ODI amongst the 2 minnows:

Zimbabwe v Bangladesh, 1st ODI, Harare

Nafees steadies Bangladesh

25 overs Bangladesh 107 for 3 (Nafees 47*) v Zimbabwe

Tawanda Mupariwa turned in a fine initial display

Prosper Utseya, in his first match as captain, won the toss and read the conditions at the Harare Sports Club well to toss the ball to his bowlers. A tidy, if unspectacular, bowling effort from an inexperienced Zimbabwean outfit kept the trigger-happy Bangladesh top order in check by the 25-over mark. Only Shahriar Nafees, with an unbeaten 47, showed any real composure against what was presumed to be cannon fodder.

On a roughish pitch with a hint of moisture, Zimbabwe's new ball pairing of Ed Rainsford and Tawanda Mupariwa turned in a fine initial display. There was enough pace to check the flashy drives that we have become accustomed to from Bangladesh, the right amount of late movement to keep the slip fielders licking their lips, and the tennis ball bounce proved suitable to the swing that Mupariwa achieved while the height that Rainsford got had the batsmen in two minds.

Rainsford gained appreciable lift from the start and surprised Javed Omar with a snorter that left him sharply, but it was Mupariwa who struck first, getting the front-foot happy Omar to drive at a widish delivery on off and edge to Brendon Taylor behind the stumps. Mupariwa's celebratory fist pumping, dreadlocks and all, summed up the attitude of the Zimbabweans: this is our backyard, and this will not be a cakewalk. Aftab Ahmed, promoted to No. 3, played and missed at Mupariwa more than once before getting a virtually unplayable peach. The ball pitched on off, kicked from just short of a length, and all Aftab could do was feather it to Taylor behind the stumps.

Yet, as the two came to the end of six-over spells, and as the second Powerplay was up, Bangladesh awoke. Mohammad Ashraful spanked a wide one from Rainsford between cover and point and not a fielder moved, and then collected one off the pads and flicked it over deep backward square leg for six. Nafees, who had begun circumspectly, showed signs of confidence towards the end of Rainsford and Mupariwa's spells. A sweetly timed straight drive past Mupariwa's outstretched hand was cut off near the ropes, but when the bowler decided to spray it on the pads, Nafees was sublime. A powerful flick off the pads through midwicket was followed by a disdainful pull over square that leg forced Utseya to change his bowlers.

The left and right combination had the Zimbabwean bowlers and fielders adjusting, and it was to Nafees and Ashraful's credit that they continued to rotate the strike. Piet Rinke, whose slow medium pace would elicit as much threat as a grasshopper would a lawnmower, was ticked away for easy runs and the sense of a Bangladesh fightback seeped in. However, a horrible miss by Rainsford at mid-on - he misjudged a poor pull by Ashraful and gave away a brace - did not deter the batsman from playing judiciously. The very next ball, Ashraful made room and exaggeratedly cut Hamilton Masakadza's innocuous legbreak to backward point. It was poor cricket from Ashraful, who should have curbed his enthusiasm after the reprieve.

Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, opened up with a couple of fine drives through covers. He and Nafees would know, though, that their task against the accurate spin combination of Utseya and Ryan Higgins would be tougher following the interval.

Toss Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to field against Bangladesh

Prosper Utseya, the new Zimbabwe captain, won his first toss and decided to field as the five-match one-day series against Bangladesh got underway at Harare.

Uncertainty has stalked the Zimbabwean side and the Zimbabwe Cricket Union did not help matters by keeping the players, fans and opposition waiting until 18 hours before the game to name the captain and the squad for the match. Utseya was named the captain - his role in this inexperienced side is now one of a veteran - while the hapless Terry Duffin was shown the door. Duffin, Edward Rainsford and Anthony Ireland have returned from club cricket stints in England and have all found places in the squad.

Bangladesh began their tour with a five-wicket win over a Zimbabwe Board XI, with Mashrafe Mortaza, their fast bowler, taking 5 for 29. Bangladesh arrived in Zimbabwe full of confidence that they can earn their first overseas ODI series win, and a cursory glance at the opposition line-up would suggest that it is not far away.

Meanwhile, former South African player Mike Procter has been appointed as the match referee while his countryman Ian Howell will stand as the umpire in all five matches along with locals Kevan Barbour and Russell Tiffin.

