- It was the 1543rd Test match in cricket history.
- It was Zimbabwe’s 49th and Bangladesh’s second Test match.
- It was the first ever Test between these two sides. Zimbabwebecame second country after India to play against all other Testplaying countries.
- Seven players were making their Test debut in this match- AndyBlignaut, Dion Ebrahim and Brighton Watambwa for Zimbabwe and JavedOmar, Manjural Islam, Mohammed Sharif and Mushfiqur Rahman forBangladesh.
- At 15 years 128 days Mohammed Sharif became the third youngestplayer to play in Test cricket after Pakistan’s Hasan Raza (14 years227 days) and Mushtaq Mohammad (15 years 124 days). The accompanyingtable lists the youngest Test debutants. Incidentally Bikash Das at 18years 119 days (v India at Dhaka in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test) wasthe previous record holder for being the youngest debutant forBangladesh.
Age | Player | For | Vs | Test | Venue | Season |
(Yrs-days) | ||||||
14-227 | Hasan Raza | Pak | Zim | 2nd | Faisalabad | 1996-97 |
15-124 | Mushtaq Mohammad | Pak | WI | 3rd | Lahore LG | 1958-59 |
15-128 | Mohammed Sharif | Ban | Zim | 1st | Bulawayo QC | 2000-01 |
16-189 | Aaqib Javed | Pak | NZ | 2nd | Wellington | 1988-89 |
16-205 | SR Tendulkar | Ind | Pak | 1st | Karachi NS | 1989-90 |
16-221 | Aftab Baloch | Pak | NZ | 3rd | Dhaka (Dacca) | 1969-70 |
16-248 | Nasim-ul-Ghani | Pak | WI | 1st | Bridgetown | 1957-58 |
16-352 | Khalid Hassan | Pak | Eng | 2nd | Nottingham | 1954 |
17- 5 | Zahid Fazal | Pak | WI | 1st | Karachi NS | 1990-91 |
17-68 | Ata-ur-Rehman | Pak | Eng | 1st | Birmingham | 1992 |
17-78 | Imran Nazir | Pak | SL | 1st | Lahore GS | 1998-99 |
17-118 | L Sivaramakrishnan | Ind | WI | 5th | St. John’s | 1982-83 |
17-122 | JED Sealy | WI | Eng | 1st | Bridgetown | 1929-30 |
17-129 | Fazl-e-Akbar | Pak | SA | 2nd | Durban | 1997-98 |
17-189 | CDUS Weerasinghe | SL | Ind | 2nd | Colombo PSS | 1985-86 |
17-193 | Maninder Singh | Ind | Pak | 2nd | Karachi NS | 1982-83 |
17-239 | ID Craig | Aus | SA | 5th | Melbourne | 1952-53 |
17-245 | GStA Sobers | WI | Eng | 5th | Kingston | 1953-54 |
17-265 | VL Mehra | Ind | NZ | 2nd | Bombay BS | 1955-56 |
17-265 | Harbhajan Singh | Ind | Aus | 3rd | Bangalore | 1997-98 |
17-300 | Hanif Mohammad | Pak | Ind | 1st | Delhi | 1952-53 |
17-341 | Intikhab Alam | Pak | Aus | 3rd | Karachi NS | 1959-60 |
17-364 | Waqar Younis | Pak | Ind | 1st | Karachi NS | 1989-90 |
- Rudi Koertzen was officiating in his 25th Test. He became firstumpire from South Africa and 30th in the world to stand in 25 or morematches. The other umpire Kevin Barbour was officiating in his secondmatch.
