ZIZimbabwe

Country history

Zimbabwe was elevated to Test status by the ICC in July 1992, becoming the ninth Test-playing nation. Their inaugural Test, against India at Harare Sports Club in October 1992, ended in a draw: Zimbabwe posted 456 in their first innings (a maiden Test century for Dave Houghton, 121, plus 82 from Grant Flower and 59 from his brother Andy Flower), India replied with 307, and Zimbabwe's second-innings declaration left India well short of the target when time ran out. Their first Test win came against Pakistan at Harare in early 1995, after a difficult opening stretch in Test cricket.

The 2000s brought Zimbabwean cricket's most turbulent period. Amid deepening political and administrative crisis, and the departure of leading players including captain Heath Streak after a dispute with the board in 2004, Zimbabwe Cricket's interim board decided in late 2005 to voluntarily withdraw the national team from Test cricket, a withdrawal the ICC acknowledged as taking formal effect in January 2006; Zimbabwe continued playing ODI cricket throughout the suspension. The team returned to Test cricket in August 2011, hosting Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club after a six-year absence from the five-day format. Zimbabwe's most significant figure is Andy Flower, widely regarded as one of the finest wicketkeeper-batsmen of his era, who at the 2003 World Cup wore a black armband alongside bowler Henry Olonga in a joint protest describing themselves as "mourning the death of democracy" in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe's government -- a stand that ended both players' international careers in the country. Heath Streak, the team's long-serving captain, was for years its leading wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs. The team is nicknamed "the Chevrons."

Sources

• Wikipedia
• History of cricket in Zimbabwe from 1992 — Wikipedia
• Andy Flower — Wikipedia (2003 World Cup protest, independently re-verified)