Fast bowler Kyle Jarvis was on Tuesday recalled for Zimbabwe’s dead rubber One-Day International (ODI) cricket match against Pakistan at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.
There was, however, no pace for lanky seamer Christopher Mpofu although Brian Vitori retained his place as the selectors have once again opted for just two specialist seamers.
Predictably, the selectors were expected to ring changes in the bowling department which came unstuck against the unbroken record 228-run opening stand between Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat which formed the backbone for the 10-wicket mauling.
Surprisingly, spinners Ray Price and Prosper Utseya, were both preferred ahead of other seam options despite the fact that spinners tend to struggle on the Harare Sports Club pitch.
Zimbabwe will, however, hope that the return of Jarvis will see some improvement, but the support he will get from Vitori and all-rounder Elton Chigumbura will be vital.
Vitori had back-to-back five wicket hauls at Harare Sports Club against Bangladesh prior to ongoing tour by Pakistan in which he is yet to claim his first wicket.
No doubt the Masvingo-born left arm quickie will be eager to make amends after rude awakening which should have encouraged him to keep working hard.
Chamu Chibhabha, who has struggled in his return to the side so far has been given another chance and will open the batting with Vusi Sibanda.
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In the first two ODIs the opening partnership has not managed to go beyond 15 runs and it has proven to be Zimbabwe’s downfall as they always tend to do well when their openers get off to a solid start.
Senior players Hamilton Masakadza and skipper Brendan Taylor, the only batsman to show some form of resistance with knocks of 68 and 50 respectively, will come in at number three and four respectively.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Tatenda Taibu, Malcolm Waller and Chigumbura, will form the middle order batting department.
In the last match the batsman struggled to settle as the pitched proved a tough one to bat on initially, but the situation was made worse by Zimbabwe’s ultra-cautious approach.
In some instances the batsman looked eager to hit the ball too hard for a boundary in some cases where it could have been easier to settle for the quick singles and in the end it cost them 30-40 runs.
