`I don't think this has any bearing on the Test'

Mike Atherton offered no excuses for the shock defeat "Zimbabwe are a bit of a jinx," the England captain said. "We batted poorly and 150 was not enough. We then had to bowl them out to win, but I am proud of the bowlers for the way they fought to almost pull it off."

Atherton's counterpart, Alister Campbell, knew exactly where England went wrong. "That was not a 150 pitch - it was more like 220 or 230," he said.

"I put them into bat because I hoped we might get a couple of early wickets and that is what happened.

"They did make a lot of errors, and there was some not very selective shots, but our bowlers also bowled a good enough line and length to put pressure on them.

"We have been saying all along that we can beat England, and people might now realise that we do have a true Test-quality attack. I hope we can now do the same in the Test."

Atherton was, as ever, defiant in defeat. "I don't think this has any bearing on the Test. They are two completely different games and one-day cricket does not have any relevance to the longer game."