The day started well with Zimbabwe winning the crucial toss and putting Sri Lanka into bat. Then initially Sri Lanka did very well and at one stage they looked like they were running away with the game, having scored 122 for no loss thanks largely to a rollicking start from Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Because Greg Lamb and Andy Blignaut were not playing due to some minor injuries, Zimbabwe tried to get the seamers’ overs out of the way early. Chris Mpofu bowled fairly well, but without any luck, whilst Elton Chigumbura and Chamu Chibhabha didn’t get much out of the pitch, nor did they have the pace to bother the Sri Lankans. In all their first 13 overs went for 89 runs, Dilshan getting 54 of those – eight fours and a six in them.

Enter Zimbabwe’s Spinners
Ray Price was introduced in the 12th over and with that came some control, he was accurate, aggressive and helped by some excellent fielding, began to build some pressure on the visitors.

Prosper Utseya, then got Dilshan stumped, followed up with Dinesh Chandimal’s wicket in the 25th over, and Zimbabwe was now back in the game.

Then a little surprisingly Hamilton Masakadza came to bowl for the first time in the tournament and managed a wicket with only his first ball. His celebration of showing off his vest with “just married” written on it, got him a few words from the umpire Rudi Koertzen, but I think he and everyone saw the funny side of it.

Sri Lanka had now lost 3 wickets for just 33 runs and from there it was all Zimbabwe, with Sri Lanka finally being bowled out for 236.

The Zimbabwe Batting Show

Led once again by the inform Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe never really looked like loosing all their wickets. They did however start a little slowly, but always kept the required run rate under 5. Hamilton Masakadza was first to fall for 3, his first failure in the tournament. Taylor then got great support from Chamu Chibhabha who eventually scored a good 58 of 81 balls after a slow start. Tatenda Taibu then played very well scoring an unbeaten 42 of 55 balls. But it was Brendan Taylor’s 119 not out that really anchored the run chase for Zimbabwe. He went to only his second century in ODI’s with a cheeky single and then most impressively made sure that he was there at the end to see Zim through.

So Zimbabwe finished the group stage at the top of the log, having only lost one game to Sri Lanka and twice beating India. We can now only hope that they play as well in the final:

The Final

The final also against Sri Lanka will be played on Wednesday 9th 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

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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

It is not often that I get to write a headline like this and in fact Zimbabwe’s seven-wicket win is our largest victory over India in one day internationals ever! It is also the first time that we have beaten them in back-to-back games in our cricketing history.

Zimbabwe bounced back from their poor showing against Sri Lanka in Bulawayo on Tuesday and as if to prove that their first win over India last Friday wasn’t a fluke, Zimbabwe won even more convincingly – with a bonus point this time, which means that our qualification for the final of this tri-series is highly possible.

India Bat First
The day started well with Zimbabwe winning the toss and deciding to put India into bat and on a slow pitch at the Harare Sports Club, Zimbabwe’s four spinners led by Greg Lamb (3-45) combined beautifully. Our opening bowlers, Andy Blignaut and Ray Price, gave India no free scoring opportunities and it must be said that India’s Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay were also very cautious scoring only 26 runs in the first 10 overs (five of them in wides). The result was to restrict India to a very gettable 194-9, with only Ravindra Jadeja (51) getting a decent score for India.

The Zimbabwe Innings

Watching Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu who was due to come into bat at number 3 sitting on the boundary waiting to come into bat (main picture) was a feature of the day as Zimbabwe’s opening pair of Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza punished the bowlers, adding 128 runs in 26.3 overs, which is Zimbabwe’s highest for the first wicket against India, bettering the 121 between Grant Flower and Alistair Campbell at Vadodara on April 5, 199

When the opening stand was broken, it was man of the match Brendan Taylor who having made 83 in the previous game against India was the first to go as he was caught by Murali Vijay off the bowling of Pragyan Ojha for 74. Taylor was strong on the backfoot, plundering six fours and one six from 90 balls and he has now also scored 1038 runs at Harare and is the only the third batsman to do so, joining Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (1291) and Grant Flower (1099)

Taibu still had to wait as Zimbabwe who were now obviously already looking for the bonus point win decided to send in Charles Coventry, who scored a brisk 20 of 23 balls.

Masakadza eventually fell for 66 runs off 86 balls after Virat Kohli held on to a great catch from the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja having faced 86 balls and smashed four fours and two towering sixes off spinner Amit Mishra in the 31st over. This was Hamilton’s first fifty against India and his 16th overall.