Zimbabwe 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Elton Chigumbura, 3 Terry Duffin, 4 Ryan Higgins, 5 Hamilton Masakadza, 6 Blessing Mahwire, 7 Tawanda Mupariwa, 8 Ed Rainsford, 9 Piet Rinke, Brendan Taylor (wk), Prosper Utseya (capt).

Bangladesh 1 Abdur Razzak, 2 Aftab Ahmed, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Habibul Bashar (capt), 5 Javed Omar, 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Khaled Mashud (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Mohammad Rafique, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Shahriar Nafees

How they were out

Javed Omar c Taylor b Mupariwa 8 (15 for 1)
Slashed at a wide delivery, simple catch for the 'keeper

Aftab Ahmed c Taylor b Mupariwa 0 (16 for 2)
Great delivery on off, kicked from a length, feathered to the 'keeper

Mohammad Ashraful c Higgins b Masakadza 25 (75 for 3)
Cut a short, wide delivery straight to backward point

Bangladesh gonna win according to me. Zimbabwe are really on an all time low.

About the other match going on:

England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Old Trafford, 2nd day

Cook and Bell show their class

Pakistan 119 and 12 for 0 (Farhat 9*, Akmal 2) trail England 461 for 9d (Cook 127, Bell 106) by 330 runs

Cook struck his third Test hundred in just his seventh Test

When Alastair Cook raised his bat shortly before lunch to acknowledge his third Test century, few felt it likely another England batsman would match his effort - certainly in its elegance and quality - in the first innings. Ian Bell did just that, and some, on the second day at Old Trafford, in a Test which slipped quickly away from Pakistan in the afternoon.

So dominant yesterday, England showed even greater reserves of determination and class today in extending their lead well beyond 300 to put the match out of Pakistan's reach. No team has conceded a deficit of more than 291 to win at Old Trafford and, with a pitch offering discerning bounce to those over 6 foot 5 inches tall, it is unlikely Pakistan will buck that trend. In spite of all the injuries to have affected England since losing the Ashes, this Test is already shaping up into something closely resembling a milestone. However, in the dying moments of the day, Steve Harmison appeared to pull a muscle in his rib cage and was in clear pain, casting a worrying shadow on an otherwise excellent day's work.

England were in difficulty early on though as Kevin Pietersen, who could so easily have taken the game away in a session or less, fell to the second legitmate ball of the day. There was a refreshed determination and togetherness from Pakistan in the morning session, in which their bowlers - led by Umar Gul but well supported by Mohammad Sami - made the most of heavy, humid overcast conditions. On several occasions, Paul Collingwood fished and wafted outside off stump at deliveries which angled in before swinging away markedly. Cook though, much as yesterday, was reassuringly solid and elegant; even against the swinging, seaming delivery he had the ability to nudge it fine past gully and point, or swing it lustfully over midwicket as he did off Sami and Gul.

Collingwood appeared to aid Cook's momentum. With the introduction of Danish Kaneria the right-hander smacked him for two sixes over long-on, signalling to Cook that now was the time to press forward and show the initiative. He did so, cutting the tiring Abdul Razzaq behind point before climbing into a half volley and dispatching it to the extra cover fence. All of a sudden, he was into the 90s.

Even Cook's icy-cool temperament is prone to thawing when approaching a hundred, and a combination of good bowling from Shahid Afridi and evident nerves from the batsman left him scratching and poking. Inevitably he dropped it too short, allowing Cook to squirt one behind square with great skill and bring up his third, and most impressive, Test century. Even his celebration, while clearly delighted, was muted and composed as if to say "What's all the fuss about?"

Ian Bell struck a superb hundred, his fourth in Tests and arguably his best yet

Collingwood and Cook soon parted, and Geraint Jones offered precious little to dispel his critics, as Pakistan fought back boldly in the afternoon. With just Bell left to siphon runs from a worryingly long tail, the understandable fear of lower-order capitulation failed to transpire as Bell marshalled his underlings like a farmer rounding up cattle. Driving with the utmost fluency down the ground; off the back foot; through extra-cover, he moved serenely onto fifty thanks to good support from Sajid Mahmood.

