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the first of five One Day Internationals at Harare Sports Club this morning.
The game will be the opener in the five ODI series with the first three games set for Harare Sports Club while the other two will be in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh in the one-off Test match at Harare Sports Club as the players showed few signs that they have been away from the longer version of the game for six years.
Captain Brendan Taylor – who led from the front with an unbeaten 105 in the second innings – believes their Test win on return was a big morale-booster for his army.
No major changes are expected in the side, moving from the Test format to the ODI set-up, where Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor are expected to move up the batting order.
Forster Mutizwa and Regis Chakabva, who were not part of the Test squad, are likely see themselves back in the middle order with former captain Prosper Utseya joining Ray Price in the spin attack.
“We certainly are at an advantage going into the ODIs,” said Taylor.
“I know it is a different format of the game but they have lost the warm-up game and they have also lost the Test game against us.
“It is going to be tough for them to come back but we know they will come back strong.”
Taylor expects a tough contest after Zimbabwe suffered a 1-3 series defeat the last time the two sides met in Bangladesh late last year.
“It is going to be tough for us but we will play our best cricket and (hopefully) things will go our way,” said Taylor.
“We have prepared hard for these games and if we play the way we know we can then we are going to be a difficult side to beat tomorrow (today).
“We will have to take it game by game, focus on all our processes, get all the three departments right and the result will go our way.
“But then again they will be looking at capitalising on every mistake we will make and we need to be on top of our game.
“We definitely need to win but we can’t go too far ahead as we have to go through the stages and processes and the end result will take care of us.”
With debutante bowlers Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis on a high during the one-off Test, there is a spring in the step of the Zimbabweans ahead of the ODI series.
“I couldn’t have asked anything more from them and they look (set) to be great prospects for the future if they continue to bowl the way they did in the Test,” said Taylor.
“I was also happy with my century as it made life difficult for the Bangladeshi and (Craig) Ervine who stuck around helped me to get to that total but overally it was a team performance that gave us the win.”
But Bangladeshi batsman Shahriar
Nafees believes his side can bounce back in the limited overs game.
“Zimbabwe should be congratulated for beating us. They were better all-round and well prepared. I don’t think we were complacent but they played better cricket over the five days,” said Nafees.
“I think our fast bowlers did a pretty good job in the Test and a few of the batsmen showed they’re in good touch.
“Losing the Test was a wake-up call for us so it’s about turning it around and winning the (ODI) series.
“I think it is going to be a tough ODI series but it is a series we can win. Zimbabwe will challenge us but I believe we will win, not comfortably but convincingly.
“The player to watch in the series will be Abdul Razzak who has been a great cricketer for Bangladesh since he started playing for us.
“I think he’ll be a key part in this series even if the conditions aren’t the same as Bangladesh.”
Zimbabwe coach Allan Butcher is hoping for a fiery performance from his boys.
“The boys are very confident, very buoyant having played so well in the Test and we believe we have improved a lot since we last played them,” said the Englishman.
“We are capable of beating them in this series but it will be difficult in this format of the game which they are better at and they are happier in compared to the Test format due to their spinners.
“Their spinners are happier now where they can bowl flat and get lots of wickets but we have the belief because there are a couple of youngsters that have changed the balance of our attack and we will have a better opportunity to win.
“Obviously there are some changes that are going to take place in the bowling department we cannot definitely afford to ignore (spinner) Prosper (Utseya) with his ODI record.
“Kyle (Jarvis) and Brian (Vitori) have been bowling well, they are in good form and they have actually performed above expectations compared to what they did in the build-up.
“And with such a bowling attack, I am confident they will be able to do the job and they can only improve and we also expect the likes of Chris Mpofu to spearhead it for Zimbabwe.
“But obviously Bangladesh will also try to make it difficult for us as they have the likes of (Abdul) Razzak and Shakib spearheading the spin attack.
“If we a play the spin well then we will be at a bigger advantage, we know what they can offer, the pitch is slightly different and will not pose a bigger threat as in Bangladesh.”
Zimbabwe Squad
Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Keegan Meth, Christopher Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Raymond Price, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller.
Online Reporter