By this time Zimbabwe were well on course for the win, with Elton Chigumbura (16 not out) and Tatenda Taibu (13 not out) easing the side home with plenty of overs in hand.

After the game Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura said that he “thought all the bowlers bowled really well and when we batted, we knew it was just a matter of getting good partnerships, and Hami and BT batted really well.” He also revealed that he persuaded coach Alan Butcher to play Blignaut instead of Chris Mpofu. – “He is a very fair coach,” Chigumbura said. “Our relationship is good because we meet each halfway. I know what he wants and he knows what I want. For example, today I wanted Andy Blignaut to play and he wanted Chris Mpofu to play.”

Blignaut, returned that faith shown in him and bowled a full spell for Zimbabwe for the first time since his international cricket comeback a few months ago. He has been used mainly as a middle-order batsman who bowled a bit. But today he extracted good movement to claim 1-23 from his 10 overs. “During practice he (Blignaut) has been bowling well and we thought if we drop Chris instead (of Blignaut) it will give us good balance because Blignaut can also bat.”

Zimbabwe Stats

• This is the first time that Zimbabwe has recorded successive wins against India in ODIs. In their previous ODI against India at Bulawayo on May 28, 2010, Zimbabwe won by six wickets.
• Zimbabwe’s seven-wicket win is the 10th against India in ODIs out of 51 played – winning % 21.56 (Lost 39 and Tied 2).
• Zimbabwe’s seven-wicket victory is the biggest over India at Harare and the second biggest against India ever, next only to the eight-wicket victory at Bulawayo on February 15, 1997.
• Greg Lamb’s (3/45) is to date his career-best bowling performance in ODIs.
• Blignaut captured his 50th wicket in ODIs – his victim being Ravindra Jadeja.
• Brendan Taylor’s second half-century (74 off 90 balls) against India is his 19th in ODIs and has now scored 1500 runs at home at an average of 36.58, including twelve fifties, in 48 matches. He has now also scored 1038 runs at Harare and is the only the third batsman to do so, joining Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (1291) and Grant Flower (1099).

Next Games

The next game in the Series is on Saturday June 5th where India will take on Sri Lanka at the Harare Sports Club and then Zimbabwe play Sri Lanka also at HSC on June 7th. The final is on June 9th.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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

With Zimbabwe winning their opening game against India, and India then beating Sri Lanka in the second game on Sunday, this is a must win game for the Sri Lankans.

FREE – Watch Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka Live

You can watch live streaming of the Zimbabwe Sri Lanka game live on-line through BetFair of all places!

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 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.

Date and Time of the game
The match kicks off on the 1st 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

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe will be looking to continue their winning momentum against Sri Lanka and they take many positives as well as belief from their batting performance against India.

Zimbabwe’s confidence should be good as even though they didn’t win a game in the recent Twenty20 World Cup, they did very well in the warm-up games by defeating Australia and Pakistan. This tri-series has hinted at more progress as they produced a clinical win against India in the first ODI in Bulawayo. They have to now to show they can sustain their recent performances. The game against Sri Lanka provides another opportunity.

We hope that Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine can continue their current fine form after they and the rest of the top order batsmen successfully chased down a target of 286 against India. Another player to watch is Ray Price who has an economy rate of 3.88 from 75 ODIs! Against Sri Lanka his economy rate gets even better: just 3.36 from seven games – excellent.

Squad: E Chigumbura*, 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 it was a young side, Sri Lanka will not be happy about being totally outperformed by the also young Indian team on Sunday. Another defeat would take them very close to an early exit from the tournament.

Squad: TM Dilshan*, 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

Latest Updates:

4.15pm (Zim Time) Match Over – Sri Lanka 119/1 (15.2/26 ov) – Zimbabwe 118 (24.5/26 ov) Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets (with 64 balls remaining). Zimbabwe will be disappointed with their batting performance – 118 was never going to be enough to defend.

Only Hamilton Masakadza (62) turned up for Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka played well with both the ball and bat, their bowling was aggressive and effective with seam and spin alowing them to strangle and harass the hosts who just managed to get 118. Only Masakadza managed to successfully combine aggressive intent with the required skill that the rain-reduced 26-over game demanded of the batsmen.

Cricinfo: Zim have let themselves down big time today, and squandered their advantage on the league table. Sri Lanka have jumped into the lead, and there is a lot to play for going into the second round of league games.

