The 4th match in this Tri-Series and the first in Harare sees India take on Zimbabwe on the 3rd of June. Zimbabwe will be looking to bounce back from a poor performance where they lost badly to Sri Lanka in Bulawayo a few days ago, whilst India will be looking for revenge after their defeat to Zimbabwe in the opening game of the tournament.

FREE – Watch Zimbabwe vs India Live Online

You can watch live streaming of the Zimbabwe India 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 3rd 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 need to bounce back from defeat against Sri Lanka and prove that their win against India was not a fluke. To do this, they will have to perform better in all departments. Playing in Harare, which should offer better weather than what was experienced in Bulawayo, giving Zimbabwe a more even playing field. Our spinners will like it, so will our batsmen who struggled when it was overcast in Bulawayo, but made merry when it was sunny. It is not quite the do-or-leave situation, but neither team will want to leave it until they face Sri Lanka, on paper the strongest team in the tournament.

Look out for Hamilton Masakadza, who in both of Zimbabwe’s games so far has got off to a quick start. In the first he failed to convert it into a big score, and in the second game, he found himself out of partners. In his home-town, he will want to continue the starts and ideally finish the job himself. Zimbabwe should have a slightly stronger line up today as Tatenda Taibu comes in for Chris Mpofu

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

India
India have gone from the low of losing pretty badly to Zimbabwe to the high of winning against Sri Lanka two days later. A player to watch is Rohit Sharma, who has taken his ODI average from 25.6 to 31.9, has nearly doubled his List A centuries count, and if he gets a century in this game, will equal the world record for centuries in consecutive innings.

Possible Indian Team: 1 M Vijay, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina (capt), 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Ashok Dinda, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav

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Latest Updates:

3:50pm Match over Zimbabwe Win by 7 wickets with over 11 overs to go, so Zim claim the bonus point and are into the final \o/

3:33pm Zimbabwe 173/3 (34.1 ov) Zimbabwe require another 22 runs with 7 wickets and 15.5 overs remaining

3:20pm Wicket: Zimbabwe 161/2 (31.4 ov): Jadeja to Masakadza, OUT, Virat Kohli, pulled to right of midwicket where Virat dives full stretch to take a good catch.

2:57pm Wicket: Zim loose their first wicket, Taylor chips one into the air to long off and an easy catch is taken. BRM Taylor c Vijay b Ojha 74 (90b 6×4 1×6) SR: 82.22. Zimbabwe now 128/1 (26.3 ov). Charles Coventry in early at number 3 (usually bats at number 5) Zim obviously looking for the bonus point that will guarantee them a place in the final. (You get a bonus point if you win in 40 overs)

2:54pm Zimbabwe 128/0 (25.6 ov) and require another 69 runs with 10 wickets and 24.0 overs remaining (Required RR 2.9) Brendan Taylor 72, Hamilton Masakadza 47 Current partnership 126 runs, 26.2 overs, RR: 4.78 (Masakadza 47, Taylor 72)

2:32pm Zimbabwe get to 100 without loosing a wicket: Zimbabwe 101/0 and need 93 to win from 30.3 overs

2:19pm Brendan Taylor goes to 50 not out in his 100th cricket match for Zimbabwe.

2:13pm Current Match Status:

2:00pm Zimbabwe looking good after 10.1 overs: 57/0 require another 138 runs with 10 wickets and 39.5 overs remaining. Brendan Taylor 35, Hamilton Masakadza 20

1:38pm Latest score: Zimbabwe 26/0 (6.3 ov) and require another 175 runs with 10 wickets and 44.0 overs remaining, Required Run Rate of 3.91 Brendan Taylor 18, Hamilton Masakadza 7 Current partnership 26 runs, 6.3 overs, RR: 4.00 (Masakadza 7, Taylor 18)

1:28pm (Zim Time) Zimbabwe make slow start to run chase: Zimbabwe 5/0 (2.6 ov) and require another 190 runs with 10 wickets and 47.0 overs remaining at 4.04 runs per over

12:32pm (Zim Time) End of India’s Innings: India 194/9 (50.0 ov) India RR 3.88. Zimbabwe have some excellent bowling figures, with some excellent economy rates, especially for Andy Blignaut with only 22 runs scored off his full 10 overs:

12:03pm (Zim Time) Wicket: India now 176/8 (44.5 overs) AB Dinda c Taylor b Lamb 16 (17b 1×4 0×6) SR: 94.11. India Run rate: 3.92

11:57am India 158/7 – great to see Harare Sports Club bathed in sunlight and looking so good:

