Test Cricket Tours - Australia to Zimbabwe 2004

Home

Test Cricket Tours - Australia to Zimbabwe 2004

Tour of Zimbabwe 2004 Captain: Ricky Ponting

Test series cancelled

Would have been:

Australia’s 76 th Test tour

(May 2004)

Would have been:

Second Test-playing tour of Zimbabwe by Australia

(previous visit in 1999)

Early in May 2004, accommodation, transport, training facilities and fixtures were all in place and Cricket Australia expressed its confidence that the tour would proceed. The selected players had been briefed on the human rights situation in the country, as well as the refusal by fifteen Zimbabwe Test players to participate because of their opposition to the selection system. Because of this the Test matches would inevitably be a huge mis-match.

Stuart MacGill was alone in deciding not to take part in the tour, saying that he didn't feel he could go with a clear conscience. www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/21/1082530237936.html

Cricket Australia said it would carry out its agreement to the ICC's Future Years Programme, though spokesman Peter Young dismissively described completing the tour as ticking a box.

Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, flew to Zimbabwe to urge that it would not be appropriate to afford Test status to the two scheduled matches. However, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union would not meet him in person. Meanwhile the ICC planned to hold a teleconference on 21 May between the cricket boards of the ten Test-playing nations, to decide whether to proceed with the Test matches or cancel them or downgrade them to tour matches. Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman arrived in Harare ready to brief the players after the teleconference.

When it was clear that the ICC was going to strip the matches of Test status, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union offered to call them off. The ZCU and Cricket Australia agreed to postpone the matches but they have never been played. The three one-dayers were rearranged, all to be played in Harare as soon as possible, and the ill-fated tour brought to a close.

Other Australian Tours

Previous tour

Sri Lanka 2003-04

Next tour

India 2004-05

Next tour of Zimbabwe

None scheduled

Members of the Test tour party (13)

Opening batsmen Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer

Middle-order batsmen: Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Ricky Ponting, Simon Katich.

Wicket-keeper:Adam Gilchrist

Spin bowlers: Shane Warne Cameron White.

Fast bowlers:Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath. Michael Kasprowicz, Brad Williams.

⋄ Contracted players

A C Gilchrist	WA ⋄	32	WK LHB vice-captain	ODI

J N Gillespie	SA ⋄	29	RFM	ODI

M L Hayden	Qld ⋄	32	LHB opener	ODI

M S Kasprowicz	Qld ⋄	32	RFM	ODI

S M Katich	NSW ⋄	28	LHB SLA

J L Langer	WA ⋄	33	LHB opener

D S Lehmann	SA ⋄	34	LHB	ODI

G D McGrath	NSW ⋄	34	RFM	ODI

D R Martyn	WA ⋄	32	RHB	ODI

R T Ponting	Tas ⋄	29	RHB captain	ODI

S K Warne	Vic ⋄	34	LBG

C L White	Vic	20	LBG

B A Williams	WA ⋄	29	RFM	ODI

Selected for the limited-overs matches only			M J Clarke (NSW ⋄)	ODI
			I J Harvey (Vic ⋄)	ODI
			G B Hogg (WA ⋄)	ODI
			A Symonds (Qld ⋄)	ODI
			S R Watson (Tas ⋄)	ODI

State representation

Pura Cup teams

NSW New South Wales (2)

Qld Queensland (2)

SA South Australia (2)

Tas Tasmania (1)

Vic Victoria (2)

WA Western Australia (4)

Average age of team at time the first Test was due to start

(on May 22 2004)

31 yrs 4 months

⋄ Contracted players

ODI : member of the limited-overs squad.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Warne 110, McGrath 95, Ponting 78, Langer 74, Gilchrist 54, Gillespie 52, Hayden 53, Martyn 42, Kasprowicz 20, Lehmann 18, Katich 7 Williams 4, White 0.

Tour Officials

Steve Bernard	Manager
John Buchanan	Coach
Alex Kountouris	Physiotherapist
Jock Campbell	Fitness adviser

Selectors

Trevor Hohns (chairman), David Boon, Allan Border, Andrew Hilditch.

Selection

Unavailable: Stuart MacGill told the selectors before their meeting that he would not tour on the grounds that he didn't feel he could go with a clear conscience.

Three others in the team had discussions with Cricket Australia and toured reluctantly, but none withdrew

Tour Party Announced: 21 April 2004.

