Battered by two humiliating defeats in a row, minnows Zimbabwe will strive to be a little more competitive when they clash with New Zealand in the Videocon Cup cricket tri-series match in Harare on Wednesday.
The hosts have been thoroughly outplayed in both matches so far and young captain Tatenda Taibu will seek more commitment from his players, who have been totally out of sorts at the highest level.
The call for Zimbabwe's ouster from the elite group of Test-playing nations have grown in recent times with the African country hurtling from one embarrassing defeat to another and it seems unlikely that the bunch of inexperienced players would be able to arrest the downslide.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, are sitting pretty with two comfortable victories in the series and it appears unlikely that Stephen Fleming's men would be tested at the Harare Sports Club.
Shane Bond seems to be in devastating form since his return to competitive cricket, but the Kiwis may prefer to rest the tearaway fast bowler in view of Friday' match against India.
Bond ripped through the Indian top order to capture six wickets and will certainly be a key factor for his team in the summit showdown, most probably against India.
Opener Lou Vincent struck a hurricane 172 in the opening match against Zimbabwe and will be keen to keep the momentum going while the other New Zealand batsmen, like Nathan Astle, the Marshall brothers, and Brendon McCullum are also in good touch.
Despite playing at home, the Zimbabwe batsmen have really been struggling with none of their top order batsmen being able to negotiate the swing the bowlers have been able to extract.
Only the seasoned Heath Streak did cross double figures in the last match against India when they were bundled out for 65 -- their third lowest ODI total -- and it will need a far more determined batting effort from the hosts to restore pride.
Dashing all-rounder Chris Cairns is also likely to be rested as he is suffering from a hamstring strain.
Teams (from):
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Daniel Vettori, Andrew Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent, James Marshall.
Zimbabwe: Tatenda Taibu (capt), Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Stuart Carlisle, Chamunowa Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Keith Dabengwa, Gavin Ewing, Blessing Mahwire, Hamilton Masakadza, Waddington Mwayenga, Edward Rainsford, Vusumuzi Sibanda, Brendon Taylor, Prosper Utseya and Craig Wishart.
More from rediff