Today is what you could describe as real hard yakka at the office with the reward for our perseverance coming at 4pm, when this historic first Test against Zimbabwe was secured. Three balls before lunch the Zimbabweans, led by debutante Trevor Gripper and my ex-Western Australian teammate Murray Goodwin, were making us fight hard for their wickets. They were as stubborn as a deeply imbedded splinter as they set about forming a platform for their teammates to set us target some time tomorrow. To our relief 'Funky' Miller was able to spin one past Gripper's defence just before the first break.

His dismissal gave us a boost at lunch as we all realised the new ball was due to be taken in a couple of overs. When we returned to the field our opposition again fought us hard, scrambling and scraping for every run. The pressure out on the ground was immense though and we could all sense that if we continued to build the pressure something was going to give.

And it did!

As so often happens in a game of cricket, rewards will be gained by building enough pressure on your opposition. With all of our bowlers bowling superbly the Zimbabweans were never able to break the shackles and dominate our attack. Having batted for over 80 overs at less than two runs per over we had been in the field for a long time but knew that one more wicket could easily initiate a collapse. We weren't disappointed as the last eight wickets fell for just over 30 runs. At no stage during the day did anyone feel that this game was getting away from us. The senior players were so confident that a run of wickets was imminent that their self-assurance became infectious.

With five runs needed to win this Test match, Blewy and Slats finished it off in the first over. Deservedly Steve Waugh was the man of the match but I think it would be fair to say that this Test was won by a fantastic team effort. It has been a long time since Heals has stood on the changing room table singing "Underneath the Southern Cross..."

The sweet tune of our team song is still ringing in my ears.

From Harare, JL