ZIMBABWE FIRST-CLASS CRICKET IN 1998/99

John Ward

INTERNATIONAL RECORD

     Test cricket:
v India (Home):          Played 1, Won 1, Lost 0, Drawn 0
v Pakistan (Away):       Played 2, Won 1, Lost 0, Drawn 1*
     Total:              Played 3, Won 2, Lost 0, Drawn 1
*an additional match was scheduled but abandoned without a ball being bowled.

     One-day international cricket:
v India (Home):               Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2
Mini World Cup (Bangladesh):  Played 1, Won 0, Lost 1
Champions Trophy (Sharjah):   Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2
v Pakistan (Away):            Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2
Triangular (Bangladesh):      Played 5, Won 5, Lost 0
World Cup (England):          Played 8, Won 3, Lost 5
     Total:                   Played 25, Won 13, Lost 12

The major frustration of the season was the limited Test match programme which prevented Zimbabwe from further improving their record. Only four Tests could be arranged, one of which, against Pakistan, was never started due to the weather. Of the other three, two were won and the other drawn. The season began with a closely-fought one-off Test at home against India, which resulted in Zimbabwe's second Test victory, in its 31st Test match. Then in Pakistan Zimbabwe seized the initiative in the First Test and held on to win the series, with some assistance from the weather. This was Zimbabwe's first proper series victory; it was achieved away from home and against Pakistan, of all teams.

Another first was achieved in the triangular tournament in Sharjah, when they won through to the final of a one-day tournament for the first time, at the expense of Sri Lanka, whom they beat twice. Then in the World Cup they beat Kenya, India and South Africa, the last two victories achieved in thrilling matches, to win through to the second round. Unfortunately in both these tournaments the team faltered once it had reached the higher level, but at least the initial breakthrough had been made.

The international season opened with a brief tour by India for a solitary Test match and three one-day internationals. India won the first two one-dayers but Zimbabwe, inspired by the return after injury of pace bowler Eddo Brandes, won the third. Then, in a classic Test match during which the balance of power shifted time and again, they set India 235 to win and bowled them out for 173.

They followed this up with another victory in their very next match, on Pakistan's home territory in Peshawar. This led to their first series win, and that away from home, as Pakistan, handicapped by their choice of inappropriate venues in December and their own internal turmoil, were unable to equalise.

It was entirely appropriate that the pace bowling of Henry Olonga should have played a major part in both these victories. Olonga was Zimbabwe's first black Test cricketer, and fittingly made his debut in the country's first-ever Test victory, although playing a very minor role on that occasion. His career since then had been plagued by injury and inconsistency, but an intensive fitness training programme during the winter prepared him for a season of triumph. He revealed himself as a bowler of genuine pace by international standards and at Peshawar actually put Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the shade. He was also the hero of Zimbabwe's remarkable last-over World Cup triumph over India. He remained a fine role model for younger players and both his deeds and personality did much to promote the game among the black population.

Between these tours Zimbabwe played in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy tournament in Sharjah, which also involved India and Sri Lanka. In conditions much more favourable to their opponents, Zimbabwe beat India once and Sri Lanka twice to reach the final. They lost a one-day series in Pakistan 2-1, but nevertheless this was the first time they had beaten any team from the subcontinent on its own soil in any match. As expected, they won a triangular series in Bangladesh, also involving Kenya, at the end of the season.

However, it was not all steady progress forward. In the Sharjah final Zimbabwe were somewhat overcome by the occasion and failed to perform to standard; a century by Tendulkar did not help either. In the World Cup first round they seemed overcome by their temerity in winning their first two matches, and played very poorly against both Sri Lanka and England, before their historic victory over South Africa propelled them into the Super Sixes just when they had given up all hope. Then in the Super Sixes they again under-performed, with the exception of Neil Johnson who had a superb all-round tournament. Just one repeat of their performance at Chelmsford would have pushed them into the semi-finals, but they did not have the confidence to play naturally, and so departed the tournament on a disappointing note.

The match against South Africa showed Zimbabwe cricket in its true colours. Having given up all hope of progressing to the next round and expecting to lose to their all-conquering southern neighbours, they felt a relaxation of the pressure which had so often choked them and played brilliant all-round cricket. Their victory not only aroused even greater interest in the game back home, but also drew more attention and respect for the team worldwide. It was unfortunate that they were unable to build on it at that time, but steps forward are rarely unaccompanied by occasional backward steps. Zimbabwe certainly finished the season many steps ahead of where they started.

