A first for the Rose Bowl

The last of the round-robin matches in the NatWest Series, between South Africa and Zimbabwe, could well have been one of those dreadful dead-rubber events when one team has qualified for the final and the other is out of the tournament. It's often a case of going through the motions to honour the fixture list - but this one is not like that any more.

There are two reasons for the sudden change. One was the heavy defeat of South Africa by England at Edgbaston. If a margin of four wickets does not appear to be too wide a margin, the reality was that South Africa were fortunate to get as close as that, helped by two late wickets when the match was as good as over. The other factor that will result in this match being anything but a non-event is that Hampshire's Rose Bowl is staging international cricket for the first time. Throw in the fact that Zimbabwe always enjoy an opportunity to have a crack at their neighbours, and there is every reason to believe that nobody concerned will be going through the motions.

South Africa's captain Graeme Smith said before the Edgbaston game that he was hoping to inflict some mental scars before the final and the Test series to come. The first over, when he personally took 19 off James Anderson, showed that he meant business. However, any scars seemed to heal pretty quickly as Anderson came back to claim four wickets, and it was South Africa's confidence that ended the evening more disfigured.

Smith might have been hoping to rest some of his key players in Southampton, in advance of a final for which his team has already qualified, but now he will probably need to play them all in the hope that they can regain form and self-belief.

Paul Adams will be one of those hoping to get a chance to repair the Edgbaston damage. After the injury to Nicky Boje - a fractured tibia and ankle-ligament damage that will require surgery - Adams is the only specialist spinner available for selection at Lord's. But his 1 for 44 from six overs against England means there is plenty of room for improvement.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe can go into this match with no fear. They are expected to lose, but will not want to miss out on the opportunity to leave England with a decent result, to say nothing of being able to further bloody those South African noses. Zimbabwe's captain, Heath Streak, has striven manfully to make something of his understrength team throughout this tour, and he is sure to be welcomed back warmly to Hampshire, where he played a few years ago.

The Rose Bowl deserves a proper contest as it makes its first appearance on the international scene. To move away from cosy little Northlands Road, Hampshire had to make a great leap of faith, utilise tremendous imagination, and pour in vast amounts of money and resources. This match represents the first repayment on that vision. The venue has made an important improvement to the infrastructure of English cricket, and if a near-capacity crowd can inspire Zimbabwe to inflict another defeat on South Africa prior to the Lord's final, they could be doing even more for the health of the English game.

South Africa (probable) 1 Herschelle Gibbs, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Jacques Rudolph, 5 Martin van Jaarsveld, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Paul Adams, 10 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Zimbabwe 1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Grant Flower, 3 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 4 Tatentda Taibu (wk) 5 Richard Sims, 6 Travis Friend, 7 Heath Streak (capt), 8 Andy Blignaut, 9 Sean Ervine, 10 Raymond Price, 11 Douglas Hondo.