Not selected : Andrew Symonds and Shaun Tait, who were in the Test squad which toured Sri Lanka.

Time between selection and departure from Australia

22 days

(21 April - 13 May)

Travel

Sydney Q Johannesburg Q Harare

A pre-tour training camp was held in Brisbane. Williams had to leave the camp and return to Perth because of a storm damaging his house.

The Australians flew out of Sydney Airport on Thursday 13 May for what was then still intended to be a month-long tour comprising two Tests and three one-day internationals. They landed at Johannesburg in transit to Harare.

Brad Williams flew in later.

Time spent in Zimbabwe

16 days

(14 May - 30 May)

On-tour selection

Ricky Ponting (captain), John Buchanan (coach), Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain).

Reinforcements

None. Brad Williams was sent home early because of a likely recurrence of stress fractures in his lower back.

Fixtures/Results

a	ϯ Harare	Zimbabwe A (2-day: 13 played)	Drawn
b	HARARE	ZIMBABWE First Test	Cancelled
c	BULAWAYO	ZIMBABWE Second Test	Cancelled
d	Bulawayo	Zimbabwe	Cancelled
e	§ Harare	Zimbabwe	Won 7 w
f	§ Harare	Zimbabwe	Won 139 r
g	§ Harare	Zimbabwe	Won 8 w

† not first-class

§ one-day international

Time spent in Zimbabwe before scheduled start of First Test:

9 days

(14 May - 23 May)

Test appearances on tour

None.

Match appearances

T Test match

o one-day international

x other match

⊕ T/20 international

∙ played for opposition

W won L lost D drawn

N no result A abandoned

C cancelled u unknown result

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
A C Gilchrist	x				o	o	o
J N Gillespie	x				o	o	o
M L Hayden	x				o	o
J L Langer	x
D S Lehmann	x				o	o
M S Kasprowicz	x				o	o	o
S M Katich	x
G D McGrath	x				o	o	o
D R Martyn	x				o	o	o
R T Ponting	x				o	o	o
S K Warne	x
C L White	x
B A Williams	x				o
M J Clarke					o	o	o
I J Harvey						o	o
G B Hogg						o	o
A Symonds					o		o
S R Watson							o
RESULTS	D	C	C	C	W	W	W

Australia’s six previous Test tour results:

in Sri Lanka 2003-04 (3 Tests)

- won 3-0

in West Indies 2003 (4 Tests)

- won 3-1

in UAE v Pakistan 2002 (3 Tests)

- won 3-0

in South Africa 2001-02 (3 Tests)

- won 2-1

in England 2001 (5 Tests)

- won 4-1

in India 2000-01 (3 Tests)

- lost 1-2

Highlights

• Ricky Ponting (91) and Damien Martyn (74*) added 144 for the third wicket in the first ODI.

• Matthew Hayden and Darren Lehmann added 137 for the same wicket in the next match.

• Lehmann then topped his innings of 67 with his best one-day bowling figures: 4 wickets for 7 runs.

• Jason Gillespie took 5 for 32 in the third ODI before Michael Clarke’s century (105*) sealed the match.

Tour Summary

	P	W	L	D	Cancelled	Aban
Test Matches	0	-	-	-	2	-
Other first-class matches	0	-	-	-	-	-
ϯ Minor matches	1	-	-	1	-	-
§ One-day internationals	3	0	3	0	1	-
All Matches	4	0	3	1	3	-

Return to Australia

Harare Q Johannesburg Q

Sydney

All the players took part in the tour warm-up match. As soon as the Test series was cancelled the Test-only players (Justin Langer, Simon Katich and Cameron White) returned to Australia, arriving home on Sunday 23 May. Shane Warne flew to London to play county cricket for Hampshire.

Brad Williams, returning early because of injury, arrived in Perth on Friday 28 May.

Only six of the team (Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting) flew back to Australia, arriving home from Zimbabwe on 31 May 2004.

Seven others went to England to play county cricket: Michael Clarke and Shane Watson (both Hampshire), Brad Hogg (Warwickshire), Michael Kasprowicz (Glamorgan), Darren Lehmann and Ian Harvey (both Yorkshire) and Andrew Symonds (Kent).

Time away from Australia

18 days

(13 May to 31 May)

Finances

…..

Written accounts of the tour

……..

Postscript

The ZCU and Cricket Australia agreed to postpone the matches but they have never been played; Australia has not played a Test series with Zimbabwe since October 2003.