Zimbabwe on the slide

Andy Blignaut removes Akram Khan at Harare in 2001 © Cricinfo

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are cricket's new boys and, as such, have spent the last decade or so engaged in a personal battle at the bottom of the world Test and ODI rankings. The rivalry has seen a shift in power - whereas Zimbabwe, who got Test status in 1992, were initially the stronger, Bangladesh, who reached the top flight in 2001, have overtaken them, partly because of improvements in their side, partly because of the marked decline in Zimbabwe cricket as a whole.

The two sides first met in a full ODI in 1997-98 in Kenya, with Zimbabwe winning the two matches played at a canter, and it was a similar story a year later when the two clashed in the Meril International Cup in Bangladesh, although the second match was closer with Zimbabwe winning by three wickets in the final over.

In April 2001, the sides met for the first time on their own, but it was a familiar tale as hosts Zimbabwe romped to a 3-0 whitewash. Quite simply, Bangladesh were outgunned in the batting department and never scored enough runs to put pressure on an experienced Zimbabwean line-up. In the reverse series later that year, it was another 3-0 win to Zimbabwe.

Habibul Bashar celebrates after Bangladesh's victory in the decider at Dhaka in 2005 © AFP

The balance of power was shifting by the time they met again early in 2004. Zimbabwe were weeks away from a major player strike and had already lost several key players, including the Flower brothers. Bad weather washed out the opening two matches, and then Bangladesh recorded their first win over Zimbabwe with a dramatic eight-run victory. It was their first international success since being awarded Test status. Zimbabwe levelled the series in the second match, and then completed their comeback with a three-wicket win in the decider.

The chaos inside Zimbabwe was worsening when they travelled to Bangladesh in January 2005, but they appeared to put that behind them when they took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. But rows surfaced over the team selection and it was later claimed that the team's fitness was poor. Whatever the truth, Bangladesh looked the tighter unit and bounced back with three wins, the last in the decider being the most comprehensive of them all.

Recently, the sides have met frequently, mainly because it is easier for them to arrange series against each other than it is against the other Full Members. In August 2006, Bangladesh were odds-on favourites way even though Zimbabwe had home advantage. However, Zimbabwe rallied to turn in their best performances in several years and Bangladesh never really settled after Zimbabwe's excellent performance in the opening game in the five-match series. The outcome of the rubber turned on the third game when Brendan Taylor smacked 17 off the final over to guide Zimbabwe to a remarkable two-wicket win, and Zimbabwe went on to win the fourth match and with it the series 3-2.

Bangladesh bounced back when the sides met in the Champions Trophy in India in October 2006, and that form continued when the sides met at the end of 2006 in a series than in the end was woefully one-sided. Zimbabwe batted first four times, but only in the final game did they even look like winning as they bowling lacked the experience to exploit the conditions. Their new-ball attack in particular was dire, and the 5-0 loss extended their losing run to 12 ODIs.