11:31am Phew, I can’t keep up – Zimbabwe get another wicket: India now 128/7 after 37.3 overs: A Mishra caught Charles Coventry bowled Graeme Cremer for 0 (3b 0×4 0×6) SR: 0.00

11:28am Wicket: No sooner as I post an image of the bowling figures and Zim get another wicket. Ray Price gets one now! India are 127/6 after 36 overs. YK Pathan lbw b Price 15 (25b 0×4 1×6) SR: 60.00

11:27am Zimbabwe bowling figures after 36 overs:

10:51am Another run out! – India now 5 down! 95/5 This time it is Elton Chigumbura with some great fielding – go Zimbabwe! Details RG Sharma run out 13 (25b 0×4 0×6) SR: 52.00
Fall of wicket: 95/5 (27.5 ov); Partnership: 3 runs, 1.1 overs, RR: 2.57 (Sharma 2, Jadeja 1)

10:45am There is a direct hit at the stumps – batsman short of the crease India now 4 down! 92/4 Fantastic fielding from Andy Blignaut, he is having a great game after an absence from cricket of 4 years!

10:37am (Zim Time) Wicket: India now 86/3 (25 overs) V Kohli caught Taibu bowled Utseya for 18 (29b 1×4 0×6) SR: 62.06 Partnership: 23 runs, 6.2 overs, RR: 3.63 (Sharma 8, Kohli 15)

10:06am (Zim Time) Another wicket! India now 63/2 (18.4 ov) – M Vijay stumped by †Taibu bowled Lamb for 21 (56b 0×4 0×6) SR: 37.50

10:06am (Zim Time) Zim claim their first wicket and it’s Dinesh Karthik caught by Tatenda Taibu off the bowling of Greg Lamb for 33 (47b 4×4 0×6) SR: 70.21- India are 58/1 after 16.1 Overs run rate 3.58

9:36am (Zim Time) Slow going at the moment for the Indians, with Andy Blignaut bowling well : End of over 7 (1 run) India 18/0 (RR: 2.57) M Vijay 4* (20b) KD Karthik 9* (22b 1×4) RW Price 3-0-11-0 AM Blignaut 4-0-7-0

9:22am (Zim Time) India 11/0 (4.3 ov) Dinesh Karthik(rhb) 6 Murali Vijay 1

9:00am (Zim Time) Zimbabwe have won the toss and elected to field. Knowing what total to chase seems to work well for Zimbabwe. There is one change to the team, Zim have replaced the only specialist medium-pacer, Chris Mpofu with wicketkeeper-batsman, Tatenda Taibu. India are with the same team that thrashed Sri Lanka, giving the M Vijay-Dinesh Karthik opening combination another go.

Pitch report from CricInfo: Neil Manthorp reckons there would be a bit in it for the seamers for the first thirty minutes. However, he reckons this is the least amount of grass cover on this pitch that he has seen in some time. Some bald patches. Spinners should come on later in the game. Zimbabwe have four spinners.

7:32am (Zim Time) Good morning everyone, hope you had a good nights sleep and that you are ready for some cricket. The weather in Harare: A chilly 8°C start to the day and the forecast is good with a high of 21°C. It looks like it is going to be a typical winters day in Zim – sunny & no chance of rain!

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

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 "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

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 "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 returns to major international cricket at home as a Tri-Series with India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe begins today, however what is disappointing is that both Sri Lanka and India a resting some of their key players.

The series was organised after New Zealand cancelled their tour of Zimbabwe for the second time, basing their decision on insecurity and preferring to play at a neutral venue.

The triangular will be played from May 26 to June 14 with games played at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and at Harare Sports Club in Harare.

The series will be new coach Allan Butcher’s first home assignment since his appointment in late February.

Watch Zimbabwe v India live stream online

If you are looking to watch the games live on-line, I have found that this can be done via BetFair of all places!

All you have to do is open an account with Betfair and you can watch this and many other live sporting events including most of the games in this tri tournament. The best bit of all it is FREE – I have just done it myself and you don’t even have to deposit any money into your account – just create an account, log in and then look for the Zimbabwe game under Sports/Cricket and click the Watch Sport Free on Bet Fair Live Video link on the right.

Click here to go to betfair.com and watch Zimbabwe cricket live.

Zimbabwe News
The major Zimbabwe news before the tournament was that Prosper Utseya resigned as captain of Zimbabwe, handing over a formal resignation letter following a meeting with the managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket. His replacement in the position is allrounder Elton Chigumbura.

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

Sri Lanka
Tillakaratne Dilshan will lead Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe in the absence of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, both of whom have been rested.