3.55pm (Zim Time) Sri Lanka 86/1 (10.5/26 ov) – Sri Lanka require another 33 runs with 9 wickets and 15.1 overs remaining. Last Wicket: WU Tharanga run out 40 (37b 6×4 0×6) SR: 108.10

3.42pm (Zim Time) Zimbabwe were all out for 118 (24.5/26 ov) Sri Lanka currently have 54/0 (7.5/26 ov) – Sri Lanka require another 65 runs with 10 wickets and 18.1 overs remaining.

2.24pm (Zim Time) Things going from bad to worse – another wicket! Zimbabwe 92/8 – Hamilton Masakadza (47) and Ray Price (0) – Last wicket: P Utseya st †Chandimal b BMAJ Mendis 0 (3b 0×4 0×6) SR: 0.00 – thats 5 wickets down with only 17 runs scored.

2.22pm (Zim Time) Things not looking good Zim have lost three very quick wickets: Zimbabwe 90/7 – Hamilton Masakadza (46) and Prosper Utseya (0) – Last wicket: AG Cremer b Randiv 2 (3b 0×4 0×6) SR: 66.66

1.45pm (Zim Time) Zimbabwe 48/2 – Hamilton Masakadza (30) and Craig Ervine (1) – Last wicket: GA Lamb c BMAJ Mendis b BAW Mendis 10 (19b 0×4 0×6) SR: 52.63

1.28pm (Zim Time) Zimbabwe 24/1 – Hamilton Masakadza (11) and Greg lamb (9) – Last wicket: BRM Taylor c †Chandimal b Fernando 2 (5b 0×4 0×6) SR: 40.00

Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to field. Angelo Mathews, who picked an injury, and Thilan Samaraweera are not playing today. Jeevan Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal come in, while Zimbabwe are unchanged. Chigumbura comments that one area his side is worried about is the extras – they were horrendous against India and need to address that, more so in an overs-reduced game. The Lankans are out limbering up. Time for action.

12.40pm (Zim Time) The sun is now out and the clouds have receded, and It is going to be a 26-over game. Powerplays are reduced to 6, 3 and 2 overs each. Two bowlers can bowl six, while three others can bowl five each, so this is a bit like an extended Twenty20 game. Zimbabwe will fancy their chances.

12.25pm (Zim Time) No new official updates from the last one – I am still watching groundsman working on the field ensuring the grounds are ready, hopefully for a 1.00pm start (35 minutes from now). It is still not raining. As far as I know the toss has not yet happened and the teams have NOT yet been announced.

10:50am (local time) Some Good news, the rain has stopped and play is due to start 1pm local (12pm British summer time) – reduced to 27 overs each

10:30am (local time) Some official news: Still some hope as Umpire Russel Tiffin says: “We plan to inspect at 12.30 (local time) and if we cannot start then we will have to abandon the game.” Groundsman Douglas Higgins said the outfield is holding up and would be playable if the rain did not continue for long.

10:16am (local time) If you are watching the live pictures, you will see that the covers have come off and there are what looks like groundsmen on the pitch – No official news, but possibly a chance of play soon?

9:17am (local) It seems that rain has eased a little and they are hoping to get some play today, but the covers are firmly in place, covering the area surrounding the square. It has been raining all night in Bulawayo and apart from the rain, it is very cold!

8:34am (local) Raining in Bulawayo i’m afraid! – the covers are out and there is some light rain. It seem thatthe game will probably not start on time. Early showers could make the toss even more vital than it has been in the first couple of games. The team batting second has won both matches so far, and with rain and cloud in the air, expect the team winning the toss to elect to field today as well.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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

Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza and Craig Ervine helped Zimbabwe clinch an excellent six-wicket victory over India in the first game of the Tri-Nations series in Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe won at a gallop with 10 balls and six wickets to spare in the first of two matches between them in a series which also includes Sri Lanka.

All of Zimbabwe’s to 6 batsmen, led by man of the match Brendan Taylor, contributed significantly towards the victory as they overtook a good Indian total of 285-5 to record an impressive 289-4 in reply. The home team performed with skill and a certain amount of confidence, setting about their task of overtaking the Indian effort in both workmanlike and spectacular manner, as varying situations demanded.

Earlier on in the day during India’s innings, Rohit Sharma smacked four sixes in 114 from 119 balls and Ravindra Jadeja added an unbeaten 61 in India’s 285-5. The one blot on Zimbabwe’s day was the bowling performance of new captain Elton Chigumbura, who contrived to give away no fewer than 20 wides in his two overs – something for the Guinness Book of Records if they had such a category! Chigumbura said afterwards he had problems with his technique but he praised his colleagues for their “superb overall performance.”

