Cricket: Zimbabweans make slow progress in test

BULAWAYO - New Zealand claimed just one wicket as Zimbabwe batted through the opening session at snail's pace on the first day of the first cricket test last night.

Zimbabwe, having won the toss and chosen to bat on a flat, lifeless pitch, were 51 for one at lunch after 33 overs. Opener Gavin Rennie was still there on 18 off 109 balls, with Stuart Carlisle on three.

New Zealand had to wait 27 overs for their first success, when Daniel Vettori got a ball to turn and bounce on Grant Flower. He edged it to Adam Parore, who took a juggling catch. Flower batted for 104 minutes for 24 runs and Zimbabwe were 40 for one.

Vettori finished the session with one for 11 off nine overs.

The toss was always going to be crucial.

New Zealand's opening bowlers, Chris Cairns and Shayne O'Connor, were both guilty of not making the batsmen play enough and got little help from the pitch.

Cairns bowled five maidens in his first six-over spell, and the first boundary did not come until the 13th over, and Zimbabwe crawled to drinks at 22 without loss off 16 overs.

Craig McMillan was introduced but suffered at the hands of Flower and was spelled after conceding 18 runs off three overs.

Vettori got immediate turn when he was introduced in the 16th over and when Nathan Astle replaced McMillan, Fleming had used five bowlers inside the 20-over mark.

New Zealand named a predictable team, while Zimbabwe made a late change when allrounder Guy Whittall withdrew injured. He was replaced by Craig Wishart.

An hour after lunch, Zimbabwe were 84 for one.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand officials are turning to computer games to focus their players' idle minds on match mornings.

Players are required to spend some time on the team lap-tops before or after breakfast, tapping away at various games. The idea is to sharpen their hand-eye co-ordination, especially the batsmen, before they venture out to the middle.

The innovation came from discussions between manager Jeff Crowe and technical adviser Ashley Ross.

They had tried early-morning team meetings to get players focused, but it was clear there needed to be something more specific.

"We're just talking about getting the players switched on. Traditionally, they're not great starters, so we had to get them doing something," Ross said.

"We do a physical warm-up, but not necessarily a mental warm-up, so we looked at ways to change that."

The tour of Africa has seen the process used for the first time.

It will be taken a step further, with New Zealand video analyst Zac Hitchcock developing a game which will simulate a cricket ball moving towards the player on the screen.

The "batsman" will have to press a key when the ball passes through a certain area, the same process as striking a ball with a bat.

Players will compete with each other to get the highest score.

ZIMBABWE

FIRST INNINGS

G. Flower c Parore b Vettori 24

G. Rennie not out 18

S. Carlisle not out 3

Extras (4b, 2nb) 6


Total for 1 wkt 51

Fall: 1/40 (Flower).

Bowling: C. Cairns 9-6-5-0, S. O'Connor 7-2-8-0, C. McMillan 3-0-18-0, D. Vettori 9-3-11-1 (2nb), N. Astle 5-3-5-0.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Matthew Horne, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman, Shayne O'Connor.

Zimbabwe: Heath Streak (captain), Grant Flower, Gavin Rennie, Stuart Carlisle, Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart, Mluleki Nkala, Paul Strang, Bryan Strang, David Mutendera, Henry Olonga, Mpumelelo Mbangwa.

Umpires: Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe), Darrell Hair (Australia).

- NZPA