Campbell and Strang lift Zimbabwe A

The highlights of the second day's play between Zimbabwe A and the West Indian tourists at Kwekwe Sports Club were a fine century by Alistair Campbell and an exotic fifty by the maverick Bryan Strang, either side of a dramatic middle-order collapse. The tourists finished the day 57 runs ahead with all their second-innings wickets intact.

Zimbabwe A resumed at their overnight score of 26 for no wicket in reply to the West Indians' 374. Campbell was soon playing the sort of innings that makes Zimbabwean cricket followers shake their heads in wonder and exasperation.

Campbell has probably played as many "brief cameos" as any player in the world, but so rarely do they turn into anything substantial in Test cricket. Here he was playing the bowling with as much ease as Chris Gayle had on the previous day, driving and pulling with all the time in the world, completely unaffected by the swinging ball.

Hamilton Masakadza less spectacularly matched him run for run, and this opening partnership had the potential to match that between Gayle and Daren Ganga the previous day. In theory, at least.

Colin Stuart broke the stand, though, trapping Masakadza lbw with a full-length delivery, after making 33 of the 75-run partnership. Campbell by now had apparently run out of adrenaline, and he offered scarcely a shot in anger after morning drinks. He crawled past his fifty, and with Gavin Rennie choosing to fight his way back to form by defensive methods, the play was far from spectacular.

The rather painful struggle continued after lunch against the West Indian spinners, the partnership coming to an end on 139 when Rennie (25) swung across the line to Carl Hooper and was caught at the wicket. Campbell remained somnolent until he reached the seventies, whereupon he hit the unsuspecting Neil McGarrell for three fours in an over, and followed it up with two more boundaries off Hooper.

Soon afterwards, a delicate cut off Corey Collymore brought Campbell his 20th four and his century, scored off 193 balls. He overshadowed the normally lively Guy Croxford, who battled to score 16 before being bowled by Stuart. He trapped Barney Rogers lbw first ball, and then bowled Stuart Matsikenyeri in his next over to reduce Zimbabwe A to 236 for five at tea, Campbell still there on 133.

Stuart struck again with the first ball after tea, bowling new batsman and home captain Mluleki Nkala with a ball that cut back in as he shouldered arms. Stuart was on a hat-trick for the second time in successive overs, but Don Campbell survived.

Alistair had again run out of adrenaline and did little after tea before being caught at the wicket for 140 off the second delivery with the second new ball, bowled by Marlon Black, who then had Don four overs later caught down the leg side for 12. Local ex-Academy player Travis Friend scored 17 before departing to the same combination, a fine diving catch by Ridley Jacobs this time.

Then followed an entertaining last-wicket stand - no stand that includes Bryan Strang ever fails to be entertaining - of 74 between Strang and Raymond Price. Strang as usual mixed the powerfully unorthodox with the almost recognisable and the comical as he reached exactly 50 off just 34 balls, whereupon Price (22) borrowed one of his partner's strokes, only to mow a catch straight to mid-wicket. The tourists had their first-innings lead reduced to just 29. Black took three wickets for 49 and Stuart five for 58.

As Strang injured a finger while batting, Price opened the attack with his left-arm spin opposite Friend, but to no avail. By the close the West Indians had scored 28 without loss (Ganga 9, Gayle 17).