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Day 1: Flintoff adds the drama to curtail farce

By Charles Randall in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe

THE Mayor of Kwekwe said in his welcome speech that he hoped that England A and the ZCU President's XI would ``both win'' the town's inaugural first-class fixture, which started at the Sports Club ground yesterday.

The mayor then had the England party shifting uneasily on their feet when he said they had arrived in Zimbabwe at a lovely time of the year ``with all this rain around''. He meant the greenery but, for the players, their two-week stay in storm-drenched Harare had hovered perilously close to farce, with so little cricket played.

If it were possible for both sides to win a game, England showed how it might be done, because their batting gave too much away yesterday, sensible aggression too often spoilt by recklessness. Andrew Flintoff's entertaining 61 off 57 balls was the case in point.

Flintoff, the only Test player on the tour, pounded the white perimeter picket fence with drives of brutal power and an occasional pull, but he could not resist the temptation of a more rustic approach, holing out at long-on while aiming rather wider. It was not quite a cow shot - even in Africa, the term is the same - but it was a poor effort after so much brilliance.

This opening day of sunshine and cotton wool clouds was a memorable one. Ringing strokes by Flintoff, Matt Windows and Graeme Swann, plus exceptional catches by Andy Flower, low at first slip, and Dan Peacock, were made in the tranquil surroundings of Kenyan coffee trees.

A baseball arena from an American era in the Fifties at one end, now completely overgrown by bush, bore testimony to cricket's revival here. The kikuyu grass outfield was more trustworthy than it looked, and the dry pitch, a mosaic that might not last, encouraged good cricket. An important aspect was that both sides, after so much rain, looked as it they they were enjoying the game.

Windows's strength on the back foot, especially cutting, was probably what the England selectors had wanted to cultivate, and his rifle-crack boundaries past cover backed their judgment during a cultured 69. Swann's breezy 48 off 54 balls maintained a good tempo.

Swann picked the right ball to hit with precision and would have made an exceptionally good fifty if his concentration had not suddenly snapped. The ball after being dropped at short-leg, the Northamptonshire all-rounder sent a skimming drive to mid-off, where he was caught low by Angus MacKay.

The bowler was Peacock, a deaf off-spinner, who must have enjoyed lip-reading Chris Read's mutter of disbelief when he saw Peacock stick out a hand to catch a full-blooded drive off a full toss.

Peacock's first five overs were dispatched for 31 runs, but his next 21 cost only 35 for three wickets because England never quite bothered to work him away for ones and twos.

Day 2: Flower power puts heat on tourists

By Charles Randall in Kwekwe

Second day of four: Zimbabwe (382-5) lead England A (267) by 115 runs

THE realisation hit home for England A that their tour of Zimbabwe had started in earnest when the Flower brothers, Grant and Andy, took their bowling to the cleaners in fierce sunshine at Kwekwe Sports Club yesterday.

Two seasoned Test batsmen exposed the tourists' lack of experience with a hundred apiece, and three sessions in the heat must have made the day seem like a week to the fielding side. Not much seemed to go right.

This spirited England side could save the match on an easing pitch. There was slow turn yesterday only when the ball was still hard, but they will have to bat well.

The brothers found exactly the right blend of flair and discipline, with Grant stroking a 144-ball hundred on his way to 130. An untroubled Andy remained not out on 139, his 16th first-class hundred.

They batted in the way England failed to do the previous day. Grant played some thrilling strokes all round the wicket, but he happily pushed the ball into gaps for singles or twos if the bowlers settled.

Dirk Viljoen, a fringe Test left-hander, was lucky when snicking Andrew Flintoff for a catch behind, on 47, only to be saved by a no-ball call for three leg-side fielders behind square.

Day 3: Vaughan settles as rearguard

By Charles Randall in Kwekwe

THE LONG haul back to respectability fell to the captain, Michael Vaughan, who grafted for almost four hours for his 69 as England A ended a sweltering day with some hope of avoiding defeat yesterday.

England had spent the previous day under the cosh from the two Flowers, and the brothers' influence was never completely snuffed out yesterday because the final wicket fell with Andy left stranded on 194, but he had done enough to secure for the President's XI a commanding first-innings lead of 226.

Vaughan played straight, and his concentration rarely wavered, apart from two rash shots in consecutive deliveries from Bernie Pswarayi when 12, his edges flashing through the slips.

England almost mopped up the Zimbabweans' five remaining wickets in the morning. Though Darren Thomas was certainly the pick of the seamers, cleverly varying his pace at a full length, Jason Lewry emerged with the most flattering figures after bowling only 12 overs out of England's 148, due to a ricked knee.

Day 3: Hutchison forced out with injury

By Charles Randall in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe

A POISED batting performance by England A, which guaranteed a worthy draw at the Kwekwe Sports Club, was balanced by the bleak news that Paul Hutchison would be leaving the Zimbabwe tour next week. It was decided no replacement would be sought.

Hutchison, the Yorkshire left-arm seamer, had been given a couple of weeks to recover from his sore back, a bulging disc, but it soon became apparent that his English season could be at risk, and his flight home was booked for Tuesday, the first day of the Test against Zimbabwe A in Harare.

Phil Neale, England's manager, said: ``During this last week, Paul's had an adverse reaction to the travelling, which has given him a stiff back, and very light exercise in water again stiffened him up. He's made no significant progress in terms of recovery. Our opinion is that it would be better for him to go home and get complete rest.''

Michael Vaughan, the captain, said he was ``gutted'' by the departure of his Yorkshire colleague, a sad postscript to his own innings of 78 and good, durable efforts from Mal Loye (90) and Matt Windows, whose 66 contained the first six of his first-class career - a slow full toss dispatched in his 105th innings.

The pitch proved too benign for the Zimbabweans to winkle out stonewalling batsmen, even though significant slow turn was achieved by Grant Flower and his two spin colleagues, Dan Peacock and Dirk Viljoen.

An excellent inaugural first-class match in this rural mining area - one works up a thirst simply saying Kwekwe, which means 'croak of the frog' - was perfect for England's learning process. The strip, typically Zimbabwean, was a credit to its groundsman Dolf Landman, an electrical engineer, who designed, built and recently installed the town's first set of traffic lights.

Despite an inch of rain falling overnight, the conditions did not constitute a threat when England resumed 111 behind.