England v Zimbabwe - Test Series

[MrsTarrant]

After being 3/104 Zimbabwe lost 7/43! In his debut Test match, Jimmy Anderson took the last 4 wickets to finish with 5/73 off 16 overs.

Zimbabwe have now been forced to follow on and have already lost a wicket making them trail by 314 runs with 9 wickets remaining. Doesn't look like England will have to bat again!

[MrsTarrant]

Well well game over and I was right England didn't have to bat again but you didn't have to be a genious to work that one out!

Zimbabwe made 233 in their second innings with England winning by an innings and 92 runs!

Butcher took 4/60 off 12.5 overs and McGrath took 3/16 off just 6 overs.

Man of the match honours went to Butcher.

Can Zimbabwe make more of a show of it in the next test?

[Donny]

England swing to innings victory
Andrew Miller - May 24, 2003

England enjoyed an old-fashioned day of swing-induced dominance, as Zimbabwe fumbled to an innings and 92-run defeat in the first npower Test at Lord's. After two days of steady consolidation, England's patience paid off as 19 Zimbabwean wickets fell in the day. Travis Friend and a psychotically pumped-up Ray Price held England up for a time by adding 51 for the ninth wicket, but as had been feared in the post-Andy Flower era, Zimbabwe were woefully short of Test quality.

Some say there was something for everyone – Matthew Hoggard put a chastening winter behind him with three wickets in 10 overs before lunch as Zimbabwe tumbled towards the follow-on, whereupon Mark Butcher and Anthony McGrath lived up to their somewhat far-fetched allrounders' tags, sharing seven second-innings wickets between them. But almost inevitably, it was James Anderson who stole the glory, with a five-wicket haul of clinical excellence. After years of arriving at Lord's like Christians to the Colosseum, England have finally begun to appreciate their home comforts – this was their third innings victory at HQ in the last three years.

Anderson, who took his maiden Test wicket on Friday evening, was back in the limelight shortly after lunch, devastating Zimbabwe's first innings with four wickets for five runs to finish with the magnificent debut figures of 5 for 73 in 16 overs. Four of his five wickets were bowled, including two in two deliveries, one of which was a near-replica of that magnificent outswinging yorker that dispatched Yousuf Youhana at Newlands in the World Cup. And this time, there wasn't a floodlight in sight.

Zimbabwe had resumed on their overnight 48 for 1, but by lunch they were teetering on 120 for 5, after immaculate spells of outswing bowling from Hoggard and Butcher, who bowls rarely but now has a strike-rate of 54.8 – better than a host of luminaries including Chaminda Vaas and Keith Miller. When Tatenda Taibu fell to Steve Harmison, due reward for a high-kicking and hostile spell of fast bowling, Zimbabwe's last realistic hope of avoiding the follow-on had gone. It was time for Anderson to mop up.

If he had been fractionally over-eager in his earlier spells, Anderson made amends with a vengeance. Heath Streak, who had already been dropped by Ashley Giles at third slip, was bamboozled by a wicked outswinging yorker that seared past his half-formed defences to crash into middle stump. Anderson followed that with another, perfectly pitched, seaming delivery to bowl Travis Friend first-ball, and his hat-trick delivery could hardly have been bettered, zipping round the edge of Ray Price's bat for Alec Stewart to take a spectators' catch behind the stumps.

Andy Blignaut has a reputation as a big-hitter, but he was powerless to resist as Harmison roughed him up from one end and Anderson plucked him out at the other, squaring him up for Butcher to take a fine catch off a leading edge at slip. And when Doug Hondo was bowled neck-and-crop for a second-ball duck, Anderson had become the first Test debutant to take five wickets at Lord's since Dominic Cork in 1995. He will now join the list of immortals on the honours board in the dressing-room, an achievement that many cricketers have spent a lifetime pursuing.

Zimbabwe were all out for 147 in 55 overs, and Nasser Hussain didn't have to agonise for long before sending them back in. Anderson was unable to make the new ball behave quite as he would have liked, but once Zimbabwe's first-innings limpet, Dion Ebrahim, had gloved Harmison to Rob Key at short leg for 6, breakthroughs were only a matter of time.

