Harmison the hammer of Zimbabwe

England 416 Zimbabwe 94 & 253 England win by an innings and 69 runs to take series 2-0.

It was harder for England yesterday. If Zimbabwe did not lay down their burdens by the Riverside, they made Nasser Hussain's side break into a sweat before subsiding again in the Second npower Test. As an example of delaying the inevitable, the tourists' second-innings display - inter- mittently gutsy, patient and impudent - could probably be found in the better textbooks.

But inevitable it was, and an hour after tea and the advent of the second new ball, England had won the match and the series at the country's newest Test ground. A full house of 12,000 was present to witness this piece of history, which alone should ensure the Riverside's place on the Test- match list. The last new venue was Bramall Lane, Sheffield, 101 years ago. England lost and never played there again.

The margin of yesterday's victory, an innings and 69 runs, was indicative of the teams' respective talents. Zimbabwe's belated resistance could not fully compensate for their bungling, spineless batting in the first innings. England largely did what was expected of competent professionals against well-intentioned amateurs. They won without condescension.

A series win is not to be sniffed at when a side have managed it only once in seven attempts. This was also their second successive victory by an innings, the first time for 18 years they have achieved such a sequence. Perhaps not too much should be made of the fact that the opposition then were Australia.

Zimbabwe suffered from the rotten luck that afflicts most losing teams. They had eight leg-before verdicts against them, not all of which looked fair or reasonable (there was one in the second innings, debatable, after the record seven in the first).

The dismissal of Heath Streak embodied the clear truth that they were not on speaking terms with the rub of the green. He was run out after the bowler, Steve Harmison, dropped a return catch which slipped from his hands on to the stumps with Streak out of his ground.

England shared the wickets in the match largely among their three seamers. Following the six wickets by the debutant Richard Johnson in the first innings, both James Anderson and Harmison returned figures of 4 for 55 in the second. Harmison fittingly finished off the first Test match at his home ground.

It was his declared desire to bowl the first ball - denied first by the fact that the opposition won the toss and batted, and then by Nasser Hussain's decision not to give him the new ball - but he would have settled for the finale. He did it with a flourish, too, spearing a yorker under the hapless bat of Douglas Hondo.

The success of the seamers, as well as that of the Yorkshire captain, Anthony McGrath, who was picked for his abilities as an all-rounder (12 caps between them), leaves the triumphant selection panel with something to discuss before the series against South Africa begins in July. Both the missing Andrews, Caddick and Flintoff, are expected to be fit by then.

David Graveney and his colleagues must decide whether May's automatic choices should be recalled. It would take some nerve to omit a man with close on 250 Test wickets and a chap with genuine all-round skills who is slaughtering county attacks. Before deciding, the selectors may need a dose of liver salts. Maybe the Andrews will supply it for them.

The question on the crowd's lips yesterday morning was whether they would be granted anything approaching a full day's cricket. They must have feared it to be unlikely. Zimbabwe had batted for a mere 32.1 overs and 135 minutes in the first innings. In the event, they managed to hang around for almost three times as long: 93.4 overs and 358 minutes. The crowd did not become impatient, recognising that they were getting what they came for. Zimbabwe played much straighter than they had on the previous day. The failure to do so had been their main failing.

Indeed, their opening batsman, Dion Ebrahim, could be seen frequently practising his forward-defensive shot between balls during his innings. Invariably he brought the bat down perpendicularly, the elbow high. This seemed to impart the information that they knew what was wrong.

Anderson bowled superbly in his first spell. There was not a great deal of movement for him and the pitch was showing precious few signs of decline, but he pitched it up, made the batsmen play and kept a rigid line. He was justly rewarded with the wicket of Stuart Carlisle, who at last got an inside edge on to his pad which was snaffled by Robert Key, diving forward at short mid-wicket.

Zimbabwe did not, how-ever, crumble immediately, as they had in the first innings, but nor did they give an air of permanence. They just weren't up to the job. Ebrahim stayed put partly despite, rather than because of, his method, but he was painstaking. The lbw verdict which sent him on his way might have gone the other way on another day.

Grant Flower had a Test average of above 30 before this series began, which if it does not mark a man down for greatness, is above adequate. He saw it out determinedly until lunch but was gone shortly after, dragging on from an inside edge, the bat hanging limply away from his body. It might as well have been a white flag. Flower has scored 73 runs in eight Test innings in this country.

So the day went on. Tatenda Taibu, the 20-year-old boy who has shown his colleagues what being a man means, exhibited soundness, as he has done in both matches. But he was picked up at silly mid-off off Ashley Giles, the spinner's second wicket of the series.

Still, the tourists would not go at England's command, and there followed a briefly entertaining partnership of 54 between Sean Ervine and Travis Friend. Riches indeed. It was a record for the sixth wicket against England. Nothing much to write home about, but Zimbabwe need all the records they can get.

The pair made 55 from 78 balls, and at one point struck 26 in three overs. Never had the like been seen in a Test in the North-east. Ervine eventually obliged Harmison with a bat not close enough to his body. The score was 185 for 6. Zimbabwe had shown what felt like uncommon resistance, but in truth on a slow strip bereft of demons they were still in a catastrophic position.

Streak was then run out and Andy Blignaut was wonderfully caught by Hussain, dashing across to his right at mid-on. The remaining points of interest were whether Friend could reach his fifty, Anderson could claim his second five-wicket innings haul in as many Tests, and the tourists could avoid an innings defeat. The answers were yes, no and not a prayer.

