Tour of  Sri Lanka 2001-02          Captain: Stuart Carlisle

Zimbabwe’s fifteenth Test tour

Third Test-playing tour of  Sri Lanka by Zimbabwe

(December 2001

           - January 2002)

Note:  The tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2001-02 ran consecutively and are really a single tour but, to allow greater detail, are described here as two separate tours.

Stuart Carlisle retained the captaincy after Brian Murphy rejoined the team in Sri Lanka. Murphy was then injured on the hand yet again and had to go back home for treatment. 

The tour started with a tri-series against West Indies and Sri Lanka.  The side managed a fine victory against West Indies but not before a calamitous defeat to Sri Lanka when they were bowled out for 38, the lowest ever one-day international score.

Zimbabwe sank to an innings defeat in the First Test, with Sri Lanka launching a powerful batting assault against an innocuous Zimbabwe bowling line-up, aided by some glaring umpiring errors.  There followed two more heavy defeats to Sri Lanka.

Anxieties over the current political situation in Zimbabwe may have affected the players but none except Streak and Andy Flower showed the mental application needed in the tough conditions.

Without Murphy, the loss of a specialist spinner was especially keenly felt, and part-time bowlers had to fill in.  Losing the experience of Campbell, Whittall and Strang who were ruled out for poor form, and to an extent as a policy of introducing a quota of more black players, was a further disadvantage.

Other Zimbabwe tours

Previous tour

Bangladesh 2001-02

Next tour

India 2001-02

Next tour of Sri Lanka

 None scheduled

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen:  Dion Ebrahim,  Trevor Gripper, Grant Flower

Middle-order batsmen :Stuart  Carlisle, Craig Wishart, Gavin Rennie, Hamilton Masakadza, Doug Marillier.

Wicket-keeper/batsmen:Andy Flower, Tatenda Taibu

Spin bowler:  Brian Murphy.

Fast  bowlers:  Gary Brent, Sean Ervine, Travis Friend,  Mluleki Nkala, Henry Olonga, Heath Streak.

District representation  

 Logan Cup teams 2001-02

Mat Matabeleland (2)

Man  Manicaland (1)

Msh Mashonaland  (9)

Mid:  Midlands (3)

Masakadza and Murphy were not in the Logan tournament in 2001-02

Average age of team at time of first Test match

(27 December 2001) :

    24 years  8 months

Key to type:

RHB Right-handed bat

RM  Right arm medium-paced bowler

RFM  Right-arm fast medium

OB   Off break

WK  Wicket-keeper

Test Appearances made before the tour

A Flower 56,  GW Flower 56,  Streak 46,  Olonga 25,  Carlisle 22,  G Rennie 19,  Wishart 18,  Murphy 11, Ebrahim 10,  Gripper 9,  Friend 5,  Brent 3,  Masakadza 3,  Marillier 3,  Taibu 2,  Ervine 0.

Tour Officials

Selectors

Ali Shah (convenor of selectors),  Iain Butchart,  Maqsood Ebrahim,  Dave Houghton,  Stephen Mangongo and Terry Nicolle.

Selection

Unavailable:  Ray Price.

Tour Party Announced :  16 October 2001.

The team that arrived from Bangladesh for the one-day series included Mluleki Nkala (not intended to remain for the Test series) and Sean Ervine, who was soon forced to return home injured.  Brian Murphy, resuming the captaincy, and Hamilton Masazadza (who had been in Kenya with Zimbabwe A) were added to bring the Test squad back up to fifteen.

Time between selection and departure from Zimbabwe  

not applicable here

Travel

Dhaka  Q   Colombo

The Zimbabwe squad arrived from Bangladesh flying in to Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, on the morning of 29 November.

After two one-day practice matches, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board kept dates in early December free of any cricket due to the parliamentary elections, so the Zimbabweans had a week for practice.

In mid-December, after treatment to his broken finger, Brian Murphy returned rejoined the team in Sri Lanka for the Test series, along with Hamilton Masaakadza.

Time spent in Sri Lanka

   49 days

(29 November -  17 January)

On-tour selection panel

....

Reinforcements

Gavin Rennie  was drafted into the squad for the Test series.

Brian Murphy rejoined the team for the Test series after treatment to his broken finger but dropped himself for the first Test as he had no virtually match practice behind him, so Carlisle resumed the captaincy.

Then Murphy sustained another hand injury and had to return home again for specialist treatment.  No replacement was sought so Zimbabwe were handicapped by not having a specialist spinner on the tour.

Fixtures/Results

The Sri Lankan Board rescheduled the tour dates because there would be no play during parliamentary elections, and then a government decree banned the playing of sports on Poya Days (a full moon on 30 December), which became a rest day in the first Test.

§  ODI  Series

† not first-class

.

Time spent in Sri Lanka before First Test:      4 days

(9 March  -   13 March)

Test appearances on tour

3  -   Carlisle,  A Flower,  GW Flower,  Friend,  Gripper,  Olonga,  Rennie,  Streak,  Wishart.

2  -   Marillier,  Masakadza.

1  -   Brent,  Ebrahim.

0  -   Ervine,  Murphy,  Nkala,  Taibu.

Match appearances

Highlights

•    Zimbabwe were bowled out for 38 in the first ODI at Colombo (SSC),the lowest-ever ODI team total which led to the fastest-ever ODI defeat; but they won the next match well against West Indies.

•   Trevor Gripper top-scored for Zimbabwe in the Test series, with 167 runs at an average of 27.83.

•   Carlisle and Gripper had a first wicket partnership of 153 in the third Test.

Tour Summary

Return to Zimbabwe

Colombo   Q    Harare

Mluleki Nkala returned home to Zimbabwe after the tri-series one-day tournament.  Shaun Ervine also returned to Zimbabwe with a stress fracture of his back, sustained in Bangladesh.

Brian Murphy flew home on Wednesday 2 January 2002  after being unable to get an MRI scan in Colombo.

Taibu and Masakadza left on 10 January to play in the under-19 ICC World Cup tournament in New Zealand.

The main team left Sri Lanka for home on 17 January 2002. They had two weeks' rest before departing for India and another two-Test series, their seventh in a  12-month period.

Time away from Zimbabwe

    58 ? days  

(22 October to 18? January))

Finances

Accounts of the tour

Postscript