In a pleasant match, played from Zimbabwe’s viewpoint against the backdropof the country’s crucial elections, the touring team beat Somerset atTaunton by 21 runs with eight balls to spare

John Ward25-Jun-2000In a pleasant match, played from Zimbabwe’s viewpoint against the backdropof the country’s crucial elections, the touring team beat Somerset atTaunton by 21 runs with eight balls to spare. The weather was pleasant,although the ground was never quite half full, and the match was competitiveuntil the last four overs.Some sub-standard fielding showed that Zimbabwe’s thoughts may havebeen centred elsewhere, but a century from Neil Johnson and successfulbowling by Gary Brent and acting captain Heath Streak were enough to seethem home against a Somerset team missing, like so many county teams againsttourists, several key players. These included Test bowler Andy Caddick andcaptain Jamie Cox, with Marcus Trescothick taking over the captaincy.On a bright, fresh morning the Zimbabweans won the toss and decided tobat on one of Taunton’s traditionally good batting pitches with a fastoutfield. Both teams turned out fully clad in their gaily-coloured pyjamas,but the ground at the start was less than a quarter full.Craig Wishart opened with Johnson, the latter surviving a good lbwappeal by Graham Rose off the first ball of the match but quickly producinga classic off-drive to the boundary off Jamie Grove, followed by anotherthat left cover standing in Grove’s next over. Opposing bowlers should knowby now about Johnson’s preferences, but so many still take a while to learnwhere to avoid putting the ball. Wishart had a narrow escape on 4 when afirm chance to short extra cover went down.Johnson held centre stage, hitting ten fours in his fifty, which cameoff 62 balls. The opening pair put on 81 together before Wishart (18),trying to swing Ian Blackwell away to leg, only succeeded in lobbing a catchto Keith Parsons deepish at square leg.As he often does around this stage of his innings, Johnson slowed downafter his fifty and was overshadowed by Stuart Carlisle, who playedsome good drives and pulls. He was out for 40 to an extraordinary catch byBlackwell at long-on. A powerful on-drive looked like a six all the way,but Blackwell reached up and caught it left-handed, saved by the boundaryboard from falling over backwards. Had there been a rope instead thebatsmen would have been credited with a six. Zimbabwe were 154 for two inthe 34th over.Alistair Campbell was dropped at the wicket before getting off the markwith a leg tickle for four off Blackwell, followed by a drive to theextra-cover boundary. Both batsmen kept the score moving well, althoughsweepers now hampered Johnson’s off-side driving. The 200 came up in the43rd over. Johnson reached his century with a degree of fortune, AdrianPierson missing a difficult return catch which went through to mid-off for asingle. It took him 134 balls, but his second fifty contained only threefours compared to the ten of his first. He fell on 101, though, a loftedoff-drive off Peter Trego that was well caught low down running in atlong-off by Mark Lathwell. Zimbabwe were 222 for three in the 47th over.Murray Goodwin scored 5 before being bowled by a fine leg-stump yorkerfrom Trescothick, with the score on 232 for four. Campbell, concentratingon hitting straight, began to look more convincing and finished unbeaten on45, with Guy Whittall on 6, at the end of the innings. The total was 248for five, not a bad score but again Zimbabwe did not show the ability toscore heavily off their last few overs.Greg Kennis and Trescothick opened the batting for Somerset, the firstcautiously watchful, the second occasionally explosive. Trescothick beganby driving Johnson powerfully through the covers for four, and two overslater took two further fours on the leg side. After a quiet period he moveddown the pitch to the medium-fast Mluleki Nkala and carved him over thecovers for four. The bowler quickly gained revenge, though, with awell-disguised slower ball that had the batsman moving across his stumps andtrapped lbw for 25; Somerset 44 for one.Kennis and Piran Holloway batted well together and Somerset were makinga good challenge when the total reached 78 for one in the 17th over. ThenStreak struck, moving a ball in to Kennis (27) and having him dismissed lbwplaying forward.Mark Lathwell (13) batted usefully without really getting into hisstride, and he was out to a smart high catch at short extra cover by PaulStrang off Gary Brent. Somerset were 104 for three in the 25th over.Parsons (1) followed only two runs later, hitting across the line to afull-pitched ball from Brent and becoming another lbw victim.Michael Burns was quickly in his stride, driving Paul Strang wide ofmid-on for a classy four, while Piran Holloway became obsessed with thesweep, sometimes bringing good runs but at others clearly flirting withdanger, as he was on several other occasions backing up eagerly at thebowler’s end. The pair settled into a good brisk partnership but thescoring rate was gradually rising all the time towards eight runs an over.Holloway (55) finally drove Dirk Viljoen straight into the hands ofNeil Johnson at long-on; Somerset 177 for five in the 42nd over. Momentslater Burns on 37 was dropped, a difficult chance, near the square-legboundary. He celebrated with a powerful straight six into the sightscreento bring up his fifty, reached off 59 balls. Ian Blackwell (8) played acouple of powerful hits and it was still just possible that a bigpartnership by these two might have clinched the match for Somerset, but heskied Paul Strang towards mid-off where the bowler took the catch; 203 forsix in the 45th over. Still, with Graham Rose coming in, all was not lost.Burns played three successive good reverse sweeps off Strang for atotal of eight runs, but his fine innings eventually came to an end at 68when, deceived by a good slower ball from Brent, he hit across the line andwas bowled. Somerset were 220 for seven at the end of the 46th over. 29runs were needed in four overs.The decisive ball was the next one, as Streak returned and immediatelyyorked Rose (1) with a fine delivery. The two new batsmen Pierson and Tregowere never capable of making a challenge. Trego (3) fell lbw to Brent,trying to slog him to leg; 224 for nine. Streak wrapped up the innings at227 with another fine yorker, uprooting Grove’s off stump before he hadscored, with Pierson not out on 3. Brent returned the best Zimbabweanbowling figures, with four wickets for 36 runs off his ten overs.