ODI Series - Eng./Zimb./Sth. Africa

[pies4ever]

the natwest series should be a good series,england are in good form,which suprises me,zimbabwe are going alright so far,and sth africa arent going the best before zulu was dropped from both ODI and test squads,which suprised me alot,they could do with him right now,to me he is a all class all rounder,1 of the best all-rounders going around in the world in my mind.



cheers bryan..!!

[Donny]

England look for a winning start at Trent Bridge
Ralph Dellor - June 25, 2003

Having successfully met the NatWest Challenge posed by Pakistan, England now face a fresh test, from South Africa and Zimbabwe in the NatWest Series. The ten-match odyssey begins in Nottingham with a match between England and Zimbabwe, although it seems unlikely that those two sides will be meeting again in the final at Lord's on July 12. Zimbabwe may have been the only side in action this summer to have reached the second phase of the World Cup, but their capitulation in the recent Test series hardly points to a repeat performance.

The prediction of an England–South Africa final might be a little presumptuous, for Zimbabwe's shortcomings will be less cruelly exposed in the one-day game than they were in the Tests. Furthermore, while England's new-look team is full of youthful promise, it is early days in the development process and it would be surprising if the graph took a smooth and continuous upward line towards the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

There is still plenty for Michael Vaughan's team to prove, but the series win against Pakistan should have boosted the confidence and cemented the spirit in preparation for the first meeting with Zimbabwe tomorrow. Zimbabwe, fragile in confidence and with the most brittle of batting line-ups, have been unable to bridge the yawning gap left by Andy Flower's retirement, and his thumping 83 from 53 balls in Tuesday's final round of the Twenty20 Cup will have been an untimely reminder of what they are now missing.

Zimbabwe do still possess a clutch of potent biffers. Andy Blignaut's hard-hitting approach is far better suited to the shorter form of the game, and in Travis Friend they have a rapidly improving allrounder, capable of genuine pace and devastating attacking strokeplay. But the full-time, reliable batsmen are thin on the ground - even more so since the banishment of Mark Vermeulen for persistent misconduct, and the untimely broken right thumb suffered by Stuart Carlisle.

It seems improbable, after an unexpectedly memorable series win over Pakistan, that Zimbabwe will pose any genuine threat, and though Vaughan would be loath to admit it, the true test will come at The Oval on Saturday. The South Africans are also in rebuilding mode after their own World Cup disappointments. No Lance Klusener, no Jonty Rhodes and no Allan Donald, but with a 22-year-old captain in Graeme Smith who is only just beginning to collect stamps in his passport.

When Shaun Pollock's side went into the World Cup on home soil, there were inflated assumptions that they would win the tournament, just as their rugby side had done. The subsequent failure, in shambolic circumstances, left deep scars and so there is every hope in the England camp that they have a head start in this initial contest.

Probable teams
England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Vikram Solanki, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Jim Troughton, 5 Andy Flintoff, 6 Anthony McGrath, 7 Rikki Clarke, 8 Chris Read (wk), 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Darren Gough, 11 James Anderson.

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

[HAL]

What do you like to do?

[Donny]

Zimbabwe won the toss and sent England in to bat.

Trescothick got off to his now usual flying start with 38 @ run a ball but when he went, England found it heavy going against the middle order spinners. Flintoff scored 53.

They are now on 8/190 after Blignaut just took 2 wickets in two balls.

Blignaut is on a hat trick. Giles prods it for a single and Zimbabwe are chasing 192 to win.

[Donny]

Goughy has 2/6 from 5 overs and Zimbabwe are 4/18 after 10. Johnson has 2/11.

[NickiSlater]

Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets. G Flower scored 96 not out and won man of the watch while Matsikenyeri scored second highest with 44 runs. Gough took 2/40 off 10 and Johnson 3/32 off 10.

[JLC]

Very disappointing effort by England especially with the bat. I didnt see them bowl. However they seem to be blooding new players so hopefully some of them will show some potential

What happened to Nick Knight ?? Is he injured ??

jlc

[Donny]

JLC, you failed to even mention the other team !! Nick Knight retired, m8. Probably got sick and tired of getting England (with Trescothick) off to good starts only to see them throw in the towel.

Congratulations, Zimbabwe, on a wonderful, fighting victory. They took the initiative. Streak saw the wicket was a bit dodgy and sent England in.

After a flurry from Trescothick, the other English batsmen were restricted by pin point accurate bowling from 2 lesser lights in the Zimbabwe attack.

Price (1/20) and Marillier (1/30) bowled 20 overs in the middle section for only 50 runs. Streak showed his class with 2/30 from 9 overs.

Gough and Johnson then ripped through the top order to have Zimbabwe almost begging for mercy at 4/15 in the 10 over.

I say almost because Grant Flower and Stuart Matsikenyeri would have none of that as they methodically rescued the innings with 96 for the 5th. wicket.

Flower is a veteran and could be expected to guts it out but Matsi was a revelation. In only his 4th. international, he got his head down to contribute a vital 44 from 55 balls. An excellent effort for a 20 year old.

Streak (7) and Flower kept the scoreboard ticking over with 32. Ervine came to the crease and played like a champ for 26 n.o. from 25 in a stand of 52 with Flower as they won with 12 balls to spare.

Flower's 96 n.o. was one of the finest ODI innings' I've seen, given the circumstances and duly earned him Man of the Match.

[Donny]

England v Zimbabwe, NatWest Series, Match 1, Trent Bridge
Wisden's view.

