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The West Indian tour of the next closest nation to Bangladesh - Zimbabwe - did not go as well as it perhaps should have considering that Zimbabwe's star batsman, Andy Flower, was unavailable due to an injury sustained against India in the previous month.
West Indies won the first Test convincingly by an innings and 176 runs in four days and always looked in control. However, the second Test was a different story. They started in control and at the end of the second day Zimbabwe was 189 runs in arrears with nine second-innings wickets in hand.
The Third day belonged to a 17-year-old debutant Masakadza. Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, Zimbabwe was able to bat for nearly two straight days to record their highest total at Harare of 9 declared for 563 runs. This left West Indies the task of equalling their highest ever final innings run chase of 348 to win.
Considering the West Indian form over the last two years, one would suggest they would fail to hold out for the draw, and the win was somewhat less than unlikely. Rain was their best chance and their prayers were answered on the final day with less than two hours being played.
Zimbabwe could feel rightfully robbed in the same way that they had England on toast 12 months ago when the rain again denied them the chance of adding to their handful of Test victories. However, on the bright side, they may well have discovered a batsman of some class to bolster the order. The fact that he is a young black person may help to improve the game's image and popularity in the years ahead.
During their home season Zimbabwe has played six Tests for three wins, a draw and two losses. In doing so they have rehabilitated their rating from its lowest point in history (910) to 923 points. They remain a long way behind Sri Lanka with little hope of bridging the 50-point gap in the short term.
Despite gaining three ratings points from this series, the West Indians remain at historically low ebb. Their rating is equivalent to that held in the mid 1950s. While the graph below shows an upward trend following the devastation inflicted by Australia, their next mission is to return to South Africa for a five Test series. That series will mark the four-year anniversary of the cataclysm that announced to the world that West Indian cricket was in deep trouble.
The latest Test cricket ratings are: 1 Australia (1185); 2 South Africa (1144); 3 England (1058); 4 Pakistan (1049); 5 West Indies (1033); 6 India (1025); 7 New Zealand (992); 8 Sri Lanka (973); 9 Zimbabwe (923); 10 Bangladesh (806 - provisional).
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