Coach Mangongo wary of Bangladesh threat

On a safari in Zimbabwe, your eyes will be spoiled for choice. You could stare at the sunshine splashed across a sparkling blue sky, the selection of strong trees including the Baobab, Musasa and Mopane or - and this is likely to be what you will want to spot the most- the big five.

But for all the splendid sightings, there are some things you will likely never see in the southern African country. Snow, for example has only fallen once, in 1960, and the sea is a few hundred kilometres away.

Similarly, for all their rich fauna, Zimbabweans are unfamiliar with tigers. It is one of the reasons why the coach Stephen Mangongo is so wary ahead of Zimbabwe's series against Bangladesh. "They are called the tigers, which is a tough animal; you mess around with a tiger, it kills you. We have to respect tigers, especially in their own forest," he said.

It's actually not the tigers themselves that Zimbabwe are worried about, but the tigers' territory. Bangladesh is the only team against whom Zimbabwe have won more Tests than they have lost and the only one they have come close to dancing toe-to-toe with in ODIs.

But Zimbabwe are poor travelers. They have not been away from home for a full tour in more than 18 months, and they are without what is considered an essential on a trip to the sub-continent - a stand-out spinner. That title would have gone to Prosper Utseya but the offspinner has been banned from bowling because his action was found to be illegal and Zimbabwe have been left with a clutch of youngsters who have will have to plug the gap.

Utseya has 193 international caps, while John Nyumbu, Natsai M'shangwe, Tafadzwa Kamungozi and Wellington Masakadza have 26 in total between them. However, their collective range of skills could arguably prove more useful because of the variations the players offer. Nyumbu, who can turn the ball more than Utseya, is expected to do the regular offspin job. Wellington provides a left-arm option, while Kamungozi and M'shangwe are both leg-spinners, who will add to Zimbabwe's ability to attack.

They have so far shared five wickets between them in the ongoing match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI with M'shangwe, in particular, impressing by taking four of those scalps.

Still, Mangongo is cautious about using M'shangwe in the Tests, because of Bangladesh's familiarity with his bowling style. "Legspin is a very difficult art. You need to train, get confident, understand the environment. We don't want to expose him too early, that can do damage," he said. "We don't want to rush M'shangwe. We want to take a little bit of time, so that he doesn't panic on the international stage. We don't want him to take too much load but all these spinners have an equal chance of playing."

All indications are Wellington will make his debut after Mangongo cited the player's familiarity with the conditions in Bangladesh. Wellington was part of the Zimbabwe Under-19 World Cup squad that played in the UAE and he also travelled with the A team to Bangladesh earlier this month, where he was their highest wicket-taker.

If all of Wellington, Shingi and Hamilton Masakadza play, Zimbabwe will have three brothers in their XI, but Mangongo indicated that this was unlikely to happen. "It is good that the Masakadzas have created a piece of history by being in the squad, but they have to work very hard to be in the team. Hamilton is one of the key players but I am not sure if the other two brothers will make it. We will see after final days of training."

Shingi is particularly doubtful to play the first Test as he is still taking part in the ongoing tour match, in which Zimbabwe left out their frontline seamers, Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara. "We were resting our fast bowlers. One week before we came to Bangladesh, they played a game so we wanted them to rest and recover," Mangongo explained. "We played the other two, Shingi and Elton Chigumbura."

The tour match will end on Wednesday, which leaves Zimbabwe with two days to get ready for the first Test and Mangongo does not want to place high expectations on his men. This is Zimbabwe's first three-Test series in 12 years and only their third trip away from home since their Test comeback three years ago.

"We think we are a developing team. We believe we need work hard in all three departments for us to be able to progress."