Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe Live Streaming 1st ODI at Harare

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe
1st ODI
Venue: Harare, Zimbabwe
Date: 9 August 2009, Sunday
Time: 7:30 GMT

Prosper Utseya's Zimbabwe have a stiff task ahead of them

Zimbabwe won their last low-profile series against Kenya 5-0 but their best player, Tatenda Taibu, is not available after being handed a ten-match suspension. Their opponents this time are undoubtedly favourites after their exploits in the Caribbean and their recent record over Zimbabwe - they beat them 2-1 earlier this year. Bangladesh's players have much more international experience and have been playing more cricket lately. Zimbabwe are up against it and will need to play out of their skins to beat Bangladesh. A victory for Zimbabwe will give them their first notable ODI series win since July 2006, and augur well for their future as an international team after an encouraging performance against Sri Lanka in the last three ODIs at home.

Bangladesh, after massive strides in the West Indies, have few form concerns despite the warm-up defeat. Shakib Al Hasan, the stand-in captain for the current tour of West Indies, will continue to lead the side in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, down with a knee injury. He led and played admirably in the recent ODIs and can be counted on to rally Bangladesh again.

(last five matches, most recent first)

Zimbabwe - WWWWW
Bangladesh - WWWWW

Hamilton Masakadza: Zimbabwe's most consistent batsman over the last two seasons has to click at the top. His experience (68 ODIs) puts him in a higher category than many of his team-mates and Masakadza will need to show that responsibility whether opening the innings or batting at No.3. For too long he has squandered starts and not fulfilled the promise of a century on Test debut.

Enamul Haque jnr is a name a few Zimbabweans may be wary of. The left-arm spinner took 6 for 45 - and the historic final wicket - to send Bangladesh fans wild with an inaugural Test victory over Zimbabwe in January 2005, then added 7 for 95 (and 12 in the match) in the drawn second Test. His three ODIs have all come against Zimbabwe, yielding just four wickets, but there's plenty of reason to believe Enamul can add to those figures significantly on this tour.

Team news

Picking Zimbabwe's final XI is a difficult task, given the side has not played an ODI since February. Players to have earned recalls for the series are Mark Vermeulen, who last played an international match in 2004, the wicketkeeper-batsman Coventry, who last played for Zimbabwe in 2006, and batsman Chamu Chibhabha. It is foreseeable that the players with the most recent international experience get picked first.

Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Hamilton Masakdaza, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Vusi Sibanda, 4 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Elton Chigumbura, 7 Prosper Utseya (capt), 8 Charles Coventry (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Ed Rainsford.

Bangladesh are likely to retain a winning combination, the only exception being the absence of Abdur Razzak who strained his hamstring while batting in the third ODI against West Indies.

Bangladesh: (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Enamul Haque jnr, 10 Syed Rasel, 11 Rubel Hossain.