The acquisition of the former Natal and Leicestershire all-rounder Neil Johnson was a vital boost to the team, strengthening all three departments of the game. Johnson had been born in Zimbabwe, but his family had emigrated when he was ten years old. He had considered returning home for several years, but delayed his decision for domestic reasons; with continued lack of appreciation from the South African selectors, he finally made his choice. His Zimbabwean citizenship was not restored until within 48 hours of the Test against India, in which he contributed vitally with his bowling and slip fielding. He was soon opening both batting and bowling in one-day cricket, as well as hitting an exhilarating Test century off Pakistan. An outgoing and unaffected personality, he showed the ideal temperament for international cricket, and his World Cup achievements while his team-mates struggled to come to grips with the situation were remarkable. In fact, he was the only Zimbabwean in that tournament to perform to his usual standard, let alone excel as he did.

On the domestic scene the Logan Cup again consisted of only three matches, each of the three provinces playing each other once. Rather surprisingly Matabeleland regained the Logan Cup itself, although they had considerable assistance from the weather. They did well to hold the favourites and current champions Mashonaland, loaded with Test players, to a draw, thanks largely to the failure of the opposition batting in the first innings. Then they beat Mashonaland A, while the match between the two Mashonaland teams in Harare was never able to get under way at all in one of Zimbabwe's wettest rainy seasons. The ZCU decided against rescheduling the match, and so Matabeleland were declared champions as the only team to win a match.

Another area of progress involved the Zimbabwe Board XI that participated in the UCBSA Bowl competition. In the past the team, generally almost a national second eleven, had underperformed against the B teams of South African provinces and was actually placed in Division Two of the tournament. This season, however, under the captaincy of Trevor Penney, they won three of their five three-day matches and finished top of their section; they would have won promotion had not the format been changed.

With such a limited home first-class programme, no batsman reached 500 runs in the domestic season. Andy Flower headed the field by some distance, with 469 runs at an average of 156.33, his highest score being an unbeaten 194 against the touring South African Plascon academy team in August, the earliest a first-class match has been played in this country. His brother Grant scored 298 runs (average 149.00), while Guy Whittall, despite missing the early part of the season with a knee injury, was the only other batsman to pass 300 (311 at 62.20).

No bowler managed even 20 wickets, the leading wicket-taker being Andrew Whittall, the new Matabeleland captain, with 16 at an average of 27.31. Above him in the averages were all-rounders Grant Flower and Neil Johnson, with 10 wickets each and respective averages of 22.20 and 22.50.

INDIAN TOUR

(2ND ODI) At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 27 September. ZIMBABWE 235/7 (A D R Campbell 74, M W Goodwin 66). INDIA 236/2 S C Ganguly 107*, M Azharuddin 72). India won by eight wickets.

(3RD ODI) At Harare Sports Club; 30 September. ZIMBABWE 259/5 (C B Wishart 102, A Flower 55, C N Evans 31). INDIA 222 (S C Ganguly 40, R R Singh 56; H H Streak 3/33). Zimbabwe won by 38 runs.

At Sunrise Sports Club; 2, 3, 4 October. PRESIDENT'S XI 156 (M A Vermeulen 46; A Kumble 5/35) and 173 (B C Strang 48; A Kumble 5/18, Harbhajan Singh 3/60). INDIANS 400/5 dec (A D Jadeja 61, R R Singh 47, S R Tendulkar 70, N R Mongia 70, A Kumble 100*). Indians won by an innings and 71 runs. Anil Kumble achieved the rare match double of 100 runs and 10 wickets.

(TEST MATCH) At Harare Sports Club; 7, 8, 9, 10 October. ZIMBABWE 221 (G J Rennie 47, M W Goodwin 42, A Flower 30; J Srinath 3/59, A Kumble 3/42) and 293 (G J Rennie 84, C B Wishart 63, M W Goodwin 44, A Flower 41*; A Kumble 4/87, Harbhajan Singh 3/64). INDIA 280 (R S Dravid 118, S R Tendulkar 34, S C Ganguly 47; H H Streak 3/62, H K Olonga 5/70) and 173 (R S Dravid 44, S C Ganguly 36; N C Johnson 3/41). Zimbabwe won by 61 runs.

MINI WORLD CUP IN BANGLADESH

TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT IN SHARJAH (One-day internationals)

At Sharjah; 8 November. ZIMBABWE 196 (H H Streak 59). INDIA 197/3 (S R Tendulkar 118*; P A Strang 3/32). India won by seven wickets.

At Sharjah; 10 November. ZIMBABWE 259/7 (N C Johnson 72, A Flower 95; G P Wickremasinghe 3/28). SRI LANKA 235 (H P Tillakaratne 72*, H D P K Dharmasena 39; P A Strang 4/32). Zimbabwe won by 24 runs.

