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THE TROPHY IS MINE . . . Zimbabwe limited overs skipper Elton Chigumbura (right) and his Bangladesh counterpart, Mashrafe Mortaza, pose for a photo with the ODI trophy that their teams will fight for — AFP

CHITTAGONG. — Zimbabwe start the One-Day International series against Bangladesh today having little in confidence after a bruising 0-3 whitewash in the Test leg of the tour. Add to that a demoralising 88-run loss in the warm-up game against a Bangladesh Board XI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.

That will also be the venue for the first two of the five ODI matches.
Doubtless, spin will be the method of operation for the hosts in conditions that traditionally favour pace off the ball, and how Zimbabwe handle this threat will determine the outcome for them.

Coming up with the right personnel to take to the field will inevitably dominate the discourse inside the visitors change-room, mindful of the stubborn truth that there are players who are not succeeding in their main disciplines — the batting department being the most culpable.

There still lacks a stable opening combination that can weather the initial onslaught and send positive signals back to the change-room.
Sikandar Raza Butt’s “live by the sword and die by the sword” aggressive approach, when he opens, has had its pros and cons.

Each time he marks centre, Raza’s natural instinct is to take the attack to the opposition, and it looks good up to the point he gets into the 30s and 40s until he decides to go for one shot too many and needlessly gets himself out.

However, it is difficult to drop Raza because his 30-odd runs are actually more than what anyone else in the line-up, other than Hamilton Masakadza, is offering.

Zimbabwe then has to be content with his “throw caution to the wind” style of batting.
The challenge is who opens with Raza.
In an ideal world, Vusimuzi Sibanda is the man.

But, for all his talent, Sibanda has poor shot selection and fails eight times out of 10.
Zimbabwe is struggling to find natural openers, meaning that each time the new player in the team is handed the responsibility, it almost always sets him up for failure.

Brian Chari is the latest case in point.
Given Regis Chakabva’s recent Test form, the temptation is to turn to him for that opener’s slot.
In any event, he seems to be the most plausible option strictly at the level of competence against the threat of spin, and just generally hunger to succeed in any given situation.

This move will protect Hamilton Masakadza, who in many ways, is the run-machine of the team, to come in at three and play the anchor role.
Masakadza has also shown good form during this tour, plus a refreshing level of responsibility not only for the fortunes of the team but for the pride of the nation at large.

In all frankness, the same cannot be said about Brendan Taylor, who seems to have a lot on his mind when he comes out to bat.
His talent is undoubted, and perhaps the pressure of not having any meaningful contributions in recent times will motivate Taylor to deliver the goods during the ODI series.

Plus, of course, he will not have the burden of captaincy, for that will be assumed by Elton Chigumbura for the ODI matches.
A lot has been said about Craig Ervine’s middle-order prowess but since his return to the side, it is yet to be seen.
Ervine has been getting starts but failing to convert thereby exposing the brittle Zimbabwe tail.

As for the rest of the batting line-up, there is Timycen Maruma, Chigumbura, Solomon Mire and Richmond Mutumbami to choose from.
Chigumbura is an impact player with both bat and ball, and has to be consistently put in positions where he can influence the outcome of a match.
Batting him at six is ill-advised, unless if it is after the 30th over of the innings. It is unfair to expect Chigumbura to come in and construct an innings because his style of play dictates that every delivery bowled to him should find the fence.

He is at his best when he bats unburdened by how much time is left in the game. In the absence of Prosper Utseya, John Nyumbu will have to take the lead role in the spin department, together with Tafadzwa Kamungozi if the selectors do decide to go the two-spinners route.

The seam department will have to call on the reliability of Tinashe Panyangara and the perseverance of Tendai Chatara, assisted by the young and untapped Neville Madziva. Solomon Mire is another interesting addition to the lot, as his success on the Australian domestic circuit has warranted his consideration. Mire can hit the ball far and could come in handy at the back-end of the innings. His seamers are not the worst either. — zimcricket.org