Zimbabwe relish chance to conquer Bangladesh in one-off Test

THE last time they toured Bangladesh for red-ball cricket, Zimbabwe defeated the home side by 151 runs to record their first Test victory in five years and the first one abroad since November 2001.

Although the hosts avenged the loss to level that series one-all, in the 15 months since then Zimbabwe have played only two Test matches – last month’s series at home to Sri Lanka – while Bangladesh have played eight matches.

Given that paucity of five-day cricket for Zimbabwe, they have more than enough motivation to do well when they face Bangladesh again in the one-off Test match that gets underway this Saturday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

“Every Test match for us is golden as we hardly play Test cricket, so to have any opportunity to play a Test has to be taken with both hands,” Craig Ervine, who is standing in as Zimbabwe’s captain, said.

“We have to believe and go about our business as if we are here to win, otherwise there’s no point touring Bangladesh.

“We have had success here before and travelled to Bangladesh many times before, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”

Zimbabwe arrived in Dhaka last Saturday without their Test captain Sean Williams who remained home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

Apart from Williams, Zimbabwe are also missing the experienced seamers Kyle Jarvis and Tendai Chatara who are both still recovering from injury.

Ervine however remains confident the tourists are ready for the challenge.

“Bangladesh are strong at home but they are going through a period of finding a balance in their team as well as us, so it will be a good challenge for our guys and a different one to the Sri Lankan series in terms of conditions,” he said.

“The guys have been excellent at training over the last couple of days. Everyone knows what they need to do and the guys are just cracking on with their work.”

Zimbabwe Test squad:

Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva (wicketkeeper), Craig Ervine (captain), Kevin Kasuza, Timycen Maruma, Prince Masvaure, Christopher Mpofu, Brian Mudzinganyama, Carl Mumba, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Ainsley Ndlovu, Victor Nyauchi, Brendan Taylor, Donald Tiripano, Charlton Tshuma