South Africa and Australia in Zimbabwe 2014

[al Furqaan]

As our nearest rivals, it will be interesting to see how Zimbabwe fares in this big series. Currently, they are comfortably ahead of us by 19 points in the ICC Test rankings (40 to 21) and within striking distance in ODIs (57 to 72). With a full series between our boys and Zimbabwe looming, we want the Zimmers to give a strong account of themselves.

Zimbabwe will be disappointed, having been in a position to whitewash the visiting Afghans in a ODI series, and only coming away with a 2-2 draw. However, one gets the feeling the management and captain entertained a bit too much experimentation with the lineup and in-game strategy in order to push one of the leading Associates aside easily. The four-day series was also drawn 1-1, giving the Afghans much to cheer about in their first tour of a Test nation.

Test match

South Africa have promised a serious contest by naming a full strength side for the one-off Test in Harare. Having just regained the #1 rank, there will be no complacency from the Proteus, as a slip up against Zimbabwe will have disastrous consequences on their ranking and momentum.

Zimbabwe have a few injury and form issues to be worried about. At the top of the order, it is uncertain whether experienced opener, Vusi Sibanda, will retain his place. He could be replaced with Pakistani import, Sikandar Raza, or veteran pyrotechnic (and Test centurion) Mark Vermeulen. Each player offers something to make the management really think about who to pick. Sibanda offers solid technique and the ability to play peerless drives down the field. Raza offers class and Vermeulen provides experience as a throwback to a different era. The middle order is stable and undoubtedly Zimabwe's strength. Hamilton Masakadza, Brenden Taylor, and Sean Williams comprise the meat of the batting. This trio needs to produce a minimum of 200 runs per innings in every game.

The bowling units offers the most depth. Even with the loss of pace spearhead Kyle Jarvis, Zimbabwe have managed to produce a bowling corp strong enough to knock off Pakistan. Tendai Chatara will lead the way and a solid showing should catapult him past the status of Jarvis, if he isn't there already. He is a solid bowler who has shown the ability to out-think batsmen. Shingi Masakadza and Tinashe Panyangara also provide consistent seam options for Taylor. The spin department lacks bite with the benign Prosper Utseya most likely to toss some gentle off breaks to curb the run rate. Sean Williams' part time left arm spin is likely to cause more problems for the Proteus.

South Africa are solid on all fronts. If there is one area of potential weakness it will be in JP Duminy who seems to be out of form. The pace attack is probably the best in the world, with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel capable of blasting any batsman out with sheer pace. The spin departement is also an area of relative weak point with Imran Tahir set to start.

A South African win is essentially a foregone conclusion given the potency of their bowling attack and the fragile Zimbabwe batting lineup. However, Zimbabwe have shown impressive mettle in all the home tests they've played so far. It is not out of the realm of possibility for them to stretch the match to some part of a fifth day. On the other hand, South Africa will relish the rare chance of finishing a Test match off inside two days.