The final act of a match which lost any purpose a couple of days ago got underway on time at Bulawayo, the fifth day of the second Test actually starting promptly under cloudy skies and with rain unlikely given the stiff breeze.
With only 37.1 over bowled so far, the match has to be a draw ... unless Heath Streak wants to gamble. If Zimbabwe could bowl out Bangladesh quickly, forfeit their first innings and bowl them out cheaply for a second time, there is a remote chance that Zimbabwe could snatch a dramatic victory. But it is just that, remote, and Streak is more likely to let the day meander its course and take the series win.
As a contest, this game has long since ceased to have any meaning. The complete washout of the first, third and fourth days meant that even the hapless Bangladeshis couldn't fail to secure a draw. It will be only the second time in 28 matches that Bangladesh will have avoided defeat. The other was also against Zimbabwe - at Dhaka in November 2001 - and on that occasion it was also the weather which was the dominant factor.
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