Bulawayo washout
The first day of the second Test at Bulawayo was abandoned without a ball being bowled after heavy overnight rain which left the city awash
Wisden Cricinfo staff
26-Feb-2004
The first day of the second Test at Bulawayo was abandoned without a ball being bowled after heavy overnight rain which left the city awash. Although the sun was out early, more than four inches of rain fell in the previous 24 hours and despite the pitch and outfield being well covered, the ground was sodden. Four inspections - all cursory - confirmed that play was impossible.
There were rumours that the Zimbabwe Cricket Union was trying to reschedule the match to start tomorrow, and so hopefully allow the game to run for the full five days. But that would have needed the sanction of the International Cricket Council, and there were no signs that any formal request had been made.
The delay will give Heath Streak and Stuart Carlisle more time to try to shake off their injuries. Streak has back spasms but is likely to play, Carlisle has a quadricep strain and is considered an unlikely starter.
Play is due to start tomorrow at 9.30am (0730GMT), but this is February in Zimbabwe, and as such more rain is a distinct possibility. Perhaps those responsible for scheduling should take more notice of local weather when allocating matches.
Zimbabwe (probable) 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Trevor Gripper, 3 Grant Flower, 4 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Sean Ervine, 7 Gavin Ewing, 8 Heath Streak (capt), 9 Raymond Price, 10 Douglas Hondo, 11 Blessing Mahwire.
Bangladesh 1 Hannan Sarker, 2 Shahriar Hossain, 3 Habibul Bashar (capt), 4 Rajin Saleh, 5 Mohammad Ashraful, 6 Mushfiqur Rahman, 7 Manjarul Islam Rana, 8 Khaled Mashud (wk), 9 Mohammad Rafique, 10 Tapash Baisya, 11 Alamgir Kabir.