also become a force to be reckoned with and both the ladies records were broken in 2000. The top Ladies Individual Aggregate stands at 58.890kg held by Char Ward, and the biggest fish by a lady being 8.850kg, held by Merinada Wheeler.

More About the Tournament

• You can find more information and Live results during the tournament will be available on the official KITFT Website
• The official KITFT Magazine will be out in mid to late September and anyone anywhere can request a free copy by sending their Postal details to client@david.co.zw (they will post it to you)

More about the Tigerfish

• You can find more on the Tigerfish (Hydrocynus forskalii) on the Safari Guide website.

Kariba on Amazon.co.uk

Great news for all those interested in Zimbabwean cricket is that the former great South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald has joined a growing list of former internationals heading to Zimbabwe to help rebuild our international reputation and push for a return to Test cricket.

Known as ‘White Lightning’, Alan is remembered as a fearsome fast bowler and in his prime, was one of the best fast bowlers ever seen in Test cricket. He reached the top of the ICC Test rankings in 1998 and peaked with a top ICC ranking of 895 points the next year, the 25th best ranking ever. In ODIs, he reached 794 points in 1998, second place to his teammate Shaun Pollock, the 28th best ranking ever. In the early 1990s, he was arguably the only world-class bowler in the South African team, until the emergence of Pollock, with whom he made a healthy new-ball partnership from the 1996/1997 tour of India until his retirement in 2002.

Before deciding on a role in Zimbabwe and since his retirement from the game in 2003, Donald has worked as a bowling and assistant coach for the Free State in SA, Warwickshire and the English Cricket teams but it is said that he has been frustrated in recent months by his inability to secure a full-time position.

What is interesting is that Allan Donald will not coach at international level, rather he will be in charge of the reigning domestic champions the Mountaineers. His contract will last for at least the forthcoming season which begins on September 6 2010.

Speaking to Cricinfo, Donald said that he has “always wanted to move away from being a bowling specialist and become more of a head coach, and this is exactly the sort of opportunity I’ve been looking for,” and went on to say “We are still putting the finishing touches to the contract but I certainly want to do it for more than one year,” Donald said. “I don’t think you can prove too much in one season. And it’s exciting to be part of Zimbabwe cricket’s revival.”

Steve Mangongo, who coached the Mountaineers to both the four-day Logan Cup and Faithwear Metbank 50-over titles last year has relinquished the post to concentrate on dual roles as national assistant to Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher and a supervisory position at the national academy.

As well as Donald, former England batsman Monte Lynch (Southern Rocks) and Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie (Midwest Rhinos) now coach in Zimbabwe’s domestic competitions. While former Zimbabwean internationals Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak, Grant Flower and Dave Houghton are all involved in Zimbabwean Cricket at national level.

After overcoming some early nerves Zimbabwe’s tennis star Cara Black and her partner Leander Paes from India won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in straight sets against South Africa’s Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond from the Unites States on Sunday.

The mixed doubles final took place on Centre Court straight after strolled Rafael Nadal had won the men’s singles. A topsy-turvy opening set had five breaks of serve as both pairs struggled to impose themselves. But after losing three of the first four games, the second seeds and last years loosing finalists rallied to win five of the next six and closed out the set in 37 minutes.

The second set turned out to be a reversal of the first and it was a tightly fought encounter without a single break of serve.

The tiebreak proved a test of nerve and Black and Paes held theirs with the Indian volleying the winner on championship point to take the match in one hour and 37 minutes.

This is Cara’s second Wimbledon title as she has previously won won in 2004 with her brother Wayne Black and their second grand slam title of the year after winning the Australian Open title in January with a 7-5 6-3 victory against Ekaterina Makarova and Jaroslav Levinský. They have also won the U.S. Open in 2008 and were runners-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

Zimbabwe cricket captain, Elton Chigumbura joins Northants: Chigumbura, who has been in fine form with the bat in the recent triangular tournament against Sri Lanka and India, will be with the club until the end of the 2010 season.