But Hamilton Masakadza (46) and Taylor (81) gave Zimbabwe an excellent start by putting on 88 for the first wicket. Ervine smashed an unbeaten 67 and captain Elton Chigumbura weighed in with 24 not out as the hosts powered home with 10 balls to spare.

“Hami [Masakadza] and BT [Brendan Taylor] put us on top with their first-wicket partnership,” Chigumbura said. “It was also good to see Craig score a half century on his debut. The guys did well. The main focus now is to be consistent and we are working on that at the moment.”

India captain Suresh Raina praised Zimbabwe but blamed the defeat on his team’s inexperience.
He said: “They batted really well, to be honest. They deserved to win. “Some of the team have never played at this level. However we should have been able to defend 285 runs.

The next match in the series is on Sunday May 30th and sees India take on Sri Lanka at Queens Sports Club, whilst Zimbabwe’s next match is on Tuesday June 1st against Sri Lanka also at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

For Full Match fixtures and how you can watch the games live: Zimbabwe Cricket Tri-Series

Selected Match Statistics:

• Zimbabwe have registered their ninth triumph against India in 50 ODIs (Lost 39 and Tied 2) – winning % 20.00
• Craig Ervine’s unbeaten 67 off 60 balls is the best innings score on debut for Zimbabwe against India in ODIs.
• Ervine’s innings of 67 is the fourth best on debut for Zimbabwe in limited-overs internationals.
• Greg Lamb (27) has recorded his best ever innings in ODIs, bettering the 23 against West Indies at Providence on March 6, 2010.
• Zimbabwe’s convincing six-wicket win is their third in eleven ODIs against India in Zimbabwe.
• Brendan Taylor (81) has recorded the second highest innings by a wicketkeeper for Zimbabwe against India in ODIs. Andy Flower had registered 145 at Colombo RPS on September 14, 2002.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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 Squad for the ICC Cricket World Twenty20: Prosper Utseya (capt), Brendan Taylor (wk), Andy Blignaut, Charles Coventry, Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma, Craig Ervine.

Zimbabwe cricket is slowly returning from their lowest point and becoming once again a respected team in international cricket and Alan Butcher, the new Zimbabwe coach, is banking on his team to pull off an upset during the opening round of World Twenty20 matches in the West Indies. They have been grouped with New Zealand and Sri Lanka for the opening phase of the tournament and Butcher believes the nature of the format gives his side a chance.

The introduction of Heath Streak and Alan Butcher as coaches along with the return of experienced players like wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, spinner Ray Price and all-rounder Andy Blignaut has given Zimbabwe a much-needed boost.

As shown in the recent series that had with the West Indies where Zimbabwe won a few games including a Twenty20 international, the slower Caribbean pitches will suit Zimbabwe’s good slow bowling attack, and they have plenty of it with left-armer Price, leggie Graeme Cremer and off-spinners Greg Lamb, who has done well since returning to his homeland after five seasons with Hampshire, and skipper Prosper Utseya.

Zimbabwe’s tactics throughout the series with the West Indies was based around their spinners, with the new ball given to Ray Price and they set to continue with a similar style of play on what is likely to be a slow, low wicket at Providence in Guyana.

Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura can hit a long ball while Charles Coventry, who recently lost his record for the highest one-day international individual score to Sachin Tendulkar, has the potential to dent the better bowling attacks in world cricket.

Zimbabwe will draw strength from their recent victorys over the West Indies and over Australia in a warm up match as well as in the 2007 tournament, but will still find it hard to beat teams like New Zealand and Sri Lanka on a regular basis.

Zimbabwe’s Recent Highlights

• Beat Australia in Cape Town in 2007 in its first ICC WT20 match, to emulate their victory over the same team in its first ICC CWC match in 1983.
• Beat West Indies by 26 runs in a Twenty20 International at Port-of-Spain in February this year.
• Beat Australia in a Warm Up Game.
• Its highest Twenty20 International total is 184-5 against Canada at Toronto in 2008.
• Two Zimbabweans, Ray Price and Prosper Utseya, are amongst the four bowlers who have conceded just six runs in four overs of a Twenty20 International.
• Reached the Super Six stage in ICC CWC 1999 and ICC CWC 2003, but have yet to reach a semi-final in an ICC event.
• Have recorded ODI wins over all other Full members of the ICC.
• The domestic Twenty20 tournament held in Zimbabwe in February this year was won by Mountaineers who beat Mashonaland Eagles in the final.

