Amjid Javed
14th August 2005, 16:33
New Zealand have retained the same XI which thrashed Zimbabwe by an innings and 294 in the first Test at Harare for the second and final Test which starts at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday.
Stephen Fleming, New Zealand's captain, said the selectors had resisted the temptation to make changes in a bid to achieve consistency for the long term, noting there was a high expectation on the players to pull off another decisive victory. "When we came here it was straight out of the New Zealand winter and there was a lot of tension" he said. "But we have to rid ourselves of any possibility of dangerous complacency after defeating Zimbabwe by such a margin. The team is not being changed because we need to built on the excellent and consistency achieved here so far. Our batting was not top order, but we have another chance here to show our skills."
Zimbabwe have named a 14-man squad, and despite the criticism of the batsmen after they had been bowled out twice in day, the selectors admitted earlier in the week that there were no alternatives. But Andy Blignaut, who missed the first Test because of flu, looks likely to be drafted into the starting line-up, and Matabeleland left-arm spinner Keith Dabengwa, who is also useful with the bat, is likely to earn his first Test cap as a replacement for legspinner Graeme Cremer.
Zimbabwe coach Phil Simmons said that the final XI would only be named immediately before the toss, explaining that "I don't like players knowing too soon whether they are in or out."
There were some blunt questions for Simmons at the pre-match press conference, particularly over reports that he was facing the sack after the first Test. "The only pressure I feel is from the players," he said, adding that the players had "ignored the garbage ... we all had a huge chat about what happened, what to do about it and then went into long practice sessions. No-one from Zimbabwe Cricket has told me anything so as far as I am concerned my relations with my employer are good, the journalist who wrote that story knows better."
The pitch is likely to be slow, with some help for the bowlers in the first hour or so each day. But for all the bullish talk, there is little to suggest that the result will be any different. The last time Zimbabwe played a Test at Bulawayo, they were thrashed by an innings and 200 runs by Sri Lanka.
New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Lou Vincent, James Marshall, Hamish Marshall, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Brendan McCullum (wk), Shane Bond, Chris Martin.
Zimbabwe (probable) Neil Ferreira, Brendan Taylor, Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Wishart, Stuart Carlisle, Tatenda Taibu (capt/wk), Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Keith Dabengwa, Chris Mpofu.
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another 2/3 day thrashing awaits zim. They shud be strip of test status and shud be made to play teams like u.a.e, scotland, ireland and pakistan "A", Australia "A" until they improve...! its beyond a joke now the zimbo situ!
Stephen Fleming, New Zealand's captain, said the selectors had resisted the temptation to make changes in a bid to achieve consistency for the long term, noting there was a high expectation on the players to pull off another decisive victory. "When we came here it was straight out of the New Zealand winter and there was a lot of tension" he said. "But we have to rid ourselves of any possibility of dangerous complacency after defeating Zimbabwe by such a margin. The team is not being changed because we need to built on the excellent and consistency achieved here so far. Our batting was not top order, but we have another chance here to show our skills."
Zimbabwe have named a 14-man squad, and despite the criticism of the batsmen after they had been bowled out twice in day, the selectors admitted earlier in the week that there were no alternatives. But Andy Blignaut, who missed the first Test because of flu, looks likely to be drafted into the starting line-up, and Matabeleland left-arm spinner Keith Dabengwa, who is also useful with the bat, is likely to earn his first Test cap as a replacement for legspinner Graeme Cremer.
Zimbabwe coach Phil Simmons said that the final XI would only be named immediately before the toss, explaining that "I don't like players knowing too soon whether they are in or out."
There were some blunt questions for Simmons at the pre-match press conference, particularly over reports that he was facing the sack after the first Test. "The only pressure I feel is from the players," he said, adding that the players had "ignored the garbage ... we all had a huge chat about what happened, what to do about it and then went into long practice sessions. No-one from Zimbabwe Cricket has told me anything so as far as I am concerned my relations with my employer are good, the journalist who wrote that story knows better."
The pitch is likely to be slow, with some help for the bowlers in the first hour or so each day. But for all the bullish talk, there is little to suggest that the result will be any different. The last time Zimbabwe played a Test at Bulawayo, they were thrashed by an innings and 200 runs by Sri Lanka.
New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), Lou Vincent, James Marshall, Hamish Marshall, Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Brendan McCullum (wk), Shane Bond, Chris Martin.
Zimbabwe (probable) Neil Ferreira, Brendan Taylor, Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Wishart, Stuart Carlisle, Tatenda Taibu (capt/wk), Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Keith Dabengwa, Chris Mpofu.
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another 2/3 day thrashing awaits zim. They shud be strip of test status and shud be made to play teams like u.a.e, scotland, ireland and pakistan "A", Australia "A" until they improve...! its beyond a joke now the zimbo situ!