- Andy Flower (73) has now made atleast a fifty in last consecutiveseven innings. With this he equalled West Indian Everton Weekes’ worldrecord of most consecutive fifties which was set in 1947-48. Flower’sscores in his last seven innings have been : 65 (v NZ at Harare), 183*and 70 (v India at Delhi), 55 and 232* (v India at Nagpur), 79 (v NewZealand at Wellington)……and now 73. The following table gives detailsof players with most consecutive half-centuries :
Inns | Batsman | For | Scores | Series | Runs | Ave | ||||||
7 | EdeC Weekes | WI | 141 | 128 | 194 | 162 | 101 | 90 | 56 | 1947-48 to 1948-49 | 872 | 124.57 |
7 | A Flower | Zim | 65 | 183* | 70 | 55 | 232* | 79 | 73 | 2000-01 | 757 | 151.40 |
6 | J Ryder | Aus | 78* | 58 | 56 | 142 | 201* | 88 | 1921-22 to 1924-25 | 623 | 155.75 | |
6 | EH Hendren | Eng | 85 | 172 | 70 | 99 | 93 | 52 | 1929-30 | 577 | 115.40 | |
6 | GA Headley | WI | 80 | 65* | 76 | 51* | 50 | 56 | 1934-35 to 1938-39 | 680 | 136.00 | |
6 | A Melville | SA | 91 | 126 | 52 | 215 | 186 | 168 | 1938-39 to 1947 | 658 | 131.60 | |
6 | GStA Sobers | WI | 108 | 52 | 101 | 77 | 59 | 101* | 1957-58 | 783 | 195.75 | |
6 | ER Dexter | Eng | 63 | 132* | 101 | 94 | 126 | 76 | 1962 to 1962-63 | 571 | 95.17 | |
6 | KF Barrington | Eng | 76 | 118 | 110 | 50 | 242 | 103 | 1962-63 | 592 | 118.40 | |
6 | KD Walters | Aus | 77 | 205* | 56 | 123 | 61 | 55 | 1968-69 | 699 | 116.50 | |
6 | GS Chappell | Aus | 93 | 53 | 270* | 106 | 107 | 51 | 1975-76 to 1976-77 | 432 | 86.40 | |
6 | GR Viswanath | Ind | 68 | 54* | 52 | 70 | 121 | 67 | 1977-78 to 1978-79 | 499 | 83.17 | |
6 | Zaheer Abbas | Pak | 59 | 54 | 79 | 89 | 73 | 145 | 1982-83 | 838 | 139.67 | |
6 | AR Border | Aus | 67 | 78 | 103 | 189 | 104* | 117 | 1989 to 1989-90 | 378 | 94.50 | |
6 | MA Taylor | Aus | 52 | 52 | 80 | 365* | 125 | 109* | 1989-90 | 498 | 99.60 | |
6 | RS Dravid | Ind | 92 | 93 | 85 | 52 | 56 | 86 | 1997-98 | 464 | 77.33 | |
- Andy Blignaut, by returning the figures of 5 for 73 in firstinnings, now holds the record of best figures by a Zimbabwean in aninnings on debut. The previous record was on the name of Brian Murphywho took 3 for 32 against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1999-00(Though John Traicos finished with 5 for 86 against India inZimbabwe’s first ever Test, this was not his debut Test as he hadpreviously played in three Tests for South Africa in 1969-70)
- Blignaut’s match figures of 8 for 110 was the best by a debutantfor Zimbabwe bettering Bryan Strang’s 5 for 50 against Pakistan atBulawayo QC in 1994-95.
- The ninth wicket partnership of 56 runs between Murphy and Nkalawas the highest for Zimbabwe for this wicket at home soil. Thisobliterated the previous highest of 49 between Grant Flower and AndyWhittall against Pakistan at Bulawayo in 1997-98.
- The partnership was also the second best for Zimbabwe in allTestshome or awayafter the 87 run-partnership between Strangbrothers against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1996-97.
- Manjural Islam’s analysis of 6 for 81 is the best by a bowler inan innings for Bangldesh. He bettered Naimur Rahman’s six for 132against India at Dhaka. Interestingly both Rahman and Islam wereplaying their first Test.
- Javed Omar (85*) became first Bangladesh batsman to carry his batthrough the completed innings. He also became the 35th batsman in Testchronicles to perform this feat on 41st occasion.
- Omar also became only the second batsman to carry his bat in debutTest after Australia’s Jack Barrett who made 67* out of team’s totalof 176 against England at Lord’s in 1890.
- Omar’s contibution of 50.60 % in Bangladesh’s second innings wasthe second highest by any batsman against Zimbabwe. The record is heldby Pakistan’s Mohammad Wasim who contributed 54.24 % (192/354) infirst innings of Harare Test in 1997-98.
- Omar became first Bangladeshi and only the 18th batsman in Testannals to score a fifty in each innings on debut. The list includesfive West Indians -Bryan Davis, Frank de Caires, Jackie Grant, CliveLloyd and Sew Shivnarine, three Australians -Wick Darling,Bruce Lairdand Peter Toohey, three Englishmen -Tony Greig, Cyril Poole and PeterRichardson, three New Zealanders -Graham Dowling,Noel Harford andMervyn Wallace, two Indians -Dilawar Hussain and Sunil Gavaskar and aSouth African- Bruce Mitchell.In addition, seven batsmen have scoredhalf-centuries in their first two innings but not in debut Test. Theyare West Indians Sherwin Campbell, Desmond Haynes and Desmond Lewis,Australia’s Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting , England’s David Gowerand India’s Rahul Dravid (Kepler Wessels also scored two fifties inhis debut Test for South Africa after having appeared in 24 Tests forAustralia.
- The victory was second for Zimbabwe by an innings margin. Thefirst such instance took place in 1994-95 when Zimbabwe defeatedPakistan by an innings and 64 runs at Harare in January 1995.Overallit was the 247th occasion of a side winning a Test by innings margin.
