Weary Bangladesh arrive in Harare

Bangladesh finally reached Harare on Thursday afternoon, at the end of a tiring journey from Dhaka via Doha and Johannesburg. They will play four ODIs during their 11-day stay, all at Harare Sports Club, although persistent rain throughout the last week has already raised concerns over the first match on Sunday.

"It was a long and tiring journey here and irritating to say the least with the loss of luggage," said Bangladesh coach David Whatmore. "But it won't take long to get ourselves ready for the series. We need to consolidate our advantage."

Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe's captain, was confident that his young side could upset Bangladesh. "Morale in the camp is soaring. All the players are raring to go. We are out to do well, and if the sky holds we want to do just that," he old a Zimbabwean website. "Our preparations have gone on pretty well and I am optimistic that the boys will deliver the goods. All it takes is for the top order to click like it did in the first game against South Africa A where Elton Chigumbura batted through our innings and senior players Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza chipped in with some worthwhile knocks.

"Also, the playing conditions are on our side so all we need to do is pull in one direction as a team, stick to the basics and take our chances when they come," he added. "The other thing that might just work in our favour is that we have retained the same team that beat Bangladesh 3-2 at the same venue last year."