Mark Vermeulen was one of the few Zimbabwean batsmen to avoid the ignominy of being dismissed twice in the day (he fell last night instead) and he made England toil for a time, clubbing eight fours in a brisk 61. But he became Butcher's first victim of the second innings, prodding yet another outswinger to Marcus Trescothick at slip, and Butcher pinned Stuart Carlisle lbw for 24 in his very next over.

Ashley Giles had a brief but ineffective spell, but with Butcher enjoying himself so much, it made sense for Hussain to turn to his other medium-paced bowling option, McGrath. He made an immediate impact with his Tom Moody-ish seamers, removing Taibu and Sean Ervine in the same over, before trapping Streak lbw three overs later. McGrath might have had visions of a debut five-for of his own, to add to Friday's half-century, but when Butcher bowled Blignaut for 6, Hussain returned to his main men in search of a quick finish.

Harmison quickly picked up on the merits of a full length, prising out Grant Flower for a gritty 26, but Anderson was driven from the attack as Friend and Price opted for the long handle, very much as Bryan Strang had done in the corresponding fixture three years ago. They were aided by some shoddy fielding, with Hussain missing two regulation slip catches as the shadows lengthened and the prospects of a day's golf receded, but Butcher, appropriately enough, returned to wrap up the match, as Friend squirted a catch to Giles at third slip. With five wickets and a century in the match, Butcher will rarely have it so easy again.

[Donny]

Flintoff ruled out of second Test
Wisden CricInfo staff - May 29, 2003

Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of next week's second Test against Zimbabwe at Chester-le-Street, after failing to recover from a freak shoulder injury.

Flintoff suffered a trapped nerve after being struck by a beamer in the Lancashire nets last week. It was feared the problem would be enough to keep him out of international action until the start of the NatWest series next month, although he was able to play a part with the bat in Lancashire's victory against Durham in the C&G Trophy on Wednesday.

But Flintoff is not going to be rushed back into action. "I surprised myself by playing at Durham yesterday," he said. "I had treatment at Lord's last week and there were signs of improvement. But I still can't bowl and I also managed to get away without having to throw, which was a bonus.

Instead of heading back to the Riverside, Flintoff will travel south to play against Kent in the Championship, before taking on Leicestershire in Liverpool on June 4.

Matthew Hoggard is also likely to miss the second Test. He is rated extremely doubtful after damaging the cartilage in his right knee during Yorkshire's C&G Trophy defeat against Worcestershire.

"The position is that the knee is sore," Hoggard told the Press Association. "I jarred it. I tried to carry on initially but I couldn't run it off and this has been a very frustrating year for me so far. I had a dodgy winter, bowled reasonably well against Derbyshire, got injured against Northants. I came back from my stomach injury and the first time I went jogging I twisted my ankle.

"Everything is coming in threes and fours for me in terms of injuries. Things are getting on top of me at the moment. I just hope I can get over this knee thing as quickly as possible and get back to playing some cricket."

[Donny]

Johnson called up for second Test
Steven Lynch - May 31, 2003

Richard Johnson, the uncapped Somerset fast bowler, is the one new name in England's squad of 12 for the second npower Test against Zimbabwe, which starts at Chester-le-Street on Thursday (June 5).

Johnson replaces Matthew Hoggard from the side that won the first Test, at Lord's, by an innings inside three days. Hoggard injured his knee earlier this week playing for Yorkshire in the C&G Trophy. James Kirtley, 12th man at Lord's, retains his place in the squad, and the last place in the starting XI probably lies between those two. Johnson might just edge it by virtue of his better batting credentials - earlier this year he smote his maiden first-class century.

Johnson, who's now 28, has been close to England selection before: after a good 1995 season with his then-county Middlesex, he was chosen for the winter tour of South Africa, but had to pull out with back trouble. He was also called up for two Tests of the 2001 Ashes series, but missed out when the team was named, and toured India in 2001-02 without making the Test side.

David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, said: "Richard Johnson has been in our plans for a while and has been selected now that he is fully fit again after suffering from a groin strain earlier in the season. He is in good form and is a bowler who is capable of 90mph pace and making the ball swing."

The only other absentee from the squad called up for Lord's is Andy Flintoff, who is still unable to bowl after injuring his shoulder. But he showed yesterday that he can still bat, hammering a rapid 154 for Lancashire against Kent at Canterbury.

