Zimbabwe hope to surprise familiar foe

Bangladesh have dominated series against Zimbabwe over the past few years but captain Prosper Utseya hopes to reverse that trend in the upcoming five-ODI series starting October 27 in Mirpur.

"We will probably start as the underdogs," Utseya said after reaching Dhaka on Wednesday night. "But there are a few new faces and some of the players have shown good form recently. We will give it our best and try and put pressure on Bangladesh."

Zimbabwe have won only four of their previous 20 matches against Bangladesh. The two teams have already played two bilateral series in 2009, Bangladesh winning both - the most recent 4-1 three months ago in Zimbabwe. Utseya's team, though, are brimming with confidence after an emphatic 4-1 series win of their own over Kenya.

"We have done pretty well against Kenya at home before coming here and hope to carry the momentum into the matches against Bangladesh," Utseya said. "We are targeting an improved performance."

Bangladesh's array of spinners proved to be the difference in the series in August. Utseya acknowledged they would be even more of a threat on helpful subcontinental tracks but hoped his batsman would fare better with the added experience against Bangladesh's slow bowlers. He also felt his bowlers would benefit from the presence of Heath Streak in the coaching staff.

Zimbabwe play the first of their two warm-up matches against a BCB XI in Fatullah on Friday. The second is on October 25.