Will Zim win against Windies 14 years later?. . . played Calypso Kings 8 times, lost 6 drew 2 Heath Streak
Heath Streak

Heath Streak

Bongani Ndlovu, Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWE men’s senior cricket team play the West Indies in the first of two Test matches at Queens Sports Club starting tomorrow, with the odds firmly against the hosts.

The last time a Test match was played in Bulawayo in 2016, New Zealand demolished the Chevrons.

Judging by past encounters, the Chevrons look certain for defeat against the Calypso Kings, who suffered a 2-1 Test series loss to England in August.

The West Indies will want to redeem themselves against a side they have a better win ratio against.

Previous meetings

Last time West Indies played a Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club was in 2003, they won by 128 runs.

Since then, the two sides have gone on to meet in seven Tests, with the Windies winning six times and drawing once.

Incumbent Chevrons, coach Heath Streak, who captained the side during part of that gloomy era can use his experience to help the Chevrons find a winning formula against the Windies.

Zimbabwe’s most recent meeting with West Indies was a tour of the Caribbean in 2013 where they easily lost the two Tests.

The Windies won the first by 9 wickets and the second by an innings and 65 runs.

At the time, Zimbabwe were going through a bad spell in the Test arena and still trying to rebuild a competitive Test side.

It was during this gloomy era that they also lost to then-lowly ranked Afghanistan.

The team’s arsenal

The Chevrons have called up former captain Brendon Taylor and bowler Kyle Jarvis to shore up the squad, which also includes Hamilton Masakadza.

West Indies are the side that thrust Masakadza into the limelight after he scored a debut 119 runs against them in 2001 in Harare to become the youngest Test cricketer to score a century on debut at that time.

The return of Taylor and Jarvis will be a boost for the side as they need people that can stay at the crease for as long as possible and build strong partnerships for the bowling attack to defend.

West Indies have a potent bowling attack, which on any given day can wreck havoc on the top batsmen in the world. Zimbabwe A got a taste of what the islanders can do with their fast bowling duo of Shannon Gabriel and Miguel Cummins being the pick of the bowlers.

They also have Kemar Roach, who took five wickets for 75 in the last Test match against England, and is the person Zimbabwe’s batsmen must watch. Their top wicket takers St Gabriel and captain Jason Holder are also likely to have a say with the ball.

Queens Sports Club pitch

This is the ideal batting pitch for every team, but has nothing for pace bowlers and a high scoring Test match is expected judging by the previous scores at the venue.

New Zealand, who played there in 2016, scored a total of 748 runs on their way to a romping series win.

The pitch showed that if a team has got a good batting side and a decent bowling attack, it can get high scores and bog down the opposition with the ball.

So when both captains Graeme Cremer for The Chevrons and Jason Holder for Windies set foot on the Queens Sports Club pitch tomorrow, whoever wins the toss will most probably elect to bat in a bid to set a huge score for the other to chase.

West Indies are expected to field the same players that lost a three-match Test series 2-1 and the five one-day international series 4-0 to England, while winning the only Twenty20 game between the sides. The other ODI match was washed out.

Fans are expected to come in their numbers to cheer on the Chevrons in their quest to win a Test match against West Indies, 14 years since their first Test encounter at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. — @bonganinkunzi

 

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