Zimbabwe’s First Round Fixtures:

Mon May 3 – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local | 14:30 BST
Providence Stadium, Guyana

Tue May 4 – New Zealand v Zimbabwe
13:30 GMT | 09:30 local | 14:30 BST
Providence Stadium, Guyana

Six hitters: Charles Coventry, Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura, Andy Blignaut
Toe-cruncher: Andy Blignaut
Spinners: Ray Price, Greg Lamb, Prosper Utesya, Graeme Cremer
Best fielder: Graeme Cremer
Ones to watch: Charles Coventry, Tatenda Taibu

Zimbabwe – Players

Prosper Utseya- CAPTAIN	Ray Price	Tatenda Taibu	Andy Blignaut
Vusi Sibanda	Brendan Taylor	Charles Coventry	Hamilton Masakadza
Graeme Cremer	Chamu Chibhabha	Chris Mpofu	Elton Chigumbura
Timycen Maruma	Greg Lamb	Craig Ervine

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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 first game of the five match one day series between the West Indies and Zimbabwe will be played at the Provedence ground in Guyana on Thursday March 4th and is to be shown live on Sky Sports 4 from 13:25 here in the UK. The two sides recently played out a low-scoring but very thrilling T20I, where Zimbabwe beat a Denesh Ramdin-led West Indies side.

West Indies still favourites
Despite that loss, it is the lack of Zimbabwean firepower and the previous record that will allow West Indies to go into the game as favourites according to the bookies and it is Chris Gayle’s return to the West Indian side obviously means that he will be favoured to get to a big one. He hdid not have a very good tour of Australia and hence will look to use this opportunity to overcome the form issues before the start of the IPL. West Indies will also be strengthened by the return to international cricket of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, while Adrian Barath will be tested in his opener’s role.

Kieron Pollard’s recent elevation to an ODI player, as compared to his earlier T20I specialist tag saw him take off well in Australia. He could be the man to watch out for in the series, and how he goes about his business in the first game will make for an interesting viewing.

Zimbabwe’s batsmen have not been as consistent as they would have liked, but that has probably to do with their lack of exposure at the highest level. Most of their recent games against teams like Bangladesh have also been lost and that has mainly to do with the fact that the likes of Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor and Charles Coventry have not been able to perform well as regularly as they would have liked.

The one batsman who missed out in the Twenty20, but cannot be counted out is Tatenda Taibu who had begun the tour with a century and who will look to make this innings count as well.

Team news
Though Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan have not been included in the squad for the opening one-day game, West Indies will be boosted by Gayle’s return, and will also depend heavily on Chanderpaul’s extensive experience and calm batting.

West Indies (probable) – 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Narsingh Deonarine, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Nikita Miller

Chris Mpofu and Kyle Jarvis both proved expensive in Zimbabwe’s warm-up game against the UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI, and with another spin-friendly surface expected in Guyana, Zimbabwe could well go for a three-pronged slow bowling attack once again.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Brendan Taylor 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Charles Coventry, 6 Greg Lamb, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya (capt), 9 Ray Price, 10 Graeme Cremer, 11 Shingirai Masakadza

Fancy a Flutter?
Make the game even more interesting and put some money on it:
Favourites: West Indies (1/4 at Boylesports)
Top West Indian batsman: Chris Gayle (13/5 at Totesport)
Top Zimbabwean batsman: Tatenda Taibu (9/2 at Boylesports)

Free £60 bet when you bet with totesport! – Totesport are currently offering you a £60 in free bets when you open an account with them.

Zimbabwe Cricket Books

Amazon, have a bunch of Zim related cricket books, including “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 Books 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

BULAWAYO: Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh by 69 runs in the third One-day International at the Queen’s Sports Club on Friday and Hamilton Masakadza hits a maiden one-day century.

Third one-day international, Bulawayo:
Zimbabwe 323-7 (50 overs) bt Bangladesh 254 (44.2 overs) by 69 runs

Masakadza made 102 and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 142 with Brendan Taylor, who was run out for 94. Elton Chigumbura weighed in with five sixes in his unbeaten 61 off 33 balls as the home side totalled 323-7.

Seamer Tawanda Mupariwa and spinner Ray Price then took three wickets each as as Bangladesh were bowled out for 254.

Despite the defeat, Bangladesh lead the series 2-1.

>> Full Report on BBC News