New Zealand Test Tour Of Zimbabwe Notebook After First Test
New Zealand got the job done in the first Test vs Zimbabwe and they have a chance of grabbing the most Test wins for all nations in Zimbabwe heading into the second Test. Aotearoa is one of three countries who have nine Test wins in Zimbabwe which includes the hosts and Pakistan, while the Blackcaps' 9-0-3 record in Zimbabwe means they have the most wins without a Test loss of all Test playing nations in Zimbabwe.
The Blackcaps have also won consecutive Tests after a win vs England to finish the kiwi summer and have won four Tests in a row overseas. Since the start of 2024 they have a 7-6 record and they need another comprehensive victory in Zimbabwe to keep building in the longest format as they enter the next World Test Championship cycle.
Matt Henry took 6w and 3w in the first Test, giving him 2+ wickets in all five games of the Zimbabwe tour. Regular wickets bumps Henry into the legendary bracket of Aotearoa seamers and he is joined by skipper for the first Test Mitchell Santner in making significant improvements as a Test bowler in recent years.
Matt Henry
Before 2020: 48.4avg/3.2rpo
Since start of 2020: 22.9avg/3.1rpo
Mitchell Santner
Before 2020: 44.7avg/2.7rpo
Since start of 2020: 21.9avg/2.8rpo
Santner took no wickets in the first innings and 4w @ 1.5rpo in the second innings as the best bowler for Aotearoa. Santner was the most economical bowler in the second innings and there was a notable difference in his mahi, compared to Michael Bracewell who now departs the squad.
Mitchell Santner: 33.1ov, 4w @ 18.2avg/2.2rpo
Michael Bracewell: 17ov @ 3.1rpo
Bracewell is one of the weak spots in the Test mix right now, which isn't surprising given that he was a replacement for Glenn Phillips. This means that Bracewell is behind Santner and Phillips as spinny all-rounders, while Ajaz Patel is more effective as a pure spinner. The first Test in Zimbabwe was Bracewell's only Test since the start of 2024 and his Test record of 19.1avg/56sr and 44avg/3.8rpo reflects his status as a Blackcaps all-rounder.
Meanwhile, Santner is averaging 25.8 with the bat in Test cricket after his knock of 19 runs and along with Nathan Smith's 22* they showed their value as all-rounders in the first Test. Santner has averaged 20+ with the bat in seven of his nine years in Test cricket and his only years below 20avg being 2021 when he had a duck in his only innings and this year after his score of 19.
Add in his slick captaincy and Santner has grown into an impressive leader for Blackcaps. This is especially funky because Santner's T20 excellence has seen him grind his way back into the Test 1st 11 and embrace representing Aotearoa across all three formats. Santner is part of the vast majority who love playing for New Zealand and are desperate to play Test cricket for Aotearoa.
Unless there is a form slump, Santner has commanded a consistent 1st 11 role as the lead spinner and all-rounder. Phillips can still earn 1st 11 selection alongside Santner regardless of conditions, but those selection calls in the future will probably revolve around conditions and Patel adds to the spin bowling unit. Ideally Patel gets a crack in the second Test to keep him ticking over and that may come thanks to Smith's injury.
Smith and Will O'Rourke split the secondary seamer wickets in both innings as Smith took 3w @ 1.4rpo in the first innings, then O'Rourke took 3w @ 3.8rpo in the second innings. Smith is an undercover player in the Blackcaps mix, often overlooked for kiwi seamers as the freaky talents of O'Rourke, Kyle Jamieson, Ben Sears and now Matt Fisher generate buzz.
It also stems from Smith's Test bowling average of 35.9 after three Tests, much of which was hindered by his debut series vs England. Smith is the only Blackcaps bowler with 5+ wickets conceding over 5rpo since the start of 2024 which bumps up his average, but his strike-rate of 42.8 is similar to Patel (43.8) and better than Phillips (58.1), also notably better than Tim Southee (96.4) in this period.