Within hours of arriving at the County Ground, Elton was out in the middle peppering the pavilion roof with huge sixes. He said, “Yeah that’s my other strength! I like to get out there and hit the ball cleanly and time it just right.”

In an interview with the BBC, the 24-year-old Zimbabwean said “It was one of my dreams to play county cricket and finally I’m here,” he also went on to say “It’s come at the right time. I want to show the counties and the world that the guys in Zimbabwe are competitive.”

David Capel the coach of Northamptonshire has said that Elton should express himself and just play what he knows. Chigumbura also said that David Capel has already helped him with some technical stuff, and that he is looking forward to working some more with him.

The former Northants wicketkeeper Rikki Wessels has tipped Zimbabwean Elton Chigumbura to be a success. Wessels, who played with Chigumbura in Zimbabwe, told BBC Radio Northampton: “He’s very talented and he’s immense in the field.
“He’s a very dangerous bowler to left-handed batsman and he can hit the ball a very long way and very hard.”
Chigumbura could make his debut in the Twenty20 match at Leicestershire today – Friday 18th June scheduled to begin at 17:30 local time (16:30 GMT).

You can keep up-to-date with his progress live on CrickInfo or for live cricket commentary, on BBC Radio Northamptonshire via the BBC website here.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

The Past: Pakistan v Zimbabwe, 3rd Test, December 21, 1998
A long time ago now, the photo above shows Alastair Campbell celebrating Zimbabwe’s first Test series win overseas after the third Test against Pakistan was drawn. Adam Huckle, Neil Johnson, Pommie Mbangwa and Grant Flower look on.

The Future
After meeting with David Morgan, the ICC (International Cricket Council) president and chief executive Haroon Lorgat, it looks like Zimbabwe will return to the Test Cricket arena in 2011.

The Zimbabwe Cricket Chairman Peter Chingoka said: “We are developing a strong and competitive domestic competition as a result of the ICC task team’s recommendations.” and are “now looking to make a gradual return to Test cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.”

Zimbabwe could possibly play a home Test series against Bangladesh in May 2011 and South Africa have offered to host a one-off Test between the teams each year.

Zim have not played Test match cricket since 2005, after the political upheaval basically destroyed the team leaving it so weakened that Zimbabwe were unable to compete at the highest level. However the recent improvements in both one day and twenty20 cricket have been very noticeable : Zimbabwe have beaten India twice and Sri Lanka once en route to last Wednesday’s triangular series final in Harare, as well as recently beating Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies in twenty20 cricket.

ICC president David Morgan said: “I take great pleasure in the number of smiling faces around Zimbabwe Cricket. It is very comforting for the ICC to observe the improvement and success of the Zimbabwe team in recent months.”

Zimbabwe Play India Today

Just as a reminder that Zimbabwe play India in a twenty20 game today, which you can watch live, details here: Watch Zimbabwe vs India Live

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

Zimbabwe play India in two Twenty20 games this weekend and even though Zimbabwe recently lost to Sri Lanka in the final of the One day international tri-nation series, they still have many reasons to feel confident. During the group stages they beat India twice and Sri Lanka once, finishing top of the table. In the twenty20 format of the game, they have also had some recent successes, beating Australia and Pakistan in the warm up games to the Twenty20 World cup.

Whilst the two teams have played each other many times recently, this will be the first game between these two sides in the Twenty20 format. So far India have 12 wins and 11 defeats, while Zimbabwe have only played ten Twenty20 games, winning three of them.

FREE – Watch Zimbabwe vs India Live Online

You can watch live streaming of the two Zimbabwe India games live on-line through BetFair

Betfair is an online betting site and all you have to do is open an account with them and you can watch this and many other live sporting events including all of the games in this tri tournament. The best bit of all it is totally FREE – I did it myself and you don’t even have to deposit any money into your account:

To Watch the Games Live:

1. Go to the Betfair Website and create an account
2. Log in to your new account
3. Look for the Zimbabwe game under Sports/Cricket and click the Watch Sport Free on Bet Fair Live Video link on the right, or just look for the Live Video link anywhere on their site.

