BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, 17 September 2005 — India cruised to victory by an innings and 90 runs over Zimbabwe on the fourth day of the first cricket Test yesterday. Spinners Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble wrapped up the innings with the final four wickets as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 185.
Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu finished with 52, topscoring for his team in both innings, and last man out Gavin Ewing hit an aggressive 34. Off-spinner Harbhajan picked up four wickets for 59 runs, while left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan finished with four for 53 after his spell with the new ball had reduced Zimbabwe to 18 for five on the third evening.
It was Zimbabwe’s fifth successive innings defeat after losing last month’s test series against New Zealand 2-0 and big losses in South Africa in March. Zimbabwe resumed on 67 for six, with Andy Blignaut joining Taibu at the crease after Charles Coventry (24) had been dismissed with the last ball of Thursday’s play.
Blignaut was bowled by a “doosra” from Harbhajan for 26. Taibu, Zimbabwe’s most reliable batsman, followed up his unbeaten 71 in the first innings with a solid 75-ball half-century.
It took him past 600 runs for the year but his 130-minute innings ended when he was caught behind off a Kumble delivery with extra bounce. Keith Dabengwa hit three boundaries before he was trapped leg-before on 16 by another Harbhajan doosra and Zimbabwe were 138 for nine.
India’s victory was delayed, however, as the last pair, Ewing and Blessing Mahwire, hit out in a breezy 47-run partnership. Ewing was eventually trapped leg before by Harbhajan 10 minutes before lunch. The second and final Test in Harare starts on Tuesday.
England Face Hard Series in
Pakistan, Says Inzamam
England are not invincible and their Ashes victory will count for nothing when they play in Pakistan later this year, according to captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.
“They have played very well to beat the Australians but they are not unbeatable and the conditions in Pakistan will not suit them,” he told Reuters in Karachi yesterday. “They will face totally different conditions and it will be a hard series and tour for them, particularly their bowlers.” England are due to arrive in Pakistan on Oct. 26 to play three Tests and five One-Day Internationals.
It will be their first tour after completing a 2-1 victory over Australia last Monday and their first in Pakistan for five years. England, led by Nasser Hussain, won that Test series 1-0 in 2000. Inzamam, a seasoned campaigner of 101 Tests and 347 One-Day Internationals, was confident his side would prove a challenge for the English.
“We are already preparing hard for England. Because we know they have a good combination but are not invincible and we have to work hard to beat them,” he said. “If our fast bowlers are not hundred percent fit, then attacking them with spin is an option because our conditions favor slow bowlers.”
Inzamam added that recalling leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed for the series was a option that was under review. Mushtaq has performed well for English county Sussex for the last three seasons but has not been considered by the Pakistani test selectors since October 2003 against South Africa.
Ponting Wins Vote of Confidence
in Ashes Inquest
Former captains Allan Border and Mark Taylor are part of a committee looking into what went wrong in Australia’s failed Ashes campaign in England. Australian cricket is reviewing what needs to be done to resurrect the national team after it struggled against Michael Vaughan’s England, losing the five-Test series 2-1.
Border and Taylor will be joined on the committee by former Western Australia coach Daryl Foster, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, and CA management staff Michael Brown and Geoff Allardice. Ricky Ponting has been widely criticized with calls for his sacking from several high-profile cricketers. Fast bowling great Dennis Lillee this week called for leg-spinner Shane Warne to replace Ponting as Test captain as Australia set about rebuilding for the next Ashes series here in 2006-07.
But Ponting was told yesterday he had the full backing of Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman and at least five board members. “Ricky won’t be going anywhere,” a board source told the Daily Telegraph.
Taylor said he would support Ponting. “He’s the best man for the job,” he added.
A Cricket Australia spokesman said coach John Buchanan’s role would be analyzed as part of the review process that began before the drawn fifth Test at The Oval. “It’s something that would have happened regardless of the result. It was always planned to do a review,” the spokesman said. While Border’s panel is under no deadline to report back, CA hopes the verdict will be delivered by the end of next month. Batting and bowling specialists were expected to be brought in to assist Buchanan. “The post-mortems have already begun with many people calling for a clear out of the older generation,” Border said.
