African Adventures

VIC FAIL
The first two days had passed sleepily, with Zimbabwe gritting their way to 389, courtesy of captain Brendan Taylor's 371. After tea on Day 2, Bangladesh raced to 95 for 1. A day of stolid batting on Day 3 was on the cards, with the expectation that the stronger team on paper would spend the day overtaking the hosts' first innings. That expectation led one sponsor representative to the natural wonders of Victoria Falls, comfortable in the knowledge that the Test would go to five days.
Hardly having settled down at the enchanting destination however, he received a frantic call informing him of Bangladesh's spectacular collapse on the third morning, and that the match had picked up pace as Zimbabwe lost six wickets by tea. A fourth day finish has guaranteed now, so the tourist had to rush back to be on the presentation podium when Bangladesh eventually folded. Victoria Falls would have to wait.
TIME WARP
In a match and stadium dominated by Zimbabwe, Bangladesh's role in the first Test in Harare was aptly represented by a lone Bangladeshi flag in a corner of the Grandstand. The party of five Bangladeshis had come, including a little girl of about five, to the ground over the last three days in hopes of witnessing a rare Test victory for their homeland.
The events of the third and fourth days, however, put paid to that wish. Papon travelled from South Africa, where he lives and works, to see his national players in the flesh. He had done so in 2011 too, and the disappointment was the same. Time for Bangladeshi cricket fans in Zimbabwe seems to move slower. While the rest of the world knows and have seen that Bangladesh have moved on from their over-dependency on Mohammad Ashraful, one member of the party said, even as Bangladesh were losing wickets regularly, that he wanted to see Ashraful bat Bangladesh to a draw. Who can blame him? Ashraful seemed the only batsman capable of handling the challenge thrown by Zimbabwe's pacers.

ATTENTION WA
The most vocal section of the usually small crowds at the Harare Sports Club Ground is the stand at the south eastern end of the ground. They ate relentless in their encouragement to their team, cheering every bouncer bowled by Kyle Jarvis and booing every rejected appeal for a wicket.
But their 'Attention Wa' dance is quite a sight. Everyone in the section gets on their feet and skips sideways in unison chanting the slogan which has been borrowed, according to a spectator in the stand, from the Cameroonian army.
Colin, the spectator, was wonderstruck by why Bangladesh "who played well against England, India and Pakistan" would struggle so much against Zimbabwe. No prizes for guessing who his favourite Bangladeshi cricketer is.