Updates – If you can’t watch it live, I will be updating this page throughout the day with the scores, just check the Latest Updates at the foot of this page.

Date and Time of the games
Both games take place in Harare, the first match kicks off on Saturday 12th June at 1pm local time (11am GMT), or 12pm British Summer Time. The second game is on Sunday the 13th June at 1pm local time (11am GMT), or 12pm British Summer Time.

Zimbabwe
Zim’s spinners are their strongest card, depriving opposing teams of easy runs, forcing them into mistakes and then taking wickets. In the batting department, keep an eye out for the openers Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor who both go into the game with some great form. Brendan Taylor in particular was almost unstoppable in the tri-series, and will look to cash in with some more runs over the weekend.

Possible Zimbabwe team: 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Brendan Taylor, 3 Tatenda Taibu (wk) 4 Charles Coventry, 5 Andy Blignaut 6 Ervine, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Greg Lamb, 11 Ray Price.

India
India seem to be of the opinion of “If you can’t beat them, join them” and they have four spinners to choose from, in addition to two spinning allrounders, of whom Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha will expect to make the cut. The seamers were pretty much to a man unimpressive in the ODIs, and it could be a toss-up between Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda and Pankaj Singh for two spots. Lack of options could force the side to field Dinesh Karthik and Yusuf Pathan, both notable exclusions for the Asia Cup..

Possible Indian Team: 1 M Vijay, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 and 11 Two out of Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav and Pankaj Singh.

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Latest Updates:

I will be post updates here throughout the day, as well as on my twitter feed and the Chirundu facebook page.

Game Over: India 112/4 (15.0/20 ov), India won by 6 wickets (with 30 balls remaining). Zimbabwe just didn’t make enough and it was clear from the start. Had they scored 160, this would have been an interesting chase. India looked jittery against Mpofu in the beginning and threatened to make heavy weather of this chase but Pathan eased the nerves with some big hits.

3:14pm Another Wicket, this is starting to get interesting again: India 48/4 (7.4/20 ov). RG Sharma stumped †Tatenda Taibu bowled Ray Price 10 (15b 1×4 0×6) SR: 66.66

3:12pm Wicket: SK Raina caught Chigumbura bowled Ray Price 28 (17b 3×4 1×6) SR: 164.70. India 47/3 (7.2/20 ov). India require another 65 runs with 7 wickets and 12.4 overs remaining.

2:52pm Zim needed early wickets and they now have 2: India 12/2 (2.5/20 ov). India require another 100 runs with 8 wickets and 17.1 overs remaining. Last wicket: NV Ojha caught †Tatenda Taibu bowled Chris Mpofu 2 (9b 0×4 0×6) SR: 22.22

2:44pm Zim off to a good start, Mpofu Strikes: India 7/1 (1.0/20 ov) M Vijay c Utseya b Mpofu 5 (5b 1×4 0×6) SR: 100.00. India require another 105 runs with 9 wickets and 19.0 overs remaining.

1:29pm End of Zim’s innings – was hard to watch the end of that as Zimbabwe played terribly. Lets hope that the bowlers can do better when India come out to bat. Zimbabwe 111/9 (20.0/20 ov).

1:19pm Hard to watch this – Zim playing terribly, now 108/9 (19.4/20 ov)

1:12pm Wicket: Craig Ervine (b Dinda 30). Zimbabwe 103/7 after 18.3 overs

11:44am Ogh no, another two wickets in quick succession, Zimbabwe now 81/6 (13.3/20 ov) – not looking good for Zim. Last two wickets: E Chigumbura c Vijay b PP Ojha 3 (9b 0×4 0×6) and GA Lamb lbw b PP Ojha 0 (1b 0×4 0×6)

11:44am Wicket: Zimbabwe 73/4 (10.3/20 ov) CJ Chibhabha lbw b Chawla 40 (30b 5×4 1×6) SR: 133.33. Zimbabwe Run Rate 6.95

11:44am Zimbabwe* vs India, 57 / 3 in 7.0 overs – RR 8.14, Craig Ervine 3(6b), Chamu Chibhabha 29(20b), Pragyan 2.0-0-8-0.

