Brian Murphy: Interrupted Reign

Zimbabwe captain Brian Murphy is back home at present, recovering from a broken bone in his hand. He hopes to be fit in time for the Test series in Sri Lanka, starting on 27 December. He talks to John Ward about his experiences at the helm so far.

I first heard that I was to captain the side the day before we went to Sharjah! I don't know Heath Streak's full reasons for resigning, but since I had been appointed vice-captain for the tour I was asked to be captain. Dave Houghton came and asked me, and I just took it as an opportunity to do something for the country, and decided to go with it from there.

It was quite unexpected; the vice-captaincy was unexpected. But basically I think the team will do well to change its fortunes, and Heath resigning has given me the opportunity to try to make something happen for them.

I thought our preparations for the tour were very good. We had some good net sessions and worked out a team value structure and our goals for the next year and a half, leading up to the World Cup. In the Sharjah tournament we were playing against two very good one-day teams in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We didn't play nearly as well as we should have done.

When you get put in a captaincy role, it's a very demanding position, because you have to look at different aspects and you can never stop and relax for a minute. So, all of a sudden, from being a player to being a captain is very different. You have to be thinking all the time and making sure all your team are on your side and working together, and trying to sort out the strategy for the game.

The senior players have been very good to me; they have supported me so far, which is good, and I hope it continues. Geoff Marsh has also been very good to me. He's come from coaching a really great team, the Australian team, and he's got the processes and the attitudes that go with a winning side. So it just means he has to put the structures in place so we can work through those processes as a team, and that made my job a lot easier. His being there as a very strong individual helped me deal with the main issues and he dealt with the small issues which he felt I didn't need at that time. It's a challenging position being captain and there is also the fact that I had been away from cricket for three months. He helped a great deal from that aspect.

The tournament at Sharjah is very well run and the organizers kept all the aspects covered. We had good practice facilities and the hotels were good places to stay in. There was a good relaxed atmosphere at the tournament, although it was tough cricket; we were playing against good players.

I had a few television interviews to do. The first one was before we had played a game, so I tried to keep it as brief as possible. Once you've got something to talk about, once you have played a game, you can relate the events of the game and say what happened and why. I found that much easier to do than the first interview, because I could just relax and speak about the game.

The anti-corruption unit was there in full force, because they say Sharjah has been a hot spot for match-fixing, so security was really tight. All the phone calls were screened, and so on. I don't think the situation in Afghanistan had much effect on that; I think it was mainly to try and eradicate any match-fixing. That was the most important item on their agenda.

I think our bowlers did a reasonable job at this tournament. We didn't have any really high scores against us except for 279 by Pakistan in the second game. The targets were reasonable to chase, especially on that wicket. But the evening session, especially with the lights, made batting a little bit tricky because the ball was skidding on a bit more, and it helped the bowlers a lot more then.

I thought our batsmen let us down through the tournament because we weren't able to get the scores we needed. 193 against Sri Lanka chasing 256, and then 171 and 232. We just weren't able to capitalize on partnerships that were built and we lost quick wickets, and then everything just fell apart. There were partnerships up front at most stages, but we weren't able to take it through. One of the in batsmen got out and then everything fell apart.

But I thought our bowlers did a reasonable job, although we could have put a little bit more pressure on them when wickets fell. We also bowled some loose deliveries that were scored off in the middle of a spell, and we could never really string together overs where they were going at three an over or less for a reasonable period. We did it for threeor four-over spells, but if you get a team under pressure you have to keep them under pressure, build it up so you get the wickets, especially in the one-day game.

Wasim Akram was our most dangerous opponent. In our last game he was brilliant. He took three wickets for 19 and changed the course of the game because Andrew and Grant [Flower] had built a really good partnership. Wasim came back for a two-over spell and got rid of Andrew, and straight after that he got rid of Dion [Ebrahim]. That was the turning point. We needed to go at five an over at that stage and were will within reach of winning that game. He changed the course of the game; he was really sharp that day, as he was throughout the tournament. He was the star.

I thought Doug Marillier had a good tournament. He continued his form with the ball from the England series and made some good scores, including a fifty against Sri Lanka. He also bowled well and got wickets throughout his spell.

Sean Ervine had a good series; I think he's a cricketer for the future especially. He's got that quiet confidence about him. I think he will work hard to improve on his ability.

I thought Heath [Streak] bowled well throughout the tournament. He was always good up front, always got wickets early on, and towards the later part of the game when we needed a breakthrough, he got it for us.

Travis Friend had a reasonable tournament. I think he'll be a good new-ball bowler in the future. He's on his way to sorting out his game, which is very good for Zimbabwe. I think he's going to serve the country well in the future.

My own bowling did not go very well. I hadn't played for three months and these were my first four games back. I'm working on a few things from a technical point of view after my time with Terry Jenner, and it's always challenging to do that while I'm playing a game.

I made some runs but the game was over then and I just tried to bat. No substitute for middle practice, though!

We had three days off in Sharjah after we finished the fourth game, and that was really relaxing. We worked hard during that time, but found time to relax. We got to see Dubai, which is really a fantastic place. Then we flew to Dhaka, and it was again back in the nets and training pretty hard.

I thought our build-up to the Test match was reasonable. The practice facilities weren't as good as those in Sharjah. There was quite a lot of rain around for two days leading into the first Test match, so the wicket was a bit damp on the surface and the overhead conditions were conducive to swing bowling, so we were lucky to win the toss and get them batting.

I thought we bowled well; we put the ball in the right place often enough and their batsmen had a bit of trouble with the sideways movement and also the extra bounce that Travis Friend got. The three seamers bowled very well: Henry [Olonga] got three wickets, Travis got five and Heath got two.

We whipped them out for 107, but at one stage our batting had a minor collapse up front. We were 89 for five, but the turning point in the game was the partnership between Doug Marillier and Craig Wishart. Craig was really good, and he continued his form through the tour. I think it's good for him and the team for him to get his momentum going into the Sri Lanka series. We need it to play Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, as they're a pretty well-organized unit and they have Muralitharan and Vaas in their bowling attack.

But we couldn't do anything about the weather at Dhaka, and I think we got ourselves into a pretty good position to win that Test match. Those last two days it rained all the time.

I injured my hand in the nets before the third day's play, in the nets. Henry Olonga was bowling, and he bowled a short ball and unfortunately I didn't get out of the way and it hit my hand. It was one of those things that happen, and it was unfortunate because you don't wish it on anyone, especially if you're the one it happens to! That's the way it is.

It was diagnosed that evening after the Test match, and I had to wait two more days while it rained before I left for home, when the team left for Chittagong. I'd like to be ready for the Tests in Sri Lanka. As far as I'm aware this type of injury takes six weeks to heal, but if I can get back earlier I'd really love to.

This is an interesting time for Zimbabwean cricket. It would be good for the team to perform as a team, to work together and go forward with set plans and goals in mind, and really work hard to achieve those goals. I think there's enough talent to get enough players performing at a good international standard. We want to be ready for the World Cup.

It's not unrealistic to say we've got a good chance of getting into the finals and winning the World Cup. It just means we have to put in a lot of hard work at the moment to prepare ourselves well for that. Anything is possible in one-day cricket and we proved it at the last World Cup. Once we get into the Super Sixes anyone can win. Australia won the last World Cup from a position of having to win all their last seven games to win it.

It means we have to be performing as a team and making sure that when the pressure is really on we can rely on our team-mates. We take it from there.