1st Test	Zimbabwe	v	Bangladesh
Pre-rating	539.6		607.6
Form	-17.9		-9.4
Expected Margin	Zimbabwe by 16 runs
Actual Margin	Zimbabwe by 335 runs
Post-rating	554.9		598.9

In many sports, as you mature as a player, you realise that the way to win is not to beat them, but to let them beat themselves. And vice versa. Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh two years ago by grinding them down - they played a competitive match against Pakistan doing the same. Led by Brendan Taylor's 171 (324) and 102* (146) they worked up a competitive but not great score. They lacked that bowling on the second day, conceding 1/95 off 25 overs. But Jarvis 4/40 and Masakadza 4/32 destroyed Bangladesh on the third morning, taking a scarcely credible 9/32. From there, notwithstanding concerns about Bangladesh's recent batting efforts, a win was inevitable. Bangladesh again failed to produce even a half-way respectable total. They are better than that, even in unfamiliar conditions, and need to find a workable approach in the few days available to them. For Zimbabwe, a welcome win after successive slips in their ranking, and a very comprehensive one that wil give them a lot of confidence.

I-Cup Match	Namibia	v	Netherlands
Pre-rating	425. 3		206.9
Form	+30.1		-2.0
Expected Margin	Namibia by 109 runs
Actual Margin	Namibia by 82 runs
Post-rating	423.8		208.7

A evenly poised match throughout, only, finally, going the way of the home side when Tom Cooper was dismissed just after tea on the final day. The Netherlands went into the match needing to win and got a nearly perfect start; ven der Gugten (7/68) taking out the top order. Namibia swung the game back their way via van Schoor (110) and Burger (71) but lost late wickets and made only 276. Netherlands, by contrast, started very well, reaching 1/157 (Cooper 83) before a slow-motion collapse left them 14 runs short with only one wicket in hand. The final pair put together 31 to take first innings points, but Namibia kept coming. The depth in their batting - they carry seven or more all-rounders into many games - meant that even though Baard top-scored with only 85, they still worked their way to 336, a defendable total, with a day to play. Cooper (109) was again the best player, but he had little support and Scholtz 5/58 became the decisive and final contribution in the match. The win means Namibia are well placed to make the final, with a game against Afghanistan providing the perfect opportunity to move into second. Netherlands can, in theory, still make the final, but would require everything to fall their way. With direct world cup qualification a real possibility their focus will rightly be on those four matches.

Rankings at 24th April 2013
1.	South Africa	1324.6
2.	England	1220.4
3.	Pakistan	1120.9
4.	Australia	1110.0
5.	India	1096.3
6.	Sri Lanka	997.9
7.	West Indies	963.8
8.	New Zealand	871.8
9.	Bangladesh	598.9
12.	Zimbabwe	554.9
10.	Ireland	547.7
11.	Afghanistan	545.5
13.	Scotland	427.4
14.	Namibia	423.8
15.	Kenya	298.3
16.	U.A.E.	228.8
17.	Netherlands	208.7
18.	Canada	141.3

Shaded teams have played fewer than 2 games per season. Non-test team ratings are not comparable to test ratings as they don't play each other.

Cricket - Ratings - Test 24th April, 2013 02:22:49   [#] 

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