1st Test, Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh, Statistical Highlights

It was the 1543rd Test match in cricket history

Rajneesh Gupta25-Apr-2001

• It was the 1543rd Test match in cricket history.
• It was Zimbabwe’s 49th and Bangladesh’s second Test match.
• It was the first ever Test between these two sides. Zimbabwe
  became second country after India to play against all other Test
  playing countries.

• Seven players were making their Test debut in this match- Andy
  Blignaut, Dion Ebrahim and Brighton Watambwa for Zimbabwe and Javed
  Omar, Manjural Islam, Mohammed Sharif and Mushfiqur Rahman for
  Bangladesh.

• At 15 years 128 days Mohammed Sharif became the third youngest
  player to play in Test cricket after Pakistan’s Hasan Raza (14 years
  227 days) and Mushtaq Mohammad (15 years 124 days). The accompanying
  table lists the youngest Test debutants. Incidentally Bikash Das at 18
  years 119 days (v India at Dhaka in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test) was
  the previous record holder for being the youngest debutant for
  Bangladesh.

• Rudi Koertzen was officiating in his 25th Test. He became first
  umpire from South Africa and 30th in the world to stand in 25 or more
  matches. The other umpire Kevin Barbour was officiating in his second
  match.

• Andy Flower (73) has now made atleast a fifty in last consecutive
  seven innings. With this he equalled West Indian Everton Weekes’ world
  record of most consecutive fifties which was set in 1947-48. Flower’s
  scores in his last seven innings have been : 65 (v NZ at Harare), 183*
  and 70 (v India at Delhi), 55 and 232* (v India at Nagpur), 79 (v New
  Zealand at Wellington)……and now 73. The following table gives details
  of players with most consecutive half-centuries :

• Andy Blignaut, by returning the figures of 5 for 73 in first
  innings, now holds the record of best figures by a Zimbabwean in an
  innings on debut. The previous record was on the name of Brian Murphy
  who took 3 for 32 against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1999-00
  (Though John Traicos finished with 5 for 86 against India in
  Zimbabwe’s first ever Test, this was not his debut Test as he had
  previously played in three Tests for South Africa in 1969-70)

• Blignaut’s match figures of 8 for 110 was the best by a debutant
  for Zimbabwe bettering Bryan Strang’s 5 for 50 against Pakistan at
  Bulawayo QC in 1994-95.

• The ninth wicket partnership of 56 runs between Murphy and Nkala
  was the highest for Zimbabwe for this wicket at home soil. This
  obliterated the previous highest of 49 between Grant Flower and Andy
  Whittall against Pakistan at Bulawayo in 1997-98.

• The partnership was also the second best for Zimbabwe in all
  Testshome or awayafter the 87 run-partnership between Strang
  brothers against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in 1996-97.

• Manjural Islam’s analysis of 6 for 81 is the best by a bowler in
  an innings for Bangldesh. He bettered Naimur Rahman’s six for 132
  against India at Dhaka. Interestingly both Rahman and Islam were
  playing their first Test.

• Javed Omar (85*) became first Bangladesh batsman to carry his bat
  through the completed innings. He also became the 35th batsman in Test
  chronicles to perform this feat on 41st occasion.

• Omar also became only the second batsman to carry his bat in debut
  Test after Australia’s Jack Barrett who made 67* out of team’s total
  of 176 against England at Lord’s in 1890.

• Omar’s contibution of 50.60 % in Bangladesh’s second innings was
  the second highest by any batsman against Zimbabwe. The record is held
  by Pakistan’s Mohammad Wasim who contributed 54.24 % (192/354) in
  first innings of Harare Test in 1997-98.

• Omar became first Bangladeshi and only the 18th batsman in Test
  annals to score a fifty in each innings on debut. The list includes
  five West Indians -Bryan Davis, Frank de Caires, Jackie Grant, Clive
  Lloyd and Sew Shivnarine, three Australians -Wick Darling,Bruce Laird
  and Peter Toohey, three Englishmen -Tony Greig, Cyril Poole and Peter
  Richardson, three New Zealanders -Graham Dowling,Noel Harford and
  Mervyn Wallace, two Indians -Dilawar Hussain and Sunil Gavaskar and a
  South African- Bruce Mitchell.In addition, seven batsmen have scored
  half-centuries in their first two innings but not in debut Test. They
  are West Indians Sherwin Campbell, Desmond Haynes and Desmond Lewis,
  Australia’s Darren Lehmann and Ricky Ponting , England’s David Gower
  and India’s Rahul Dravid (Kepler Wessels also scored two fifties in
  his debut Test for South Africa after having appeared in 24 Tests for
  Australia.

• The victory was second for Zimbabwe by an innings margin. The
  first such instance took place in 1994-95 when Zimbabwe defeated
  Pakistan by an innings and 64 runs at Harare in January 1995.Overall
  it was the 247th occasion of a side winning a Test by innings margin.