Sri Lanka squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Chamara Kapugedera, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilhara Fernando, Chamara Silva, Thissira Perera.

India
Suresh Raina will lead a second-string India squad for the ODI tri-series in Zimbabwe and the Twenty20s which follow, with Virat Kohli as his deputy. Among the first-choice players who are either rested or injured are regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Praveen Kumar.

India Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha and Piyush Chawla will join the squad for the Twenty20s.

Tri-Series Fixtures:

• May 28 – Zimbabwe v India Queens Sports Club
• May 30 – India v Sri Lanka Queens Sports Club
• June 1 – Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka Queens Sports Club
• June 1 – India travel to Harare
• June 2 – Sri Lanka travel to Harare
• June 3 – Zimbabwe v India Harare Sports Club
• June 5 – India v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club
• June 6 – Rest/Practice
• June 7 – Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka Harare Sports Club
• June 9 – Final Harare Sports Club
• June 10 – Sri Lanka depart Zimbabwe
• June 12 – Zimbabwe v India – 1st Twenty20 match Harare Sports Club
• June 13 – Zimbabwe v India – 2nd Twenty20 match Harare Sports Club

Chirundu.com would like to wish Athanasios John Traicos a happy birthday. He was born today (17 May) in 1947 in Zagazig, Egypt.

A former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in Zimbabwe’s first test match and also represented South Africa at international level. He was primarily an off spin bowler, and is one of a small number of cricketers to have played at the highest level for more than one country.

Whilst Traicos was born in Egypt, he grew up in Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) and played when Rhodesia was regarded as a “province” within the South African domestic cricket setup.

His father Tryphon Traicos was born in Lemnos (Greece) in 1900 and at the age of 12 he was sent to Egypt to work in his uncle’s business. A year after John was born the Traicos family migrated to Fort Victoria (now Masvingo) in Southern Rhodesia in September 1948. This obviously produced a major shift in their cultural influence and it was out with the tavli and in with the cricket.

Traicos started playing cricket, inspired by his cousin Peter and coached by Neil Jardine, a former rugby international and then at Natal University by the great South African all-rounder Trevor Goddard.

His progress as an off-spinner was rapid. He was selected for the South African Universities tour of England in 1967 and then made his first-class debut for Rhodesia against Transvaal B in Salisbury the following year.

South African Test Player
John Traicos made his Test match debut for the South African cricket team against Australia at Durban in February 1970.

There are many people who know a thing or two about cricket say that the South African side which destroyed Australia 4-0 in the 1969/1970 series was one of the finest of all-time. Great players included Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Ali Bacher, Peter Pollock, Lee Irvine and Mike Procter.

Unfortunately for John, not long after his debut, South Africa were banned from international cricket because of the apartheid regime and this meant the end of his international career until 1980 when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean Cricketer
Traicos continued to play for Zimbabwe after the country gained its independence, and appeared for them in the 1982, 1986 and 1990 ICC Trophy tournaments. He also represented Zimbabwe in the 1983 Cricket World Cup, and was an important part of the side which inflicted a shock defeat on Australia.

Zimbabwe were raised to Test status in 1992, and Traicos was selected for the country’s inaugural Test match which took place in Harare at the Harare Sports Club against India. So at the age of 45 years and 304 days, Traicos returned to Test cricket and he finished with great bowling figures of 5-86, his victims including Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev.

The John Traicos File

• Born: 17 May 1947 in Zagazig, Egypt
• Tests: 7 in total,  3 for South Africa (1970) and 4 for Zimbabwe (1992-3)
• Bowling: 18 wickets (avge 42.72)
• Best: 5-86 v India, Harare 1993
• ODIs: 27 for Zimbabwe

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

Chirundu.com would like to wish Iain Peter Butchart a happy birthday as he was born today (9 May) in 1960 in Bulawayo

Iain Butchart played one Test for Zimbabwe against Pakistan in Harare at the age of 35 and was one of the key figures in the years immediately before Zimbabwe gained Test status. He also played in 20 One Day Internationals spread over twelve years for Zimbabwe.

He was an all-round player, a right-handed batsman and an often used medium pacer where he bowled more than 13 overs a match during his first class career.

In the one-day internationals his best batting performance was 54 off 70 balls against New Zealand at the 1987 World Cup, which took Zimbabwe from 104 for 7 to 221 for 8 chasing a total of 243 to win. But with four to get and three balls remaining, Butchart was run out, and New Zealand won by 3 runs. His best bowling figures were 3 for 57 – Aamer Sohail for 114, Inzamam-ul-Haq for 14 and Javed Miandad for 89 in a 53-run loss to Pakistan at the 1992 World Cup.

