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So after the rumoured selection wrangles of recent days, Zimbabwe took to the field in the second SuperSport Challenge match minus two of their strongest players, with Sean Williams and Gary Brent both missing out. After losing the toss and being out into bat, Zimbabwe soon reverted to their old ways, collapsing to a miserable first innings total of just 89, with Jandre Coetzee (4/19) doing most of the damage. Chigumbura (35) and Taibu (20) were the only two Zimbabweans to reach double figures, on a morning where the only consolation for the side was that England were suffering even more against Sri Lanka.

Come the Composite XI innings, early indications were that the pitch was playing a large part in the batsmens' woes, as the home side were soon at 3/19. As the afternoon wore on, though, Wayne Madsen (56*) and Alan Kruger (37) dug in their heels, and Composite eventually finished the day on 157/7 - not a great score under normal circumstances, but still a 68-run lead. Elton Chigumbura (2/48) and Prosper Utseya (2/24) were the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers as far as wickets went, with the rest of the attack doing a decent job of controlling the scoring.

You have to say, though, that Zimbabwe are in a deep hole of their own making in this match - this isn't the strongest side that could have been fielded from the available squad, and while one more batsman probably wouldn't have made much of a difference overall, the absence of Williams is particularly baffling, as he has the highest first class average of anyone currently in the squad.

Tomorrow's task will be to bring the Composite XI innings to an end as quickly as possible, before digging in and playing as cautiously as possible in the 2nd innings. A win is probably out of the question, but with some careful play a draw could still be salvaged - but Zim will have to play to their full potential to achieve even that.
Zimbabwe 89 (Chigumbura 35, Coetzee 4/19), SA Composite XI 157/7 (Madsen 56*, Utseya 2/24).