Matt Henry produced the third-best figures by a New Zealander on Test debut to thrust his side into a limelight in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Henry’s 6 for 39 and Nathan Smith’s 3 for 20 helped wreck Zimbabwe’s batting line-up as the hosts were dismissed for 149 early in the final session on Day 1. New Zealand started confidently in reply and motored to 92 without loss at Stumps with Devon Conway (51*) and Will Young (41*) erasing over 60 percent of the deficit to cap off a rewarding opening day for New Zealand.
Henry made early inroads with the wickets of both openers. Brian Bennett was then caught at third slip after Henry had added to his pressure with some exemplary length. Ben Curran joined him when he was caught at third slip, this time off the outside edge as Henry’s switch in angle was successful again. The crumpling persisted when Zimbabwe’s mainstay batsman Sean Williams slogged on for 2, after struggling with Nathan Smith’s in winger.
Zimbabwe were in disarray at 31/3 when Nick Welch and captain Craig Ervine came together to revive the innings with a promising stand. But their situation deteriorated when Welch (27) was caught at second slip from Henry and shortly after Lunch and Sikandar Raza – who gloved a bouncer to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell – fell in quick succession.
Craig Ervine (30) and Tafadzwa Tsiga offered some support with a 54-run stand for the sixth wicket but Smith struck to remove Ervine lbw for 30. The tail disappeared in quick order, Henry completed his five-for by knocking over Newman Nyamhuri with another short ball then returned to clean bowled Blessing Muzarabani, who was caught by captain Mitchell Santner who led the team in Tom Latham’s injury-enforced absence.
New Zealand’s openers made a strong start, with Devon Conway and Will Young finding regular boundaries, the pair taking the half-century stand inside 14 overs. The openers hardly appeared to be in any sort of bother during their 26-over stay, during which they took their partnership close to 100. Conway moved his signer to 8 in hitting a half-century late on while Young was nine from 1 as the openers took New Zealand to Stumps unscathed.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 149 (Craig Ervine 39, Tafadzwa Tsiga 30; Matt Henry 6-39, Nathan Smith 3-20) vs New Zealand 92/0 (Devon Conway 51*, Will Young 41*) New Zealand trail by 57 runs.