Zimbabwe sweep one-day series

Grant Flower equalled Zimbabwe's highest score to guide his team out of trouble and to a 3-0 whitewash in the one-day international cricket series against Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe, who won the first two matches by seven wickets and 127 runs respectively, totalled 308 for four. In reply, Bangladesh scored 272 for eight, surpassing their previous highest total of 257, to hand the home side victory by 36 runs.

Zimbabwe's towering total was built on the batting of the Flower brothers, Grant and Andy, who shared a stand of 148 -- a fourth-wicket record for Zimbabwe in the seven matches they have played against Bangladesh.

Grant Flower scored 142 not out off 128 balls with 10 fours and two sixes to equal Dave Houghton's innings against New Zealand in the 1987-88 World Cup. Andy Flower faced 92 balls and hit five fours in his 81.

The Flowers hardly put a foot wrong in rebuilding an innings that had slumped to 39 for three in the 10th over. Their stand lasted 28 overs and was finally broken when Andy Flower played a reverse sweep to a delivery from debutant leg-spinner Mohammed Ashraful which was caught by Mohammed Sharif at backward point.

Stuart Carlisle scored 42 off 34 balls, with three fours and two sixes, to usher Grant Flower to his hundred as Zimbabwe smashed 69 runs off the last five overs.

Bangladesh's reply got off to a stuttering start when they lost Mehrab Hossain, who was bowled by medium pacer Andy Blignaut for 13, and Mohammed Ashraful, caught by Dion Ebrahim at backward point off left-arm medium pacer Bryan Strang for nine, in the first 10 overs.

But they scored quickly and stayed in touch with the steep required runrate of 6.18 in the first half of their innings.

Much of the credit for Bangladesh remaining competitive in that period belonged to opener Javed Omar and Habibul Bashar, who put on 84 runs off 103 balls for the third-wicket.

The stand ended in the 27th over when Omar was run out for 69, struck off 82 balls with six fours, after Bashar pushed a delivery from left-arm spinner Dirk Viljoen into the covers and called for a short single.

Blignaut swooped, turned and threw to wicketkeeper Andy Flower, who broke the wicket with the batsman just short of his ground.

The dismissal heralded the end of Bangladesh's serious challenge to successfully chase their big target and the required runrate climbed into double figures in the 38th over.

But Bashar and Akram Khan soldiered on and added 66 for the fourth wicket before Bashar skied the last ball of the 40th over to Andy Flower to go for 74.

Blignaut took charge of the next over, and Khan drove the first ball to Alistair Campbell at extra cover to be dimissed for 25 and to reduce Bangladesh to 205 for five.

Bangladesh then lost three more wickets for 29 runs, while Strang finished with three for 56.

Mail Cricket Editor