Zimbabwe down but not out

Nothing to smile about on the Zimbabwe balcony

Zimbabwe have vowed to make England fight all the way for victory in the second Test at Nottingham next month.

The tourists are licking their wounds after losing by an innings and 209 runs at Lord's, their first Test appearance at the home of cricket since becoming full members of the International Cricket Council.

"The guys were quite nervous. I think the occasion may have got to some of the players. We've played quite a lot of international cricket and I don't think we should have been, but we were.

"We're not demoralised to the extent that we can't fight back. If one good thing is going to come out of it, it means we are going to fight back even stronger," said captain Andy Flower.

"It's probably the most disappointing defeat since we entered Test cricket because we played such poor cricket.

We have to take some harsh and honest looks at ourselves

Andy Flower

"There were technical deficiencies in our batting, there was a lack of penetration in our bowling, other than Heath Streak, and we struggled to apply pressure."

Zimbabwe are hoping that fast bowler Henry Olonga will be available at Trent Bridge after missing the first Test with an ankle injury suffered in the warm-up game against Essex.

Lack of penetration

Olonga - Fingers crossed over fitness

Their attack lacked penetration at Lord's with medium-pacers Pommie Mbangwa, Bryan Strang and Guy Whittall providing the support for strike bowler Streak.

"The slope is difficult to get used to for a start. When I was bowling I asked Andy Flower about my length and he told me to adjust it by about a metre and a half - and I never miss my length normally," said left-armer Strang.

His unorthodox 37 not out saved Zimbabwe from becoming only the 16th side in Test history to be bowled out for less than 100 in both innings.

But he acknowleged: "Most of us were overawed by Lord's. We all know we can play better than that, but Lord's is different to any other place in the world.

"I know when I went out to bat in the first innings, walking through the Long Room really got to me and it wasn't long before I was going back through it to the dressing room."

"Playing in front of 15,000 fans at Sabina Park is totally different to Lord's. There is a tradition and history to it and for those who haven't played here before, it can be quite intimidating."