Zimbabwe 'A' in Sri Lanka: Rain hit match ends in tame draw

Mother nature served us a gentle reminder at P. Sara Stadium in Colombo today - the wet season is coming to Sri Lanka and this series is likely to suffer. Critics will question the wisdom of holding the series during this traditionally wet period, realists will understand that international calendar is based on money and power, not meteorological patterns.

On a day that started late due to a monsoonal downpour in the morning and ended early when heavy rains and dark clouds enveloped the ground in the afternoon, Zimbabwe progressed to 105 for 4 in their second innings, after the BCCSL XI had declared on their overnight score of 284-7.

Despite a lead of 61 runs when they started, the Zimbabwean's were just starting to struggle against this strong BCCSL XI, when the rains came down. The Sri Lankan spinners could well have had the visitors six down if it were not for some unusually poor fielding. Two relatively simple catches were dropped, one off Gavin Rennie (48*) when he had made 42, and one off Daniel Peacock (4*) just before nature's intervention.

Nevertheless Zimbabwe didn't lose the match. Competitive throughout the match, they would have surprised many people in Sri Lanka by the positive manner in which they approached the game. They batted extremely well in the first innings and the spinners bowled creditably yesterday. Considering that the majority of the squad has little experience of sub-continental conditions, The Management will have been satisfied with the team's performance.

Two areas of concern though will be the accuracy of the pace bowlers and how the batsmen are going to play the spinners. The pace bowlers cannot afford to over pitch as much as they did yesterday and need to adjust their length. The ball is unlikely to swing a great deal in these conditions but it may well move off the wicket, especially if the ball consistently lands on the seam.

How the batsmen cope against the spinners may well decide the series. Whilst this is primarily a learning experience for the players, the batsmen must have a clear strategy when they go out bat. One felt today that a couple of the batsmen weren't quite sure how they were going to play the likes of Bandarathilake and Pushpakumara. Even Vermeulen (25) who had played the spinners excellently in the first innings will have been disappointed with his dismissal, swinging across the line when he had the option to pick runs playing straight.

A big plus point for the visitor's will undoubtedly be that Gavin Rennie scored some runs today. A key player for this side he will need to be at his best.

For the Sri Lankan's this match has been a wake-up call. The coach will have been very disappointed with certain aspects of their performance, especially the fielding and the carefree batting. One suspects that the squad had underestimated the Zimbabwean's before the start of this match. One can rest assured that they now know they have work a lot harder than they previously imagined.