At Sharjah; 11 November. ZIMBABWE 205/7 (A D R Campbell 83*). INDIA 192 (R R Singh 49*, N Chopra 39; H K Olonga 4/46). Zimbabwe won by 13 runs.

(Final) At Sharjah; 13 November. ZIMBABWE 196/9 (N C Johnson 34, P A Strang 46, E A Brandes 33; J Srinath 3/40). INDIA 197/0 (S C Ganguly 63*, S R Tendulkar 124*). India won by ten wickets.

TOUR TO PAKISTAN

(2ND ODI) At Sheikhapura; 22 November. PAKISTAN 211 (Inzamam-ul-Haq 34, Hasan Raza 46; H H Streak 3/40). ZIMBABWE 212/4 (N C Johnson 103, G W Flower 42, M W Goodwin 30). Zimbabwe won by six wickets.

(3RD ODI) At Rawalpindi; 24 November. PAKISTAN 302/6 (Saeed Anwar 73, Ijaz Ahmed 132, Inzamam-ul-Haq 34). ZIMBABWE 191 (A Flower 61; Saqlain Mushtaq 3/27). Pakistan won by 111 runs.

At Lahore; 4, 5, 6, 7 December. ZIMBABWEANS 394 (G J Rennie 55, M W Goodwin 148, A D R Campbell 71; Saleem Malik 5/77) and 239/6 dec (G J Rennie 63, G W Flower 118; Babar Zaman 4/47). LAHORE CITY 287/9 dec (Babar Zaman 46, Imran Farhat 76, Fareed Butt 50*, Tariq Mahmood 56; G W Flower 7/31) and 350/9 (Imran Farhat 33, Saleem Malik 149, Shahid Anwar 75; A R Whittall 3/56). Lahore City won by one wicket.

(1ST TEST) At Peshawar; 27, 28, 29, 30 November. PAKISTAN 296 (Saeed Anwar 36, Ijaz Ahmed 87, Yousuf Youhana 75; H H Streak 4/93, M Mbangwa 3/40) and 103 (Saeed Anwar 31, Wasim Akram 31; H K Olonga 4/42, M Mbangwa 3/23). ZIMBABWE 238 (N C Johnson 107; Wasim Akram 5/52, Waqar Younis 4/78) and 162/3 (G W Flower 31, M W Goodwin 73*; Wasim Akram 3/47). Zimbabwe won by seven wickets.

(2ND TEST) At Lahore; 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 December. ZIMBABWE 183 (A Flower 60*; Waqar Younis 4/54, Saqlain Mushtaq 5/32) and 48/0. PAKISTAN 325 (Saeed Anwar 75, Naved Ashraf 32, Yousuf Youhana 120*; H K Olonga 3/63). Match drawn.

(3RD TEST) At Faisalabad; 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 December. Match abandoned without a ball being bowled due to persistent fog.

TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT IN BANGLADESH

At Dhaka; 21 March. ZIMBABWE 310/6 (G W Flower 37, M W Goodwin 43, A Flower 79, A D R Campbell 55, S V Carlisle 35). BANGLADESH 184 (Mehrab Hossain 73). Zimbabwe won by 126 runs.

At Dhaka; 23 March. ZIMBABWE 280/6 (N C Johnson 101, A Flower 73, G J Whittall 41*). KENYA 216/8 (S O Tikolo 78, M O Odumbe 50, H S Modi 45*; G W Flower 4/32). Zimbabwe won by 64 runs.

At Dhaka; 25 March. BANGLADESH 257/5 (Shahriar Hossain 68, Mehrab Hossain 101, Akram Khan 50*). ZIMBABWE 261/7 (A D R Campbell 97, S V Carlisle 43). Zimbabwe won by three wickets.

(Final) At Dhaka; 27 March. ZIMBABWE 325/6 (G W Flower 140, G J Whittall 67, S V Carlisle 42, H H Streak 39*). KENYA 123 (T Odoyo 32; A R Whittall 3/29). Zimbabwe won by 202 runs.

WORLD CUP IN ENGLAND 1999

At Taunton; 15 May. KENYA 229/7 (R D Shah 37, A V Vadher 54; N C Johnson 4/42). ZIMBABWE 231/5 (N C Johnson 59, A Flower 34, A D R Campbell 33*). Zimbabwe won by five wickets.

At Leicester; 19 May. ZIMBABWE 252/9 (G W Flower 45, A Flower 68*). INDIA 249 (S Ramesh 55, A D Jadeja 43, R R Singh 35; H H Streak 3/36, H K Olonga 3/22). Zimbabwe won by 3 runs.

