Zimbabwe review: String of losses cap grim year

Tests:Played 4, Won 0, Lost 4, Drawn 0

ODIs:Played 16, Won 3, Lost 13

T20Is:Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1

Sadly, it was an all too familiar story for Zimbabwe in 2014 with player disputes and struggles within Zimbabwe Cricket reflecting in the non-performance of players on the field. The year began with a contractual dispute that resulted in many national players boycotting a domestic one-day match due to non payment of salaries for over four months.

When domestic cricket resumed in February, it was far from ideal preparation for the ICC World Twenty20. The tournament saw Zimbabwe win two of their three league games and miss out on a berth in the tournament proper due to poorer net run rate.

After failing to impress in three ODIs against South Africa, Zimbabwe entered the home tri-series, also involving Australia, as the weakest link in a triple-threat wrestling match. They stunned a rusty and jaded Australian side by three wickets which marked their high point of the year. They dragged the one-off Test against South Africa in August into four days, a decent achievement considering they faced the best bowling line-up in Test cricket - Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.

Then started their downslide when they failed to compete as equals against Bangladesh and were drubbed 3-0 in the subcontinent to go along with a painful 5-0 ODI whitewash.

Off the field, Zimbabwe were under a headmaster-like coach in Stephen Mangongo, who was ridiculed for sanctioning strike bowler Tinashe Panyangara for sharing a video of Mitchell Johnson's bouncers to England batsmen. The suspension of Prosper Utseya from bowling offspinners due to illegal action does not augur well for them in the near future.

High point

Their biggest high was undoubtedly the stunning win over Australia in Harare. After limiting Australia to 209 for 9 in 50 overs, Zimbabwe reached the target with 12 balls to spare. Skipper Elton Chigumbura led by example with 52 and Utseya (30) shared an unbeaten 55-run stand, giving the hosts a rare moment of success against a top side like Australia. Utseya's hat-trick in his 5 for 36 against South Africa later in that series marked only the second instance of a Zimbabwe bowler taking three wickets in three balls in ODI history after Eddo Brandes.

Low point

The massive disappointment of losing all of the Tests and the ODIs in Bangladesh in October-November came as a rude shock, especially just two and a half months ahead of the 2015 ICC World Cup. They had no answer to left-arm spin heavy Bangladesh. This, along with a couple of ODI losses to Afghanistan earlier in July, did not make pretty reading.

Top performer

Hamilton Masakadza topped the batting charts in both Tests and ODIs, scoring nearly 1000 international runs in 2014. He would have liked to be more consistent than his 532 runs in 15 ODIs that included five fifties at an average of 35. In four Tests, he amassed 420 runs at 52.85 and scored one century and two half-centuries in Bangladesh.

Fading star

Vusi Sibanda, known for providing quick-fire starts at the top, tailed away in 2014 and failed to register a single fifty across all formats. In two Tests, eight ODIs and three T20Is in 2014, he could only manage 212 runs at 15.14 with a best of 45. With 119 ODIs under his belt, Sibanda is expected to play at the World Cup but he'll have to regain self-belief and confidence, the key aspects of his game.

Watch out for

Dav Whatmore. Why? We could have picked a player but this time an experienced coach like Whatmore is something that the team and country will look forward to imbibing with in 2015. In his first non-subcontinental assignment, the former Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan coach is expected to bring in a lot as he aims to galvanise the side for the World Cup. Whatmore was unveiled as Zimbabwe's head coach in December last week, replacing under-fire Mangongo who held the post for five months.

Lined up for 2015 (confirmed matches)

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa, February 15 in Hamilton

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs UAE, February 19 in Nelson

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs West Indies, February 24 in Canberra

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan, March 1 in Brisbane

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs Ireland, March 7 in Hobart

2015 World Cup Pool B: Zimbabwe vs India, March 15 in Auckland