Zimbabwe Dancing Girls

11:15am Zimbabwe fight back, but also loose another wicket: Brendan Taylor lbw bowled Vinay Kumar 15 (9b 2×4 1×6) SR: 166.66. Zimbabwe 30/2 (3.0/20 ov) Run Rate 10.58

11:02am Ogh no Zimbabwe loose their first wicket very early – Hamilton Masakadza c Raina b Vinay Kumar 1 (3b 0×4 0×6) SR: 33.33 and that brings Chamu Chibhabha into bat. Zimbabwe 2/1 (0.4/20 ov)

11:00am Zimbabwe team news: ED Rainsford and Chamu Chibhabha are in replacing Charles Coventry and Graeme Cremer.

Toss India have won the toss and have decided to bowl first.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk

The Zimbabwe’s run to the final of this tri-series has been impressive as they have not just been winning their games, but winning them well and do look like a team full of confidence and one that knows how to win. I have been a Zim cricket fan for yonks and rarely, if ever have I seen them chase down targets with such ease and confidence before.

After impressive wins against India and the demolishing of Sri Lanka by eight wickets on Monday, Zimbabwe a now just one game away from their first triumph in a multi-nation tournament involving Test-playing nations and you can watch it live or keep up-to-date with all the important events as they happen on this page:

FREE – Watch Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka Live

Live streaming of the Zimbabwe Sri Lanka game is available on-line through BetFair of all places!

Betfair is an online betting community and all you have to do is create an account with them and you can watch this and many other live sporting events including all of the games in this tri tournament. The best bit of all it is totally FREE – I did it myself and you don’t even have to deposit any money into your account:

To Watch the Game Live:

1. Go to the Betfair Website and create an account
2. Log in to your new account
3. Look for the Zimbabwe game under Sports/Cricket and click the Watch Sport Free on Bet Fair Live Video link on the right, or just look for the Live Video link anywhere on their site.

Updates – If you can’t watch it live, I will be updating this page throughout the day with the scores, just check the Latest Updates at the foot of this page.

Zimbabwe
So far in this tournament Zimbabwe have only had one bad day and that was against Sri Lanka, hopefully they can keep their nerves together and play as well as they know they can. What is encouraging is they look like a team that are enjoying their cricket: the choreographed dance between Ray Price and Chris Mpofu and Hamilton Masakadza’s ‘just married’ are examples of this.

Zimbabwe will be hoping that their opening pair of Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza can continue with their fine form and that their “spin army” continue to not only tie down the Sri Lankans, but take wickets. Greg Lamb and Andy Blignaut will probably return to the team after missing the last game.

Squad: Elton Chigumbura (Captain), AM Blignaut, CJ Chibhabha, CK Coventry, AG Cremer, CR Ervine, GA Lamb, H Masakadza, CB Mpofu, RW Price, EC Rainsford, V Sibanda, T Taibu†, BRM Taylor, P Utseya

Sri Lanka
Even though Sri Lanka lost to Zimbabwe on Monday, they are still the best team in the tournament and must go into this game as favourites. Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara, an excellent new-ball bowler may return for the final after missing the last game and are sure to strengthen the team.

Squad: TM Dilshan (Captain), AD Mathews, LD Chandimal†, CRD Fernando, S Randiv, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, BAW Mendis, BMAJ Mendis, NLTC Perera, TT Samaraweera, LPC Silva, WU Tharanga, HDRL Thirimanne, T Thushara

Date and Time of the game
The match kicks off on the 7th June at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT), or 8:00 British Summer Time. In Sri Lanka and India, the match starts at 12:30.
Hours of play (local time): 09.00 start, First Session 09.00-12.30, Interval 12.30-13.15, Second Session 13.15-16.45

Latest Match Updates:

I will be post updates here throughout the day, as well as on my twitter feed and the Chirundu facebook page.