At Worcester; 22 May. ZIMBABWE 197/9 (G W Flower 42, A Flower 41; G P Wickremasinghe 3/30). SRI LANKA 198/6 (R S Mahanama 31, M S Atapattu 54, D P M Jayawardene 31; G J Whittall 3/35). Sri Lanka won by four wickets.

At Nottingham; 25 May. ZIMBABWE 167/8 (G W Flower 35). England 168/3 (N Hussain 57*, G P Thorpe 62). England won by seven wickets.

At Chelmsford; 29 May. ZIMBABWE 233/6 (N C Johnson 76, M W Goodwin 34; A A Donald 3/41). SOUTH AFRICA 185 (S M Pollock 52, L Klusener 52*; N C Johnson 3/27, H H Streak 3/35). Zimbabwe won by 48 runs.

SUPER SIX MATCHES

At Headingley; 6, 7 June. ZIMBABWE 175 (M W Goodwin 57, A D R Campbell 40; G I Allott 3/24, C L Cairns 3/24). NEW ZEALAND 70/3 (M J Horne 35). Match drawn.

At Lord's; 9 June. AUSTRALIA 303/4 (M E Waugh 104, R T Ponting 36, S R Waugh 62, M G Bevan 37*). ZIMBABWE 259/6 (N C Johnson 132*, M W Goodwin 47; P R Reiffel 3/55). Australia won by 44 runs.

At The Oval; 11 June. PAKISTAN 271/9 (Saeed Anwar 103, Wajahatullah Wasti 40, Shahid Afridi 37). ZIMBABWE 123 (N C Johnson 54; Abdur Razzaq 3/25, Saqlain Mushtaq 3/16). Pakistan won by 148 runs.

TEST MATCH RECORDS DURING 1998/99

BATTING AND FIELDING

                    M   I  NO   Runs   HS     Av.    100 50   Ct/St
A Flower            3   5   3   148    60*   74.00    -   1    8
M W Goodwin         3   5   1   198    73*   49.50    -   1    2
G J Rennie          3   6   1   158    84    31.60    -   1    1
*N C Johnson        3   4   0   126   107    31.50    1   -    5
C B Wishart         3   4   0   115    63    28.75    -   1    2
G W Flower          2   4   1    70    31    23.33    -   -    -
A G Huckle          2   3   1    42    28*   21.00    -   -    1
H H Streak          3   4   0    54    24    13.50    -   -    -
A D R Campbell      3   5   0    58    25    11.80    -   -    4
H K Olonga          3   4   0    16     5     4.00    -   -    3
M Mbangwa           3   4   1     5     2     1.66    -   -    1

     Played in one Test: C N Evans 11 and 4; A R Whittall 13 (1 ct).


BOWLING

                     O      M     R    W     Av.     Best  5wI 10wM
H K Olonga           89    21   262   15    17.47    5/70   1   -
M Mbangwa            80.2  25   173    9    19.22    3/23   -   -
H H Streak          111.4  26   298   12    24.83    4/93   -   -
A G Huckle           28     2   103    3    34.33    2/40   -   -
N C Johnson          80.4  16   265    7    37.85    3/41   -   -

     Also bowled: A R Whittall 5-0-30-0; C N Evans 3-0-8-0; M W Goodwin 2-0-5-0.



CONSOLIDATED ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL RECORDS DURING 1998/99 AND 1999
     (* = ODI debuts)


BATTING AND FIELDING

                     M  I   NO   Runs  HS    Av.   100 50   S/R    Ct/St
*N C Johnson        22  22   1   867  132*  41.28   3   5   4.50    8
A Flower            25  25   3   871   95   39.59   -   8   4.40   13/8
G J Rennie           4   4   2    73   28*  36.50   -   -   4.61    2
A D R Campbell      25  24   3   737  100   35.09   1   5   4.35   10
G W Flower          22  22   1   618  140   29.42   1   1   4.02    9
G J Whittall        12  12   3   253   67   28.11   -   1   4.58    1
S V Carlisle        10   9   2   191   43   27.28   -   -   5.40    2
H H Streak          23  19   9   264   59   26.40   -   1   4.50    4
A R Whittall        20   9   5    95   29   23.75   -   -   4.38    7
M W Goodwin         25  25   0   580   66   23.20   -   3   4.02    9
E A Brandes         12   8   1   154   53   22.00   -   1   6.07    2
P A Strang          19  13   4   196   46   21.77   -   -   3.81    4
C B Wishart         12  10   1   192  102   21.33   1   -   4.17    3
C N Evans            8   7   O   108   34   15.42   -   -   4.29    1
D P Viljoen          4   4   2    28   13*  14.00   -   -   4.54    2
H K Olonga          11   6   5    13    5*  13.00   -   -   1.52    2
*T N Madondo         2   2   0    10   10    5.00   -   -   2.06    -
A G Huckle           8   3   1     2    2*   1.00   -   -   2.40    5
M Mbangwa            8   2   1     0    0*   0.00   -   -   0.00    -

     Played in one match: G B Brent 0 (3 balls); *M L Nkala and J A Rennie did not bat.