Graveney explained: "Andrew Flintoff is back playing for Lancashire as a batsman and we will continue to monitor his fitness. But we did not consider him for this Test match as we feel that he is not yet ready for the rigours of a five-day game."

Flintoff's replacement, Anthony McGrath, is set to retain his place after a promising debut at Lord's - he scored 69 and took three wickets - even though he picked up a side injury that will restrict his bowling.

Either Johnson or Kirtley will be winning his first cap, but the focus on Thursday will be on another Test debutant. The Riverside ground at Chester-le-Street in Durham will be England's first new Test venue for 101 years - since Sheffield's Bramall Lane in 1902. England lost that game to Australia and never played in Sheffield again, but the Riverside, with its clean stands and room to breathe, should have a much rosier future.


England Squad Marcus Trescothick (Somerset), Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire), Mark Butcher (Surrey), Nasser Hussain (capt, Essex), Robert Key (Kent), Alec Stewart (wkt, Surrey), Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire), Ashley Giles (Warwickshire), Richard Johnson (Somerset), Stephen Harmison (Durham), James Anderson (Lancashire), James Kirtley (Sussex).

[Donny]

Hoggard faces six-week lay-off
Wisden CricInfo staff - May 30, 2003

Matthew Hoggard has been ruled out of the second npower Test after a scan revealed a torn meniscal cartilage in his right knee.

"Matthew will need to see a surgeon to find out if an operation is required," explained Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB's chief medical officer. "Our initial assessment is that he is likely to be out of cricket for approximately six weeks."

Hoggard jarred his knee during Yorkshire's C&G Trophy defeat against Worcestershire on Wednesday.

There was better news regarding Anthony McGrath who injured his intercostal muscle on the final day of the Lord's Test. A scan failed to reveal any signifcant damage and he will be re-assessed by England's medical staff on Monday to see if he will be able to play at Riverside.

[Donny]

'We were disappointing at Lord's'
Wisden CricInfo staff - June 3, 2003

Zimbabwe's coach, Geoff Marsh, has admitted that his team need to improve in all areas of their game if they are to salvage some pride in the second npower Test against England, which begins at Chester-le-Street on Thursday.

Marsh, who took over from his fellow Australian Carl Rackemann two years ago, has been in charge of Zimbabwe during the most turbulent period of their 11-year Test status. Against a backdrop of political violence, they have won only one of their last 14 Tests – against Bangladesh in November 2001 - and have lost the last eight.

Zimbabwe travelled to England with a largely inexperienced squad, following the retirement of key players such as Andy Flower, and were thrashed by an innings and 92 runs in the first Test at Lord's, after losing 19 wickets on the third day alone. "Our form going into the first Test was really good," said Marsh, "but we were disappointing at Lord's and didn't handle the swing bowling that well. But we've sat down as a team and spoken about it."

Zimbabwe had hoped to arrive at Chester-le-Street with a victory against Middlesex under their belts, but their limited bowling attack was exposed once again. "We tried to make a game of it when we declared behind on Sunday and we wanted to play under a bit more pressure, batting fourth when it's going to turn a little bit," said Marsh. "We didn't bowl well here although we had all our bowlers resting for the Test, so we were very inexperienced with our bowling, but the batters all got a good hit in the game and that was pleasing."

"At the end of the day, we're one-down in the series with one Test match to go and we're really looking forward to going up there and improving our performance in all areas."

[HAL]

The end of the day we're one-down in the series with one Test match to go and we're really looking forward to going up there and improving our performance in all areas is where it's at. . . . Like that Beck song. . .

[Donny]

Green is the colour
Andrew Miller - June 4, 2003

English cricket has never been very good at looking to the future. It is 101 years since Bramall Lane in Sheffield became the seventh and most recent of England's Test venues. And even then, with the Victorian era still fresh in the minds, innovation was something to be frowned upon. By July 6, 1902 - three days and one soggy defeat after the first ball had been bowled - Test cricket in South Yorkshire had been consigned to the history books, from where it has occasionally made guest appearances in pub quizzes and Sheffield United fanzines.

Since that time, seven nations and 73 more grounds have made their debuts in Test cricket. But tomorrow, at 10.45am, The Riverside Ground at Chester-le-Street will take its place alongside Lord's, Melbourne and Kolkata as the 87th Test venue, and the most northerly in the history of the game.