England have a horrible habit of underestimating Zimbabwe. It caused them embarrassment in the 1992 World Cup, humiliation on the one-day leg of their 1996-97 tour, and a bloody nose at this same venue in 2000, when Murray Goodwin scored his third and final Test century to give his side the edge in a rain-affected match. But, given the politics and personnel problems that have dogged Zimbabwe's 2003 tour, this defeat tops the lot.

It is no coincidence that England lost six of their first eight ODIs against Zimbabwe. England are never more of a liability than when they are expected to win, and win well; Zimbabwe, especially in the shortened form of the game, are rarely more dangerous than when they can sense they are being patronised. Everyone knew this, but still the chucking under the chin continued. This result is quite an eye-opener. It makes one wonder what sort of a meal England will make of their trip to Bangladesh later in the year.


If, more than any other, there is one man in the Zimbabwean side who knows what it is like to be talked down to, it is Grant Flower. He has forever lived in the shadow of his elder brother Andy, and it is easy to forget what a fine player he is in his own right. Grant scored a double-century in Zimbabwe's maiden Test victory way back in 1994-95, and has six ODI centuries to his name, twice as many as Steve Waugh – and at a better average as well.

But Flower had buckled under the strain of leading the Zimbabwean line during the Test series, and seemed destined to fade from international cricket … much like his team. Instead, he built on the sterling efforts of Heath Streak and the spinner Ray Price, to lead them to a famous victory, in the process drawing a fabulous performance from Stuart Matsikenyeri. For vast tracts of the match, England were comprehensively outplayed, as first they threw away a riotous start with the bat, and then relaxed their Vulcan grip with Zimbabwe reeling at a wearyingly familiar 15 for 4. But a two-and-a-half week rest-cure has done the trick – Zimbabwe are more resilient that anyone gave them credit for.

Despite their success in two highly charged encounters against Pakistan, this young England team have not exactly learned to run before they can walk; today they attempted to stroll when they ought to have been hot-footing. It was another characteristically complacent performance from a team that ought to be too young to be cynical. South Africa, it was assumed, would pose the threat in this series, so England chose to rest their man of the moment, James Anderson, and replaced the promising Jim Troughton with the pugilistic Robert Key.

England have spent the last week haring around in the fast lane, toying with 95mph juggernauts and quaffing champagne in Mayfair clubs with cricket's favourite scouse pop-starlettes. But, like city slickers let loose for a weekend in the country, they came screeching round the corner and bundled straight into the back of a tractor. England's hubris has been reduced to debris, but it is at worst a timely lesson.

[HAL]

Is the holding of hands a symbolic gesture for humans?

[Donny]

I find the above article from Wisden quite significant. These bits stand out.

"It is no coincidence that England lost six of their first eight ODIs against Zimbabwe"

"This result is quite an eye-opener. It makes one wonder what sort of a meal England will make of their trip to Bangladesh later in the year"

"Grant scored a double-century in Zimbabwe's maiden Test victory way back in 1994-95, and has six ODI centuries to his name, twice as many as Steve Waugh – and at a better average as well"

"For vast tracts of the match, England were comprehensively outplayed, ... "

"... like city slickers let loose for a weekend in the country, they came screeching round the corner and bundled straight into the back of a tractor"

"England's hubris has been reduced to debris, ... "

[HAL]

Hmmm. . . I suppose it does. .

[Donny]

England v South Africa, The Oval, Saturday June 28, 0945 GMT

It might have just been the public who underestimated the potential of Zimbabwe in the NatWest Series, but it is certain that neither England nor South Africa will do so from now on after Zimbabwe's four-wicket victory at Trent Bridge in the opening match.

Anyone surprised by that result should not have been. Zimbabwe have an impressive record of punching above their weight in one-day cricket and this is merely the latest example of their ability to cause an upset.

At the NatWest Series launch, Michael Vaughan and Graeme Smith, captains of England and South Africa respectively, went to great lengths to praise one another's teams. Scarcely a word was said about the third team in the line-up. When it was the turn of Geoff Marsh to comment on the other two, he pointedly remarked that he had not had much of a chance to see them during the World Cup. While England and South Africa are the teams with perceived pedigree in this event, Zimbabwe are alone in having reached the Super Six stage of the World Cup.

Now the England against South Africa game at The Oval takes on a new perspective. From being a match whereby England could measure the progress they are making in one-day cricket, it has become one they dare not lose if they want to be at Lord's for the final on July 12 and demonstrate that the Zimbabwe defeat was no more than a blip on the general trend of improvement.

There is no reason why England should not achieve the result they so earnestly desire. The Oval holds happy memories for them, especially having beaten Pakistan there so impressively in the second match of the NatWest Challenge. Furthermore, South Africa's status in one-day cricket is based largely on the past, when they had Allan Donald leading the attack, Jonty Rhodes scoring impudent runs and setting new standards for fielding, and Lance Klusener capable of winning matches with bat or ball. The fact that those individuals have gone has opened the way for a new breed of players eager to make their own mark – just as is the case with England.

This first clash of the summer between two sides engaged in a rebuilding process could be crucial in establishing a pattern in what will follow. Both will be looking to make an early impression on the other, but knowing that either could come back from an early setback. It might just be a little bit harder for England to take another reverse after the disappointment of the Zimbabwe match.

[Donny]

South africa won the toss and batted against England. Anderson struck early and SA were 2/33 after 8.

A century stand from Kallis (107) and Boucher (55) set up a 6/264 total.

Flintoff took 3/46.

[couragous cloke]

geez that kallis is a champ, best alrounder in the world by far!