Stephen Fleming in Harare on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Harare: 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 here on Wednesday.

The hosts have been thoroughly outplayed in both the matches so far and young captain Tatenda Taibu will look for 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 Black Caps, 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 Wednesday.

Shane Bond seems to be in devastating form since his return to competitive cricket but the New Zealand may prefer to rest the tearaway fast bowler in view of Friday’s match against India. Chris Cairns is also likely to be rested.

Teams

New Zealand (from): 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 (from): 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, Craig Wishart. (PTI)