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Can Zimbabwe find another gear?

Sport
A WEEK ago, Zimbabwe were wondering how to stay alive in the first cricket Test against New Zealand.

A WEEK ago, Zimbabwe were wondering how to stay alive in the first cricket Test against New Zealand.

Now, they will be thinking about saving the two-match series and denying New Zealand a chance to claim a cup from the first leg of their self-termed African safari.

Victory for Zimbabwe and a share of the spoils seems improbable unless they are able to correct perennial problems that creep into their approach, almost all of which stem from a lack of game time.

Their struggle to build partnerships and bat for long periods of time will be crippled further by the absence of Hamilton Masakadza, who will miss the Test with a back injury.

Their attack’s battle to sustain pressure over extended periods also result in them falling behind early on.

They have showed the ability to fight back, but that will probably not be enough against a more complete New Zealand unit.

For New Zealand, a second victory and a clean sweep would be the perfect start in their search for more consistency after they lost ground to Australia.

It will also give Kane Williamson a solid foundation on which to build his captaincy and sound a warning to South Africa that they could prove a challenge. Coach Mike Hesson could not find too many “work-ons” after the first Test, but Trent Boult’s pace — which averaged in the late 120s and the spinners’ return will be areas to zone in on.

The other area of interest will be the venue itself. Queens Sports Club will host back-to-back fixtures in a test of the ground staff’s ability to turn around quickly.

The outfield, which was sluggish for the first Test, would have been trimmed and may be a little quicker while the pitch itself is expected to be slow, low and flat.

With school holidays and a long weekend, crowd numbers could be higher, especially as Bulawayo does not know when it will see Test cricket again.

After crashing to 36 for 4 and 17 for 4 in the first Test Zimbabwe’s top order will want to give their team a better start.

Their ability to cope with a swinging new ball and a hostile short ball will be under particular scrutiny after Tim Southee and Neil Wagner used those tactics to run through them.

In the absence of Masakadza, the responsibility will fall on Tino Mawoyo and Chamu Chibhabha.

Apart from Trent Boult bowling below pace, the only aspect of New Zealand’s game that they may want to work on from the first Test is their spinners.

While Mitchell Santner was economical, Ish Sodhi was expensive and with long spells likely to be needed on a flat track, he will need to tighten up and try to stifle Zimbabwe’s batsmen a little more.

The biggest blow to Zimbabwe is Hamilton Masakadza’s injury. Opener Tino Mawoyo has recovered from a hand injury to take his place at the top of the order alongside Chamu Chibhabha.

Peter Moor is in line for a Test debut in place of Regis Chakabva who battled tonsillitis during the first Test. Although Chris Mpofu looks fit and firing, Donald Tiripano and Mike Chinouya are likely to keep their places with John Nyumbu coming in as a second specialist spinner.

Kane Williamson and Tim Southee will be playing their 50th Tests individually Five years ago this week, Zimbabwe returned to Test cricket after a six-year self-imposed exile and won their comeback Test against Bangladesh. Craig Ervine and Tino Mawoyo are the only players who took part in that match who may be involved in this one New Zealand confirmed the same XI for the second Test which means no experiments to play Jeet Raval, Doug Bracewell or Matt Henry before they head to South Africa.

Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Tino Mawoyo, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Sikandar Raza, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Prince Masvaure, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Peter Moore (wk), 8 Graeme Cremer, (capt) 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 John Nyumbu, 11 Mike Chinouya

New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Neil Wagner — ESPNcricinfo