Sport 04-10-2001 Cricket: England Win At Last who: England cricket team what: Beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in first of five one-day internationals where: Harare, Zimbabwe when: Yesterday snippet: "After 344 days and 11 one-day failures England finally win," begins the headline in The Guardian today, "shame no one was watching." "Probably fewer than a thousand had gathered at the 9.30am start," writes Tanya Aldred. But Nasser Hussain "would not have given a toss [which he lost for the 10th time in a row] whether 20 or 20,000 were here." After Zimbabwe set a target of 206, the England captain scored 73 off 77 balls which, combined with a half-century by Nick Knight, helped England to a five wicket win with 3.2 overs to spare, ending with a six from Andrew Flintoff to give the tourists 210. "It`s a bit of a monkey off our back," Hussain said afterwards. "I was thinking about that run of defeats when I was batting, and my only thought was, `Let`s end it right here in Harare`." "On this evidence, it will be surprising if England do not win the five-match series," says The Independent`s James Alexander. "The opposition is moderate and the pitches slow, but victory of any sort is precious for England as they attempt to gain confidence and direction before the 2003 World Cup." [... more]

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