Coach Heath Streak believes the surprise return of experienced players and the shedding of an underdog mentality has been behind the Zimbabwe's more competitive recent performances.

Streak has engineered a return for the country's top batsman Brendan Taylor and their primary seamer, Kyle Jarvis, who had previously committed their futures to County Cricket in England.

"It was not easy [to persuade them to return], everybody has seen the political and economic challenges Zimbabwe has," Streak said ahead of the inaugural four-day Test against South Africa starting in Port Elizabeth on Dec. 26. "But I suppose we can be a bit more excited now we have a change of president.

"We realise how unifying and important cricket is to our country. We have seen how multicultural and multiracial our team is, and that plays an important role in rebuilding the new Zimbabwe.”