Since the start of 2024, Smith's batting average of 25.5 is better than Devon Conway (23.9) and Tom Blundell (22.2), while not too far behind Tom Latham (26.3). Smith has batted in far less innings than these lads but these stats still suggest than Smith has 1st 11 ability as an all-rounder and his mahi vs Zimbabwe before getting injured reinforced his potential.
Smith is especially useful when deployed with O'Rourke. Despite being rocked by England, part of Smith's skillset is tight bowling with nibble both ways and his accuracy is perfect for wild WOR who will send a few deliveries over the wicket-keeper and directly to the slips. O'Rourke is a fabulous bowler though and after not taking a wicket while bowling well (13ov @ 2rpo) in the first innings, he had 3w @ 2.8rpo in the second innings.
O'Rourke is averaging 24.2 in Test bowling and he is second behind Henry for Blackcaps wickets since the start of 2024. Henry (17.2) and Kyle Jamieson (15.5) are the only other seamers averaging below 25 in this period for Aotearoa and O'Rourke also has an excellent home/away split after his 11 Tests...
Home: 21w @ 27.5avg/3.9rpo
Away: 18w @ 20.4avg/3.2rpo
Flowing on from the all-rounder meditations, O'Rourke was 0* in his batting appearance vs Zimbabwe. This was his 13th Test innings finishing not-out out of 19 and he also has 23 not-outs in 36 First-Class innings. There aren't many runs scored by O'Rourke but he does his job with the bat and there is batting ability within WOR as he's cruising along at 16.3avg/98sr in T20s.
Runs were scored by Will Young (41), Devon Conway (88) and Daryl Mitchell (80) in the first innings. Aotearoa only needed 8 runs to win in the second innings and Conway was dismissed, leaving Young and Henry Nicholls celebrating not-outs to seal the win. Nicholls scored 34 runs in the first innings as well which was solid without doing enough to make the most of his opportunity.
That opportunity may slip away if Tom Latham returns from injury which may bump Young down to number three where Nicholls was batting. Conway did take his opportunity and will stay in the team regardless, after he had his first 50+ score since the first innings of the second Test in India. Conway had seven innings without scoring 25+ runs prior to his 88 in Zimbabwe and he's still chasing his first century since his 122 vs Pakistan in Karachi back in late 2022.
After three consecutive not-outs during the T20 tri-series, Mitchell's 80 runs in the first Test gives him a 50+ score in his last five Test series. Mitchell had a 58 vs Australia, then 57 runs in Sri Lanka, an 82 in India, followed by scores of 84 and 60 vs England. While his last Test century was vs Sri Lanka early in 2023, Mitchell is still averaging 44.5 over 32 Tests and he is slightly better on tour than in Aotearoa...
Home: 42.6avg/53sr
Away: 46.4avg/54sr
Young has not hit a Test century and like Smith, his Test stats don't reflect his quality. Young has dragged his Test batting average up over 30 now (31.5) and while he didn't pass 50 runs vs Zimbabwe, he's got 10 scores over 50 in 38 innings. Young is heading in the right direction...
Before 2023: 26.4avg/43sr
Since start of 2023: 40.1avg/8sr
Young has only batted in one innings at the very top of the order and that was the first innings of this Test. Young batted second in the second innings and if Latham's fit, Young could be the bloke to bat three for the upcoming Test match. Young has batted twice in slots four and five with a 60* when batting fifth, here is his mahi in the top three positions...
First: 1 innings, 41avg/59sr
Second: 24 innings, 25.2avg/43sr
Third: 9 innings: 47.1avg/48sr
Young is also slightly better on tour than in Aotearoa...
Home: 28.2avg/42sr
Away: 34.6avg/48sr
Rachin Ravindra didn't do much in his only innings, no dramas there. Tom Blundell is approaching dramas though after he matched Ravindra knock of 2 runs and his Test mahi is on the slide since becoming the 1st 11 wicket-keeper...
2022: 58.5avg/52sr
2023: 36avg/56sr
2024: 23.3avg/72sr
2025: 2avg/33sr
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