Cricket: Gough enjoys rough with the smooth

England 334 Matabeleland 181-9

Sixteen wickets fell yesterday at the Bulawayo Athletic club, five of them to Darren Gough who bristled and bustled, as Matabeleland ended the day on 181 for 9, four runs short of the follow-on. But if Gough's haul represented a high spot in this final dress rehearsal for England, the fact that seven of the day's dismissals belonged to the tourists means that several significant lines are still being fluffed.

However, in terms of runs and wickets, progress is undoubtedly being made, and several of England's cricketers no longer look as if they are tangled up in winter cobwebs.

Mind you, even for bowlers like Gough and Andy Caddick, who on yesterday's evidence look as if they have started to fire - albeit with dummy rounds included - there must still be a lingering doubt as to how much is attributable to the opposition, who, even on a good day, are not likely to provide more than two of Zimbabwe's top six for the first Test.

If the truth be known, most of their order looked as if they were batting two places too high, and too many loose balls went unpunished to give a fair picture of England's achievements with the ball.

Despite that, Gough tried - and often succeeded - to bowl as fast as possible and if his boundless enthusiasm did not always make up for his extravagant pursuit of the wonder ball and its associated high run tariff, his third spell on a stiflingly hot day was admirably wholehearted.

Certainly, the luck which deserted Andy Caddick, whose two early wickets at last represented a quality spell with the new ball, was certainly with the Yorkshireman, and, on another day, two wicket-taking long hops could have brought eight runs instead. However, he clean bowled two tailenders as well as removing Manesh Ranchod with a snorter that flicked a protective glove first ball.

"It takes time to get into a rhythm, and that eight-over spell at the start got me into a bit of a groove," he said afterwards. "There was a bit of carry and I gave it a hundred per cent. I got the ball through and was rewarded with five wickets. Which is not always the case." A break he probably feels is deserved anyway, after spending the whole of last summer taking 67 wickets at 22.9 for Yorkshire.

It almost certainly means that Gough will be bowling in the first Test, probably alongside Alan Mullally and Caddick, who has now bowled himself into contention ahead of Ronnie Irani. The Essex all-rounder's chance to play a part in the first Test evaporated when he scored just five, after tamely chipping Mpumelelo Mbangwa to mid-on. It was not the only soft dismissal, as John Crawley, a second stylish half-century under his belt, watched the England innings fall apart.

But, if the batting showed familiar frailties once again (only Knight, Crawley and Stewart seem settled) the fielding is also in need of a lift, and had England been able to catch as as a top Test side should, Matabeleland may well have struggled to make three figures.

Two chances, as well as several half chances, were spilled, though no individual was quite as culpable as John Rennie, the home team's captain, who capped three dropped slip catches with a second-over duck, skying an optimistic pull shot off Caddick to short mid-on.

Of his side, only the wicket-keeper, Wayne James, managed to score runs freely. However, as most of his 62 was scored by slashes high over slip due to a diet of long-hops, his true abilities may not have been glimpsed. Eventually his demise came when he prodded a return catch to Phil Tufnell, who repeated the feat when Heath Streak did the same two overs later.

Bulawayo scoreboard

Second day of four; Matabeleland won toss

ENGLAND - First Innings

(Overnight: 199 for 3)

N V Knight c G J Whittall b Rennie 114

G P Thorpe c James b Streak 15

J P Crawley c James b Streak 63

R C Irani c Olonga b Mbangwa 5

R D B Croft c G J Whittall b Rennie 8

D Gough lbw b G J Whittall 6

A R Caddick not out 10

P C R Tufnell c James b G J Whittall 10

Extras (b5, lb5, w4, nb8) 22

Total (92 overs) 334

Fall: 4-215, 5-240, 6-261, 7-274, 8-312, 9-312.

Bowling: Olonga 14-3-63-2; Streak 19-3-65-3; G J Whittall 14-4-40-2; Mbangwa 19-3-60-1; Rennie 17-4-62-2; Vaghmaria 3-0-9-0; A R Whittall 6- 1-25-0.

MATABELELAND - First Innings

G J Whittall c Irani b Gough 19

*J A Rennie c Tufnell b Caddick 0

M H Dekker c Knight b Caddick 26

M Ranchod c Stewart b Gough 0

W R James c & b Tufnell 62

M D Abrams c Stewart b Gough 15

H H Streak c & b Tufnell 25

D Vaghmaria b Gough 12

A R Whittall b Gough 7

H K Olonga not out 5

M Mbangwa not out 3

Extras (lb2, nb5) 7

Total (for 9, 62 overs) 181

Fall: 1-8, 2-32, 3-32, 4-68, 5-104, 6-142, 7-154, 8-172, 9-173.

Bowling: Gough 16-1-62-5; Caddick 12-1-38-2; Irani 7-3-26-0; Tufnell 18-5-35-2; Croft 9-3-18-0.

Umpires: R Tiffin and C Coventry.