Ralph Dellor reports

Zimbabwe put up their best team effort of the series in the fourth one-day international against England, but it was still short of their best and well short of England. Set a target of 281, they looked capable of a surprise victory at 169 for three, but then crumbled in familiar fashion to lose by 70 runs.

The venue for the final two matches of a series already decided moved to the sunny and immaculate Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Both teams were captained by stand-ins, the regular captains both injuring themselves in the previous game.

Alistair Campbell stood in for Heath Streak of Zimbabwe, while Marcus Trescothick took over from Nasser Hussain of England. Streak was replaced by Travis Friend, while Dirk Viljoen gave way to the promising but inexperienced medium-paced all-rounder Sean Ervine. England, with the series decided, made four changes, with Owais Shah, Paul Grayson, Ben Hollioake and James Kirtley coming in for Hussain, Graham Thorpe, Jeremy Snape and Matthew Hoggard.

In the absence of Hussain, England were able to win the toss and bat in fine conditions. Openers Trescothick and Nick Knight began positively, although the former should have been run out on 8, but the fielder fumbled the ball. Gary Brent alone managed to establish some sort of control, but Henry Olonga and newcomer Ervine were hammered mercilessly by Trescothick in particular.

The opening pair raised the 100 in the 15th over, but one run later Trescothick (52) tried to swing away a leg-side ball from off-spinner Doug Marillier and top-edged a catch to square leg. Zimbabwe quickly struck again, with Knight one short of his fifty edging a defensive push from Marillier to the keeper, while Shah had failed to score when he tried to sweep the same bowler and gloved an easy catch behind.

England had to regroup from 113 for three, and a good stand was developing between Mark Ramprakash and Paul Collingwood when Marillier, by no means a frontline bowler, bowled Ramprakash for 17 as he drove over a full-length ball.

Collingwood began to flourish as Andy Flintoff joined him. He matched his more renowned partner run for run as they continued to put the Zimbabwe bowling to the sword, and Collingwood's first one-day fifty came off only 60 balls.

When Olonga returned, Flintoff hit him brutally, once stepping down the pitch to drive him into the crowd at long-on for six; Olonga's four overs cost 44 runs. Grant Flower, however, had him caught at long-off for 46 after a partnership of 97, and then followed it up by bowling Hollioake for 5 with a ball that spun sharply from outside leg stump. England were 248 for six in the 43rd over.

They did not make as much as they would have liked from the final few overs as Collingwood became bogged down and was eventually run out for 77 in the penultimate over. In the final over Brent yorked Kirtley for 1, finishing with one for 37; Grant Flower (two for 43) and Marillier (four for 38) also returned presentable figures.

Grant Flower again opened the Zimbabwe innings with Campbell, playing very correctly and with some assured strokes, especially against Ryan Sidebottom, who struggled for accuracy. Campbell (6) encouraged the bowler by pushing a soft catch to silly mid-on, but Stuart Carlisle was dropped at a wide leg-slip position when 11.

Flower and Carlisle batted more confidently than the Zimbabwe top order had done to date in the series, Andy Flower excluded, running well between wickets, with a few misfields helping their cause. Carlisle, as often, played a useful innings without finishing the job, scoring 28 before Hollioake moved a ball back a long way from outside off stump to bowl him; 86 for two.

Andy Flower came in for once on a useful platform, but scored only 6 before trying to swing Hollioake over the midwicket boundary, skying a catch to wicket-keeper Jamie Foster. His brother Grant reached a fine 50 off only 45 balls.

Craig Wishart kept the score moving with Grant, with England still weak in the field; during the afternoon they missed several possible chances and gave away runs regularly. Even so, the batsmen gradually fell behind the required scoring rate, and Flower, perhaps unnerved by a ball from Paul Grayson that turned and leapt, was stumped off the same bowler for 96. Zimbabwe were 169 for four after 35 overs; 112 more needed in 15 overs.

In the next over Wishart (30) was caught at midwicket off Collingwood, and that effectively ended Zimbabwe's hopes, barring a `blinder' from Marillier. Instead he popped a gentle return catch off the leading edge to Grayson before he had scored. With the result now in no doubt, batting practice was the order of the day, but nobody took great advantage of it and the innings subsided for 210 in the 45th over. Grayson with three wickets for 40 runs returned the best figures.

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