Friend was unbeaten on 65 from 107 balls, which included 10 fours, some of them unorthodox. Anderson was given every chance to get his five-for by a captain who clearly favours him. But he was denied by the local boy, who produced a peach of a lifter that thumped into Ray Price's glove, and then castled Hondo. More perspiration may be evident against South Africa.

npower Test scoreboard

England won toss

England - First Innings
M E Trescothick c Taibu b Price 43
M P Vaughan c Ervine b Streak 20
M A Butcher b Hondo 47
N Hussain c Taibu b Hondo 18
R W T Key c Flower b Hondo 4
A J Stewart lbw b Streak 68
A McGrath c Taibu b Blignaut 81
A F Giles c Ervine b Streak 50
R L Johnson c Streak b Blignaut 24
S J Harmison c Vermeulen b Streak 11
J M Anderson not out 12
Extras (b1, lb5, w7, nb25) 38
Total (556 min, 127.1 overs) 416

Fall: 1-49 (Vaughan), 2-109 (Trescothick), 3-146 (Butcher), 4-152 (Key), 5-156 (Hussain), 6-305 (Stewart), 7-324 (McGrath), 8-356 (Johnson), 9-390 (Harmison), 10-416 (Giles).

Bowling: Streak 34.1-11-64-4 (nb3, w1) (3-0-6-0, 6-2-9-1, 5-2-9-0, 4-1-11-0, 11-5-17-1, 5.1-1-12-2), Blignaut 23-4-95-2 (nb11) (5-2-20-0, 7-0-29-0, 5-1-18-0, 6-1-28-2), Hondo 22-1-98-3 (nb10, w6) (4-1-15-0, 5-0-19-3, 5-0-14-0, 2-0-18-0, 6-0-32-0), Ervine 3-0-17-0 (one spell), Price 40-9- 105-1 (14-3-36-1, 13-4-26-0, 13-2-43-0), Friend 4-0-26-0 (nb1) (3-0-17-0, 1-0-9-0), Flower 1-0-5-0.

Stewart 50: 123 min, 99 balls, 8 fours. McGrath 50: 139 min, 101 balls, 6 fours, 1 six. Giles 50: 138 mins, 98 balls, 8 fours.

Zimbabwe - First Innings
D D Ebrahim lbw b Anderson 6
M E Vermeulen lbw b Johnson 0
S V Carlisle lbw b Johnson 0
G W Flower c Trescothick b Anderson 8
T Taibu lbw b Johnson 31
S M Ervine c Stewart b Johnson 0
T J Friend lbw b Johnson 0
H H Streak lbw b Johnson 4
A M Blignaut c Anderson b Harmison 13
R W Price lbw b Harmison 17
D T Hondo not out 5
Extras (b5, lb3, nb2) 10
Total (136 min, 32.1 overs) 94

Fall: 1-3 (Vermeulen), 2-3 (Carlisle), 3-11 (Ebrahim), 4-18 (Flower), 5-23 (Ervine), 6-31 (Friend), 7-35 (Streak), 8-48 (Blignaut), 9-73 (Taibu), 10-94 (Price).

Bowling: Anderson 10-2-30-2 (nb1) (7-2-13-2, 3-0-17-0), Johnson 12-4-33-6 (8-3-18-5, 4-1-15-1), Harmison 9.1-3-22-2 (nb1), Giles 1-0-1-0 (one spell each).

Zimbabwe - Second Innings (Followed-on)
D D Ebrahim lbw b Harmison 55
M E Vermeulen c McGrath b Anderson 0
S V Carlisle c Key b Anderson 28
G W Flower b Anderson 16
T Taibu c Butcher b Giles 14
S M Ervine b Harmison 34
T J Friend not out 65
H H Streak run out 3
A M Blignaut c Hussain b Anderson 12
R W Price c Stewart b Harmison 6
D T Hondo b Harmison 4
Extras (b6, lb10) 16
Total (360 min, 93.4 overs) 253

Fall: 1-5 (Vermeulen), 2-65 (Carlisle), 3-102 (Ebrahim), 4-113 (Flower), 5-131 (Taibu), 6-185 (Ervine), 7-207 (Streak), 8-223 (Blignaut), 9-244 (Price), 10-253 (Hondo).

Bowling: Anderson 23-8-55-4 (4-0-18-1, 7-4-9-1, 6-3-8-1, 5-1-16-1, 1-0-4-0), Johnson 22-7-67-0 (5-4-1-0, 3-0-11-0, 4-1-14-0, 4-1-10-0, 3-1-16-0, 3-0-15-0), Harmison 21.4-4-55-4 (4-0-11-0, 4-0-11-0, 4-1-4-1, 1-0-5-0, 7-3-18-1, 1-0-1-1, 0.4-0-5-1), Giles 25-9-51-1 (2-0-11-0, 6-4-6-0, 14-3-29-1, 3-2-5-0), Butcher 2-0-9-0 (one spell).

Ebrahim 50: 126 min, 97 balls, 5 fours. Friend 50: 107 min, 80 balls, 8 fours.

Umpires: D B Hair (Australia) and D L Orchard (South Africa).

TV replay umpire: P Willey (England). Match referee: C H Lloyd (West Indies).

England win by an innings and 69 runs to take series 2-0.

Man of the match: R L Johnson. Men of the series: M A Butcher and H H Streak.