Test cricket at its worst

Isn't it depressing to read Dan's post about the Ashes, to reflect on the excitement and drama of those dramatic four days at Edgbaston and then to watch the sorriest of matches in Harare. I feel depressed this morning and desperately sorry for Zimbabwe's cricketers. What an utterly demoralising result this was for them after such a promising start to the first day.

First up, it should be acknowledged that the New Zealanders bowled magnificently. Bond, Franklin and Martin all bowled as fast as I have seen them bowl, all pitched each ball on an immaculate line and all got the ball to swing late both ways. To see Bond bowling again - and bowling fast - was thrilling. The ball that he bowled to get Wishart in the first innings will get replayed a million times this summer.

Secondly, all the luck was with the New Zealanders. Brendon McCullum could have been dismissed a number of times in his innings and Dan Vettori's bowled-but-not-bowled has to be the jammiest escape in the history of the game, while the Zimbabweans received the odd strange umpiring decision at their expense and Brendon Taylor was run-out backing up in the most unfortunate of circumstances (the ball was hit powerfully at Scott Styris but deflected off him and onto the stumps).

But having said all that, the Zimbabwe batsmen were woefully lacking in technique and confidence and just allowed the New Zealanders to dominate.

Was it test cricket? Yes. Did it deserve to be called test cricket? No.

You can read about it if you want. The Herald has coverage. And so do Cricinfo and the BBC. But all the stories make for sad reading.