Zimbabwe appear too strong for Bangladesh

Zimbabwe start the Test series against Bangladesh on Thursday as odds-on favourites to beat the new minnows of international cricket.

After three comprehensive victories in the limited-overs series, the home side is expected to triumph in the two Test matches against opponents playing their first ever tour as a Test nation.

Zimbabwe coach Carl Rackemann, however, is cautious.

"I don't like to use the word 'expect' when it comes to cricket," Rackemann said.

"We want to focus on our cricket, and the quality of cricket that each individual in our team plays.

Bangladesh have played just one Test before, against India in Dhaka in November, which they lost by nine wickets.

Zimbabwe are keen to exploit the difficulty the Bangladesh batsmen had in coping with the seaming ball in the one-day series, despite Bulawayo's reputation for producing flat pitches.

"We've asked for a touch more grass, so we're expecting a hard, quick bouncy wicket," Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak said.

Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman said the conditions were alien to his side.

"We normally play in totally different conditions than in Zimbabwe," he said. "In the first two matches in Harare, our batsmen were not able to adjust to the wickets.

POSITIVE APPROACH
"But our bowlers have done a good job. That's a good sign, because normally we struggle with our bowling."

"We've got good team spirit - the guys are trying to help each other," Naimur Rahman said. "Our approach will definitely be positive.

Streak said the tourists were less of an unknown quantity after the five matches they had played in Zimbabwe.

"We've found out a bit more about them," Streak said. "Hopefully we have a better understanding of what they're about and what we're up against."

Squads:

Zimbabwe:
Guy Whittall, Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Andy Blignaut, Heath Streak (captain), Mluleki Nkala, Brighton Watambwa, Brian Murphy, Dion Ebrahim, Ray Price.

Bangladesh:
Naimur Rahman (captain), Javed Omar, Mehrab Hossain, Mohammed Ashraful, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Akram Khan, Khaled Mashud, Al-Shariar, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Hoque, Hasibul Hussain, Manjural Islam, Mohammed Sharif, Mushfiqur Rahman.

Mail Cricket Editor