James meets James - Foster and Kirtley

Arriving at Harare was a great experience. It brought back a string of memories and as we boarded the bus and travelled through central Harare it was comforting to see a few familiar sites.

When we arrived at the hotel, we received a warm welcome from our liaison officer, who briefed us about Zimbabwe and what to expect from the next three weeks.

I feel that the situation is all in hand here in Harare - but sadly it doesn't sound so good in the rural areas.

Fearing the bleep

All the lads were just keen to get on with the job in hand.

After a light training session on the first afternoon the call for an easy net on Friday morning almost went unheard as every one was looking to make a good impression.

We were probably not helped by having new balls to bowl with or the unpredictable bounce, but there were no complaints.

It was an enjoyable session, with an evening at the High Commission to come that evening.

Letting rip during net practice

Any thoughts of relaxing there were quickly cut by the announcement of a 'bleep' test [highly intensive fitness routine, involving a series of shuttle sprints] the following day. However, it was a chance to meet a few of the players from Zimbabwe.

The dreaded morning arrived and the team bus was not so lively with the bleep test to come.

I am sure tensions ran high as no-one new what to expect at 5000ft altitude - but everyone performed brilliantly and really showed some guts as they went through the test.

Thankfully the worst part of the tour is over now and we can look forward to getting stuck into the cricket and Zimbabwe.