BOWLING

                     O      M     R    W    Av.     Best   S/R   4wI
A D R Campbell       27     2   117    5   23.40    2/25   4.33   -
G W Flower           49.2   0   236   10   23.60    4/32   4.78   1
H H Streak          180.2  11   827   29   28.51    3/33   4.58   -
C N Evans            23     0   122    4   30.50    3/11   5.30   -
H K Olonga           62.2   1   406   13   31.23    4/46   6.51   1
P A Strang          149.3   9   627   19   33.00    5/33   4.19   2
N C Johnson         142.3   8   699   21   33.28    4/42   4.90   1
G J Whittall         49     2   235    7   33.57    3/35   4.79   -
A R Whittall        163.5   6   694   18   38.55    3/29   4.23   -
E A Brandes          83.2   7   389   10   38.90    3/19   4.66   -
A G Huckle           62     1   259    5   51.80    1/12   4.17   -
M Mbangwa            59     2   253    3   84.33    2/28   4.28   -
M W Goodwin          20.4   1    99    1   99.00    1/12   4.79   -

     Also bowled: D P Viljoen 15-0-73-2; G B Brent 9.2-0-53-1; 
     J A Rennie 7.5-0-44-0; M L Nkala 5-0-32-1; C B Wishart 2-0-12-0.

ENGLAND A TOUR (First-class matches)

(1ST UNOFFICIAL TEST) At Alexandra Sports Club, Harare; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 February. ZIMBABWE A 160 (S V Carlisle 47; S D Thomas 8/50) and 20/1. ENGLAND A 192 (A Flintoff 80*; B C Strang 3/23, A G Huckle 3/57). Match drawn.

(2ND UNOFFICIAL TEST) At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 February. ENGLAND A 383 (D L Maddy 64, M B Loye 133, V S Solanki 65, C M W Read 47; B C Strang 4/107, A R Whittall 4/88) and 310/6 dec (M P Vaughan 131, A Flintoff 88; B C Strang 3/99, A R Whittall 3/82). ZIMBABWE A 223 (C B Wishart 34, S V Carlisle 39, D P Viljoen 57, A M Blignaut 58; G P Swann 4/52) and 277 (T N Madondo 57, S V Carlisle 32, D P Viljoen 39, B C Strang 39; D A Cosker 4/54, G P Swann 4/104). England A won by 193 runs.

OTHER TOURS TO ZIMBABWE: FIRST-CLASS MATCHES PLAYED

At Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo; 22, 23 March. MATABELELAND INVITATION XI 80 (J A Rennie 34*; B Lee 4/13, A G Downton 3/13) and 121 (T R Gripper 62; B Lee 5/26). AUSTRALIAN CRICKET ACADEMY 444 (C J Richards 67, G C Rummans 119, N T Adcock 114, M Klinger 37, T Canning 59; J A Rennie 5/80, E Z Matambanadzo 3/96). Australian Cricket Academy won by an innings and 243 runs.

At Alexandra Sports Club, Harare; 27, 28 March. AUSTRALIAN CRICKET ACADEMY 363/7 dec (C J Richards 142, G C Rummans 78, M Klinger 51, G A Manou 37*) and 193/2 dec (M J North 59, B J Hodge 112*). ZIMBABWE CRICKET ACADEMY 49 (B Lee 6/25) and 191 (D A Marillier 33, G B Brent 37, G Lamb 67; G C Rummans 3/24). Australian Cricket Academy won by 316 runs.

LOGAN CUP

At Harare Sports Club; 12, 13, 14 January. MASHONALAND v MASHONALAND A abandoned without a ball being bowled (waterlogged ground).

At Bulawayo Athletic Club; 19, 20, 21 January. MASHONALAND A 102 (G B Brent 38; M Mbangwa 3/22) and 350 (D P Viljoen 92, T L Penney 130*, J M Oates 38, A J Mackay 35; N C Johnson 3/90, A R Whittall 3/87). MATABELELAND 403 (R J King 41, S K Nyakutse 39, J R Craig 49, G J Whittall 75, N C Johnson 84, N R van Rensburg 33, A G Huckle 38*; A J Mackay 5/85) and 50/3. Matabeleland won by seven wickets.