By John Ward

Welcome to the third issue of Zimbabwe cricket's weekly on-line magazine. This week, following an incident in the 2nd Test, the editor contemplates the different views of sportsmanship prevalent in the modern game.
"But when one side puts its desire to win above all other considerations and unapologetically causes great offence by its actions, then steps must be taken to resolve the impasse. Otherwise the side that feels victimised may well look for retaliation, and the problem will escalate and spill over off the field as well, as it already has done to an extent."
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THE STEVE WAUGH OF ZIMBABWEAN CRICKET

Second Test review by John Ward

After his sterling efforts against Sri Lanka, we may well refer to Andy Flower as the Steve Waugh of Zimbabwean cricket. He has batted in exactly the way we would expect of the Australian captain, fighting it out through constant application and determination from his position in the middle order. Besides being captain for the present, he also has the additional burden of wicket-keeping, and was incredibly right in the middle of the action for all but two or three hours of the Second Test.
[More | Scorecard]

Andy Flower tells John Ward what it is like to play against the Sri Lankans. "Grant, Murray and I went to speak to Aravinda about batting on our last tour there and he was more than willing to speak to us about it: building an innings, the things he concentrates on when he bats, some of the things he works on in practice and preparation. We've got quite friendly and I've spoken to Arjuna about captaincy and tactics before, so even though we've had our differences on the field, off the field we've been fine."
[More | Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe]

After Two Years In The Wilderness

Everton Matambanadzo has just played in his first Test match for two years after a slow recovery from an old injury. He talks to John Ward about this the Second Test match against Sri Lanka at Harare Sports Club.

"I felt very happy about my batting and was comfortable facing Muralitharan. I thought I had worked out a game plan; I had spoken to Davy [Houghton] and Andy about playing him and was quite confident I would be able to survive that evening against him. Of the seamers Wickramasinghe wasn't really doing anything with the ball, just bowling straight, and you won't get people out with bowling straight when it's a question of just looking to survive. So I thought I'd last that evening, but unfortunately there was that run-out - a good pick-up and throw, and I was back in the hut."
[More | Scorecard]