He also played in 9 matches in the ICC Trophy for Zimbabwe where he made 57 runs without being dismissed and taking 14 wickets, including four for 33 against Netherlands in the 1986 final, which Zimbabwe won by 25 runs.

After his playing days were over, he went on to coach the Zimbabwe Under-19 side.

Facts:

• Full name Iain Peter Butchart
• Born May 9, 1960, Bulawayo
• Major teams Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Country Districts
• Batting style Right-hand bat
• Bowling style Right-arm medium
• Education Plumtree School

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

Fresh from their warm up victory over Australia, Zimbabwe have now gone on to beat defending World Twenty20 champions Pakistan with a 12-run win in their final warm-up game before the 2010 World Twenty20 tournament gets underway on Friday.

Zimbabwe’s Innings
Pakistan won the toss and put Zimbabwe in to bat. Zimbabwe made 143-7 from their 20 overs with Elton Chigumbura smashing 49 not out from just 35 balls where he shared a key 62-run partnership with Charles Coventry and helping to rescue their team who had only made 64 for 5 in the 12th over.

Chigumbura’s unbeaten 49 contained three fours and three sixes, but even so 143 looked to be a low score as the Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi did well with the ball taking 4-24.

Pakistan’s Innings
Pakistan started well with Kamran Akmal making 37 from 27 balls as but after that they they were in deep trouble at 67 for 5 after 10 overs.

Fawad Alam and Misbah-ul-Haq added 51 in in 7.4 overs for the sixth wicket, before Zimbabwean spinner Prosper Utseya turned the game around for his country as he dismissed both men on his way to impressive figures of 4 for 15 in four overs.

Pakistan ended their innings on 131 with Chigumbura again doing well with the ball, claiming 3 for 16 in three overs and Captain Prosper Utseya claimed four for 15.

Pakistan begin their campaign on Saturday against Bangladesh in St Lucia while Zimbabwe start against Sri Lanka in Guyana on Monday.

Other Warm Up Games

• In Thursday’s other warm-ups, Australia recovered from their defeat to Zimbabwe by crushing the Windward Islands by 101 runs in St Lucia.
• South Africa were limited to 125-5 off their 20 overs before Eoin Morgan top-scored with 63 from 62 balls to lead England to victory after his side had been reeling at 9-3.

Zimbabwe Score Card

H Masakadza c Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 33
CJ Chibhabha c Umar Akmal b Mohammad Sami 2
T Taibu run out (Misbah-ul-Haq) 2
BRM Taylor c Mohammad Hafeez b Shahid Afridi 20
AM Blignaut c Mohammad Hafeez b Shahid Afridi 1
CK Coventry c Mohammad Hafeez b Shahid Afridi 30 1
E Chigumbura not out 49
CR Ervine run out (Mohammad Sami) 2
GA Lamb not out 0
Extras (lb 2, w 2) 4

Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 143 (7.15 runs per over)

Pakistan Score Card
Kamran Akmal c Mpofu b Utseya 37
Khalid Latif c Masakadza b Mpofu 1
Mohammad Hafeez c Cremer b Chigumbura 9
Shahid Afridi c Cremer b Price 7
Umar Akmal c Cremer b Utseya 7
Fawad Alam c Masakadza b Utseya 32
Misbah-ul-Haq c Chibhabha b Utseya 21
Abdul Razzaq b Mpofu 2
Abdur Rehman c Utseya b Chigumbura 7
Mohammad Sami c Cremer b Chigumbura 3
Mohammad Asif not out 0
Extras (w 5) 5

Total (all out; 20 overs) 131 (6.55 runs per over)

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 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 "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

Scores:
ZIMBABWE 173 for seven off 20 overs (Elton Chigumbura 76, Sean Ervine 39; Mitchell Johnson 4-23).
AUSTRALIA 172 for seven off 20 overs (David Warner 72, Michael Clarke 49; Prosper Utseya 2-27).

Zimbabwe beat Australia after taking two wickets in the final over to seal a one-run win in their warm-up in St Lucia.

Australia were on track chasing Zimbabwe’s 173 for 7 when David Warner smashed 72 off 49 and the captain Michael Clarke took them to the verge of victory with 49 from 42.

Earlier Zimbabwe had opened their bowling attack with spinners Prosper Utseya (2-27 from four overs) and Ray Price (0-33) and used four slow bowlers.

