'We've had enough of being called minnows'

Ridley Jacobs, who did much to save West Indies' bacon in the epic first Test at Harare, spoke out after the match about his relief at being able to stave off defeat. Jacobs, who made 60 not out, and No. 11 Fidel Edwards survived the last 11.5 overs, in gathering gloom, with the Zimbabwean fielders crowded around the bat, searching for a rare victory after losing their last 11 Tests.

"That was the toughest time," said Jacobs of his last-ditch stand. "When you look on the scoreboard and you see there are more than 11 overs to go and you're batting with the last man, you start getting worried. But I told him to play straight and stay strong, and we got the job done."

Jacobs told the BBC that Andy Blignaut, the Zimbabwean allrounder, had been the toughest to face. "It's been a long time since I faced that kind of pace. I was just telling myself to hold on, take the blows and bat it out."

And he admitted: "Everybody at home probably thought we would play much better than we did. But we have an opportunity now to play another Test match and to perform better. We need to go back to the drawing board to revisit everything we need to do to win a Test."

The home hero was Raymond Price, the left-arm spinner, who became only the third Zimbabwean (after Paul Strang and Adam Huckle) to take ten wickets in a Test. But, he admitted afterwards, "I would have given all ten of those wickets to get that last one."

Price went on: "Our goal is to get up from the bottom. We've had enough of being in the same category as Bangladesh. We've had enough of being called minnows. We hate to lose, and we don't like drawing - you should see our guys play tiddlywinks."

The second Test of this short series starts at Bulawayo on Wednesday (Nov 12).