Were it not for a certain series of some magnitude taking place in England, there would no doubt be a quiet buzz about the media around a forthcoming event in Harare this week. As it is, Zimbabwe's small saving grace is that their return to Test cricket just happens to slot into the mid-series break between England and India.

On Thursday morning a fast bowler from either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh will bowl the first ball of Test cricket that Harare Sports Club has seen since September 22, 2005. By the time four byes from the bowling of Andy Blignaut had allowed India to cement a ten-wicket victory inside three days, it was clear that the end was nigh even if it hadn't previously been confirmed. Zimbabwe had lost seven of their last ten Tests by an innings, and hadn't won a Test against a side other than Bangladesh for four years and 31 Tests. It was clear that cricket in Zimbabwe was sick, and would need a good deal of medical attention before it would recover. The prognosis said it was likely to get worse before it could heal. As it turned out, it came seriously close to dying.

There were several reasons for its malaise, one of which being that the country itself was in a deep crisis from which it has only superficially recovered. But the most problematic was the introduction of a radical transformation policy which left the game gasping for breath as most of the country's best talent and experience walked away after a nasty legal battle against their board from which nobody emerged with much credit.

That transformation document was proved to be hugely overambitious in the results of the national team, but it has had the effect of changing the landscape of Zimbabwe cricket to something more reflective of the country's population. Its success can be seen in the racial make-up of today's cricket crowds, which for so long were inhabited almost exclusively by Zimbabwe's white minority, and also in the national team. Of the eleven players who step out on Thursday, eight are likely to be black - something of a reversal from a decade ago.

Some credit must go to Zimbabwe's administrators for that, but it is grudging credit given the horrors through which the game has been dragged to reach this point. Those who could bear to watch the two-day innings defeat to South Africa in 2005 will not forget it, while off the field there have been similarly tumultuous events. Allegations of financial impropriety were never fully proven to be correct or false, as seen in the KPMG audit where a number of irregularities could not be properly explained by Zimbabwe Cricket, who escaped on a technicality because there was no concrete evidence that individuals had profited. Such shades of grey have clouded the positive steps taken over the past two years.

Whether or not the ICC were too lenient on Zimbabwe during those dark times, they did at least appear to put their foot down at the beginning of 2009 following a task team's visit in late 2008. A number of recommendations were laid out and Zimbabwe Cricket, knowing that they had stretched the ICC's patience as far as they possibly could, have put those in place. Thursday's Test will be something of a culmination of that. As expensive as the franchise system has been for an essentially broke organisation, it has at least reaped some cricketing dividends. And with their requirements met, the ICC have had no choice but to allow Zimbabwe back into Test cricket given that they have continued to receive the annual funding handed out to Full Member countries throughout their Test absence.

Tests against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand will show exactly how far behind Zimbabwe remains. There is no doubt that they aren't ready for white-flanelled cricket, but then they never will be if they aren't given a chance. Unfortunately for those who play on Thursday, of which three - Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza - played in Zimbabwe's last Test, they have no choice but to learn the hard way. The mistakes made by their predecessors and their board mean that they must either sink or swim.

They should at least be comforted by the knowledge that the majority of cricket fans around the world are probably behind them, having always had something of a soft spot for Zimbabwe. There will be cynics, and those cynics are armed with logical arguments, chief among them that Test cricket is being devalued. But Zimbabwe has given a lot to the cricket world - as evidenced by the presence of two Zimbabwean coaches at Trent Bridge over the weekend - and so it deserves a second chance. That there is still an enthusiasm for the game has been shown in the fact that it has come back from the brink of death. To say that it is now in rude health would be an exaggeration, but the next three months will show the extent of the recovery.

Tristan Holme