England vs. Zimbabwe: A Series preview.
The early summer Test series between England and Zimbabwe will be the battle to avoid the ‘wooden spoon’ of international cricket. With the losers likely to be placed at the bottom of the unofficial world rankings, the competition should be fierce and hugely entertaining. Both sides will no doubt want to prove to the world that they can play cricket, and for England the primary objective will be to restore some national pride after several series defeats on the trot.
Mark Ramprakash is set to return to the England side after his absence from the winter touring party to South Africa. He will probably open alongside Michael Atherton, displacing the dreadfully out of form Mark Butcher. The opening role will no doubt suit Ramprakash’s patient, conservative style much more than the number six position where he batted previously. He had no time to build any substantial innings, and was often left high and dry by the fragile English tailenders. With only one test century to his name, which came in the tour of the West Indies in 1997-98, this will be his big opportunity to record some big scores.
Nasser Hussian will captain the side and retain the number three position. He will be looking to carry on his superb run of form for England, following a very successful winter tour with the bat. He was England’s top run scorer against South Africa with 346 runs in 5 tests, so a great deal will be expected of him this summer. A Graham Thorpe return to the side is by no means a certainty, due to the impressive start that Michael Vaughan has made to his England career. Vaughan has added some much-needed solidarity to the England top order, and his maiden test half-century against South Africa proved that he can score runs at the top level. Vaughan will probably bat at four, with veteran wicket keeper batsman Alec Stewart coming in at five. Unfortunately, it looks like Thorpe could have paid a heavy price for deciding not to tour South Africa to spend more time with his family.
Greame Hick’s inclusion in the E.C.B contracts was a suprise to many, as he is the wrong side of thirty and has been discarded on many occasions by the England selectors. However, he showed some excellent form in the one-day tour of Zimbabwe last winter and England coach Duncan Fletcher is a great admirer of Hick’s talents. At the moment, it looks like he will fill the number six position. Andrew Flintoff, the young all rounder who many are labelling as the new Ian Botham, will bat at seven. He was impressive in the winter series, although his tour was cut short by a foot injury. A fully fit Flintoff working in tandem with Hick is a mouth-watering prospect for England supporters as they are renowned for their hard hitting and willingness to get on top of and dominate bowlers. The other allrounder finding his way into the set of E.C.B contracts was Craig White, whose last of his 8 test appearances came in January 1997. He only came into the picture in the triangular tournament involving South Africa and Zimbabwe in the winter because of Flintoff’s injury. However, he obviously impressed the management with several solid performances. It is unlikely though that he will make the final XI if Flintoff is fit.
The real surprise was the inclusion in the E.C.B contracts of young Lancashire leg spinner Chris Schofield. He is only 21 years of age, with a handful of first-class appearances to his name. His talent was discovered back in 1998, when he was sent out to Australia to work on his leg spin. At this period, the England side were touring Australia for the Ashes. They invited Schofield to several net sessions and were so impressed by him, he nearly found himself playing in the 5th Test in Sydney. Schofield toured Bangladesh and New Zealand successfully with the England ‘A’ squad in the winter, so he was the intelligent choice. If he makes the starting line up, he will most likely bat at eight. A genuine spinner of any sort is what England have been lacking for years, which is no news to the selectors - Phil Tufnell is inconsistent and lacks real turn. Ian Sailsbury was tried, but he was smashed around by any opposing batsman, in particular the now infamous Hansie Cronje. As a result, he lost all his confidence and was quietly pushed aside by the selectors.
As for the bowling department, it looks like Darren Gough will open with Andrew Caddick. Dean Headley or Chris Silverwood should operate as first change. If Gough manages to stay fit throughout the series, which is not a guarantee judging from recent years, England will have no trouble in bowling Zimbabwe out. Last summer against New Zealand, he was injured without bowling a ball. Subsequently, England failed to bowl New Zealand out for any reasonable totals and paid the heavy price of a series defeat. If Gough does play, he should form a formidable seam partnership with the revitalised Andrew Caddick, whose career was given a lifeline due to Gough’s injury last summer. Caddick had a superb winter tour, ending up as England’s leading wicket taker. At the age of 31, has reached the peak of his career. It is unfortunate that England have been unable to reap the benefits of his immense talent until now. He enjoys working with the captain Nasser Hussain and did not play a single game under the guidance of Alec Stewart, which could be a possible reason why he has suddenly come out of his shell.
As for Silverwood, he showed the selectors how wrong they were by leaving him out for three years when he took his first five-wicket haul in the winter against a very talented South African batting lineup. At 23, time is still on his side and he could make a big impact this summer. Dean Headley is by no means the fastest on the England seamers, but he makes up for that by showing huge determination and a great heart. He has improved greatly in recent years, due to his exposure to test cricket. At the moment, it looks like he has the nod ahead of Silverwood due to his greater experience of big matches.
The Zimbabweans have a tough task ahead of them if they are to get anything form the two matches. They certainly have not silenced their critics while they have been on tour. A recent thrashing at the hands of Kent was not the ideal preparation for the first test, which starts as early as May 18th. A lot will be relied upon the batting trio Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower and Neil Johnson, supposedly their best batsmen. Goodwin and Flower have been able to hold down a healthy test average of over 40, and they will need to flourish if Zimbabwe are to succeed. Other tan those two, they have few players to write home about, but they make up for the lack of stars by an excellent team spirit and being razor sharp in the field.
Their bowling department is probably their weakness, but they will be certainly aware of England’s worrying tendency to crumble against spin. Therefore, young spinner Dirk Viljoen may find that he will bowl more overs than he originally anticipated. A Paul Strang return may also be likely for the same reasons. On his day, Heath Streak is a very useful seamer, but his injury problems have meant that he has lost a yard of pace or so.
Most pundits are predicting an England triumph, and all I can say is that I agree with them. I feel that England will be too strong for the relatively inexperienced Zimbabweans and with home advantage, they should secure a comfortable series win. I see this series as an ideal preparation for the more important West Indies series, starting in June.
By Jeremy Lloyd (6.5.00)