No one in England possesses such a solid and technically perfect technique as Bell and in spite of an impressive career average of 45, it is his neck to which the sharpened knives are aimed. Give him a tail and he morphs into a different player entirely. Whether it is the responsibility of squeezing runs from England's lower order, or simply that he's taken on board Michael Vaughan's cliché of players "expressing themselves," it clearly suits him.

Even after losing Mahmood, Bell opened his shoulders - the highlight of which was the most crisply struck back-foot lofted drive over long-off. It could have been Damien Martyn or Mark Waugh. Indeed perhaps that's the very point: today, Bell was Bell; he batted with an abandon and freedom which until today had been dormant. It was his fourth Test hundred, his third against Pakistan and his best yet.

Despite the concern over Harmison, this was England's day - and another good one for Strauss. Pakistan have it all to do.

So are the England team gonna Cook the paki goose completely and win the test? Stay tuned and find out...

Match News:

Record partnership as SL make merry

Mahela Jayawardene became the first Sri Lankan captain to score 300, and his record 624-run stand with Kumar Sangakkara put Sri Lanka on top in Colombo

Sri Lankans create history

July 29, 2006

1.18 pm Sri Lanka 592 for 2 (Sangakkara 278*, Jayawaydene 273*) lead South Africa 169 by 423 runs

It was just after lunch on the third day that Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene made history, knocking off the record for the highest ever partnership in the history of the game. Sanath Jayasuriya, who held the record with Roshan Mahanama, was in the dressing-room and applauded as the benchmark of 576 was overhauled.

It was a Nicky Boje delivery, slipping down leg, that beat Mark Boucher and ran away for byes that brought up the milestone. Even the South Africans, who have been at the end of this massive 10-hour plus association, had to stop for a moment and join the celebrations as the firecrackers were set off in the stands. The two old friends, Jayawardene and Sangakkara, had been clinical in the manner in which they amassed runs. There was barely a risk taken, and the pace was steady for almost the whole duration, after an initial stage when they were watchful.

In all this, Sri Lanka had moved on to 592 for 2, and the lead had reached 423. For the moment, though, all eyes were on the record breakers - Sangakkara and Jayawardene. It would be churlish to take anything away from the pair despite the fact that the pitch hardly helped the bowlers. To concentrate hard for such a long period of time, and barely give the opposition a chance was a testament to the quality of the two batsmen.

Lunch South Africa 584 for 2 (Sangakkara 271*, Jaywardene 276*) lead South Africa 169 by 415 runs

Desperation writ large: Ashwell Prince and Jacques Rudolph ponder their predicament

The baila bands played on in the stands at the Sinhalese Sports Club and out in the middle Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene kept up their rhythm, pounding away at the South Africans. At lunch on the third day - the half-way mark in the first Test - Sri Lanka were sitting pretty on a whopping 584 for 2, a lead of 415.

Pertinently the partnership had reached 570, just six runs short of the highest of all time, put on by Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India.

There was great excitement early in the session when that rarest of rare things happened - a loud appeal. Makhaya Ntini, bowling from wide of the crease, got a ball to straighten and Jayawardene took the ball on the pad after falling over to work the ball to the leg side and missing. Ntini implored Billy Bowden, the umpire, to end his misery, but there was no such luck as the ball would probably have gone on with the angle and missed leg stump.

That shout apart, there was little break in the state of play as Sangakkara and Jawayawardene piled on the runs with metronomic efficiency. There were no risks taken, hardly a delivery that required careful defense, and with the loose balls coming along every now and then it was merely a case of accumulating, steadily, if not spectacularly.

Nicky Boje had bowled 51 wicketless overs, turning his arm over for a long spell on the third morning. He even got the occasional ball to turn sharply and beat bat, but just nothing would go South Africa's way. To make matters worse for them Sangakkara and Jayawardene were always alert to the opportunity to score runs, both in putting away the loose balls and in running hard and pinching any ones and twos on offer.

Jayawardene easily went past his previous best score, 242 against India, also made at the SSC, in 1999. Sangakkara too improved on his best, 270 against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2004. By the time lunch was taken, both batsmen were well on course to scoring maiden triple hundreds, and who knows what else was in the offing. Brian Lara's 400 did not look safe at all at this stage. As they have done almost all match, Sangakkara (271 not out) and Jayawardene (276 not out) were neck and neck. For ten hours these two have been together at the crease now, and neither seems like he's going anywhere in a hurry.