Typically, there is nothing remotely new about Chester-le-Street itself - the town was first settled in Ancient Briton times and has remained a modest size ever since. But the Riverside, itself situated beneath the 14th-century Lumley Castle, has developed from mudslick to greentop with unseemly haste - as indeed has Durham County Cricket Club, which was only awarded first-class status on December 6, 1990.

David Graveney, England's current chairman of selectors, was Durham's captain during their inaugural season in 1992, although even he had retired by the time Chester-le-Street staged its inaugural first-class game on May 18, 1995. Graveney was understandably bullish about the prospect of Test cricket coming to the North East. "It's a bit like taking England's football games away from Wembley and playing them at Manchester United or Liverpool," he said. "They have passion with a capital P for sport up there."

Of that there can be no doubt. Although Zimbabwe's modest reputation is unlikely to put a strain on the Riverside's 12,000 capacity, the vibrancy of the region should be enough to put the wind up those traditional northern venues of Old Trafford and Headingley, whose Test status seems to be under annual review. With Hampshire's Rose Bowl coming up the rails as well, the old guard can expect to put under further pressure in the not-so-distant future.

In many ways, it is fortunate that the novelty of the venue detracts from the nonentity of the opposition. Zimbabwe's feeble efforts in the first npower Test at Lord's, where they lost 19 wickets on the third day alone, confirmed that they are a shadow even of the side that lost 1-0 in England in 2000. On that occasion, Zimbabwe bounced back from a similar Lord's pasting to enjoy the better of a drawn match at Trent Bridge, but a similar turnaround this time is almost unthinkable. What's more, the planned demonstrations from the Stop The Tour campaign will be a salutary reminder that not everything is rosy down by the Riverside.

For Steve Harmison, however, nothing will detract from the pride he will feel if, as expected, he takes England's first new ball on his home ground. It will not be a token gesture either - with Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard all sidelined, Harmison will be the most experienced England seamer on show, with all of six caps to his name. The one-capped boy-wonder, James Anderson, and either James Kirtley or Richard Johnson (both uncapped) will complete an appropriately raw attack.

Nasser Hussain, as is his duty, has played down expectations ahead of the match, demanding the utmost professionalism from his players. And with that Trent Bridge 2000 experience in mind, Zimbabwe's batsmen are at least in some sort of form. Last week, Stuart Carlisle scored his second century of the tour against Middlesex, and Heath Streak has urged at least one of his top five to put together the big score he knows they are capable of. The bowling is another matter, however. The second-string seamers conceded a match aggregate of 738 for 8 to an understrength Middlesex line-up. Much will be resting on Streak's own broad shoulders, and the hustle and bustle of Andy Blignaut.

Streak did his best to be bullish ahead of the match, although the naming of an unchanged side was hardly an endorsement of his team's performance. The Riverside is at least a ground with happy memories for Zimbabwe, who beat West Indies there in a one-day international in 2000. But history, as Henry Ford said, is bunk.

It doesn't promise to be much of a contest. But it should be a memorable occasion.

England (probable): 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain (capt), 5 Robert Key, 6 Alec Stewart (wk), 7 Anthony McGrath, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Richard Johnson, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Harmison. 12th man James Kirtley.

Zimbabwe 1 Mark Vermeulen, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Stuart Carlisle, 4 Grant Flower, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Sean Ervine, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Douglas Hondo.

[couragous cloke]

ta donny, that zimbarbwe line up doesnt look too crash hot.

[HAL]

une intelligence artificielle, d habitude, ne penses pas à sa donny that zimbarbwe line up does not look too crash hot?

[Donny]

At lunch, England are 1/96 with Marcus Trescothick on 36 and Mark Butcher , 28.

[Donny]

41 overs gone and England are 2/125. Trescothick was out for 43 and Butcher is on 38.

[Donny]

England were really ready to punish the Zimbabwe bowling attack when Douglas Hondo came on and dismissed Butcher for 47 and Robert Key for 4.

Hondo has 2/22 and England are 4/153.

[Donny]

Hondo took another wicket to have 3/22 at one stage but a 142 run 6th. wicket partnership from Alec Stewart (67) and Anthony McGrath (6 left England in a strong position at stumps on 5/298.

Hondo finished the day on 3/66. Heath Streak bowled well for 1/50 from 22 overs.