The game ended in high drama before barely a hundred fans who sprang to life in support of the Zimbabweans with Australia needing 13 runs to win from the final over. The task became too difficult when Clarke was bowled from the second-last ball by Chris Mpofu. Mitchell Johnson was then run-out from a wide and Brett Lee could only manage a bye from the final delivery. It was a practice game but it was Australia’s first T20 defeat of the season and it will worry them that they lost so much momentum at the vital stages of the chase.

“Obviously we would have liked to have won,” Johnson said. “When you come into these practice games you want to be pretty close to your best. It won’t be a setback. It’s disappointing to lose in a practice match but we’ve just got to keep going forward.”

Zimbabwe had relied on Elton Chigumbura to lift them after they were 36 for 4 in the sixth over as he hit a crowd-pleasing 76 from just 35 balls including six sixes. Craig Ervine chipped in with a valuable 39 in the stand of 114 that took the side to safety.

Lee made an encouraging comeback from his broken thumb with 1 for 13 off four and Johnson led the figures with 4 for 23. Life was not as rosy for Nathan Hauritz, Daniel Christian and Shane Watson, who all went at 12 or more an over.

The Australians, who left out Shaun Tait and Cameron White, play a Windward Island XI on Thursday in their last chance to fire before their opening match of the tournament against Pakistan on Sunday. Zimbabwe face Sri Lanka on Monday in Guyana before running into New Zealand.

Zimbabwe also beat Australia in the first round of the 2007 World T20 in South Africa, where Australia went on to reach the semi-finals.

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

SCORECARD

Zimbabwe innings
H MASAKADZA c Christian b Lee 6
V SIBANDA b Nannes 3
B TAYLOR c Haddin b Johnson 15
C COVENTRY c Christian b Johnson 5
E CHIGUMBURA c Smith b Watson 76
C ERVINE c Watson b Johnson 39
T MARUMA c Smith b Johnson 3
C CHIBHABHA not out 5
A CREMER not out 0
Sundries (2b, 6lb, 12w, 1nb)
Total: 7-173
Fall: 1-11, 2-13, 3-35, 4-36, 5-150, 6-160, 7-171.
Bowling: Nannes 3-0-20-1, Lee 4-1-13-1, Hauritz 2-0-24-0, Johnson 4-0-23-4, Smith 3-0-22-0, Christian 2-0-29-0, Watson 2-0-34-1.
Overs: 20.

Australia innings
S WATSON c Chigumbura, b Utseya 2
D WARNER c& b Utseya 72
M CLARKE b Mpofu 49
D HUSSEY c Chibhabha b Utseya 16
B HADDIN run out 13
S SMITH run out 0
D CHRISTIAN not out 4
M JOHNSON run out 0
B LEE not out 0
Sundries (11lb 5w) 16
Total: 7-172
Fall: 1-17, 2-95, 3-130, 4-155, 5-156, 6-170, 7-171
Bowling: Utseya 4-0-27-2, Price 4-0-33-0, Chigumbura 4-0-40-0, Cremer 4-0-30-1, Maruma 2-0-18-0, Mpofu 2-1-13-1.
Overs: 20.

Result: Zimbabwe won by one run.

Zimbabwe’s Andy Blignaut another in a whole host of former Zimbabwean cricketers returning home to either play or coach cricket. Blignaut is set to return to international cricket after being included in Zimbabwe’s squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies.

The 31-year-old allrounder was named in the 15-man group released exclusively to The Associated Press on Thursday. Blignaut last played for his country in 2005 before joining a strike by players dissatisfied with their contracts. He was also involved in a dispute with Zimbabwe’s cricket board in 2004 which resulted in the sacking of 15 senior white players.

Blignaut mentioned of a possible comeback in January this year (2010), and after he returned to action in Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 competition and his fitness had been assessed by the Matabeleland Tuskers franchise, who he plays for. In this competition he made 111 runs in four innings at an average of 37.00 and a strike rate of 133.73, including a matchwinning half century on his return to competitive cricket. After this, he was then included in a provisional squad for Zimbabwe’s tour of the West Indies, but didn’t make the final touring party.

The Zimbabwe Squad for the ICC World Twenty20 competition

Prosper Utseya (capt), Brendan Taylor, Charles Coventry, Andy Blignaut, Hamilton Masakadza, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Greg Lamb, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Ray Price, Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Chris Mpofu, Timycen Maruma and Craig Ervine, Former Zimbabwe under-19 batsman and the younger brother of Hampshire’s Sean Ervine, was called into the national squad for the first time. There is no place for the older Ervine, who is still tied to a contract in English county cricket.

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