3:26pm (Zim time) That’s it, Sri Lanka Beat Zim by 9 wickets (with 92 balls remaining) – All too easy for them in the end, but well played Zim for reaching the final.

2:55pm (Zim time) Finally a wicket for Zimbabwe, but far too little far to late. WU Tharanga run out 72 (79b 8×4 1×6) SR: 91.13. Sri Lanka 160/1 (25.5 ov) Sri Lanka require another 40 runs with 9 wickets and 24.1 overs remaining

2:00pm (Zim time) Sri Lanka looking good: Sri Lanka 82/0 (13.0 ov) Required Run Rate 3.18

12:10pm (Zim time) Wicket: That’s it Zimbabwe all out for 199. Last wicket: CB Mpofu run out 6 (9b 0×4 0×6) SR: 66.66

12:05pm (Zim time) Wicket: Clean bowled, Graeme Cremer b Fernando 5 (10b 0×4 0×6) SR: 50.00. Zimbabwe 189/8 (45.5 ov) Zimbabwe in danger of not completing their overs.

11:55am (Zim time) Wicket: Charles Coventry looking to be aggressive, went down the track and heaved it straight to long-on. CK Coventry c Tharanga b BMAJ Mendis 18 (12b 3×4 0×6) SR: 150.00. Zimbabwe now 178/7 (43.3 ov)

11:48am (Zim time) Wicket: Greg Lamb is bowled by BMAJ Mendis for 37 (65b 1×4 0×6) SR: 56.92. Zimbabwe 163/6 (41.4 ov) – run rate 3.91

11:42am (Zim time) Wicket: Elton Chigumbura trying to up the pace, looses his wicket.Zimbabwe 155/5 (40.1 ov). Next man in is Charles Coventry

11:27am (Zim time) Wicket, Tatenda Taibu out for 71 and Zimbabwe are now 139/4 after 35 overs. Also slow going for Zim with a run rate of only 3.87. T Taibu c Kapugedera b Fernando 71 (93b 4×4 0×6) SR: 76.34

10:25am (Zim time) Zimbabwe loose their third wicket, Craig Ervine run out. Zimbabwe now 49/3. Greg Lamb is the new batsman.

9:45am (Zim time) Wicket: ogh no, Taylor gone Zimbabwe now 29/2 (9.3 ov). Brendan Taylor caught Samaraweera bowled Fernando 19 (22b 3×4 0×6) SR: 86.36. Craig Ervine is the new batsman.

9:21am (Zim time) Wicket: After a slow start Zimbabwe loose their first wicket, Zimbabwe 11/1 (4.5 ov). Hamilton Masakadza caught †Chandimal b Kulasekara 4 (23b 0×4 0×6) SR: 17.39. Tatenda Taibu is the new batsman.

Toss: Sri Lanka have won the toss and have chosen to field. Important toss as in every game so far in this tournament, the side batting second has gone on to win. Zimbabwe now need to change that stat.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including "Blood, Sweat And Treason" by Henry Olonga, “A History of the Rhodesia and Zimbabwe National Sides” by Jonty Winch who traces the history of cricket in this country (Zimbabwe) from the first recorded game played in 1890, through two World Wars and a guerilla war, to the comparative peace of post-independence and eventual world recognition in the 1980s when Zimbabwe was able to send a side to England to take part in the I.C.C. Trophy competition which it won.

There is also the Autobiography of another great Zimbabwean cricket coach Duncan Fletcher “Behind the Shades”

USA: Amazon.com

Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.com

At the moment Amazon UK don’t have as wide selection as the US site, but I have ordered books from the US and had them delivered to the UK with no problems.

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Zimbabwe Cricket on Amazon.co.uk