Zimbabwe wins the toss and elects to bat in the 1st cricket test against New Zealand
New Zealand has won 11 of its 17 test matches against Zimbabwe and drawn six. This is the first match between the two teams since 2016 in cricket's traditional format.
New Zealand, playing its first test match this year, is without several regulars with captain Tom Latham still recovering from a shoulder injury and Glenn Phillips ruled out of the two-match series because of a groin strain he sustained during the Major League Cricket competition in the U.S.
Kane Williamson was unavailable for the series, and fast bowler Kyle Jamieson took time out to be at home for the birth of his first child.
In the absence of Latham, Mitchell Santer was leading the Black Caps for the first time in test matches. Santner led New Zealand to the tri-series title last week in Harare, beating South Africa in the final in the white ball format.
Santner said he'd have preferred to bat first, but hoped the soft pitch would help his three fast bowlers – Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke and Nathan Smith -- early on.
This series is not part of the World Test Championship. Zimbabwe has played seven test matches this year, losing six and winning one.
Zimbabwe is strengthened with the return of allrounder Sikandar Raza and opener Ben Curran after missing out last home series against South Africa, which the Proteas won 2-0.
Sean Williams is Zimbabwe's main scorer in tests this year and has made 577 runs in seven matches that included five 50-plus scores.
Zimbabwe's bowling resources seem slim, with paceman Blessing Muzarabani the only member of the attack who has played 10 or more test matches.
___
Lineups:
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (captain), Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Newman Nyamhuri, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke.
____
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stuart Broad's cheeky 'cheat' response after surprise Channel 7 gig for Ashes
Just when Australian cricket fans thought they had seen the last of Stuart Broad, the Ashes villain will be in our faces all next summer. The champion England fast bowler will part of Channel 7's commentary team and is preparing to cop it from the locals after finally accepting he was at fault for not walking after edging a ball to first slip during the Trent Bridge Test in 2013. His decision to stay at the crease sparked outrage in Australia, leading to calls for a "Broadban" while Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper refused to mention him by name. Broad will return 12 years later, wearing a suit not whites and wielding a microphone instead of a red ball. Seven's move to add the feisty Englishman to its line-up has not gone down well with locals, with one fan saying he's as popular as a mosquito at a BBQ. Former England captain Mike Atherton couldn't resist having a dig at Broad while the pair was commentating together in the England-India series at the weekend. "Well, Stuart, just to reflect on a bit of news that emerged from Down Under overnight that seems to have gone down like a bucket of sick with the locals, namely that you're going to be commentating on one of the local channels in the Ashes," Atherton said. "Just a reminder of how popular you are down there, the Brisbane Courier Mail couldn't bring themselves to put a photo of you on the front page and then called you a smug, pommy, cheat - Broadban. Are you looking forward to going down to Australia this winter to commentate on the Ashes?" Stuart Broad's hilarious response to Ashes dig A smiling Broad responded: "Well, I sort of obviously agree with the pommy and the cheat bit, but I don't think I'm smug. Since retiring from international cricket, I've received many well wishes and messages from passionate Australian fans, so to get the chance to speak to them directly on Seven is something I'm looking forward to. "I've always loved coming to Australia and feeling the love from every Australian cricket fan, and I anticipate this summer won't be any different. Both teams are matched up quite nicely. Obviously, Australia have had the better of England for a long time, over in Australia, but England are coming with a pretty strong team. It will be another epic Ashes series played in the right spirit, as all Ashes are. Aren't they? "I'm really excited to give my views on how I think the series will go." The five-Test Ashes series begins in Perth on November 21.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
West Indies hold their nerves to beat Pakistan in T20 thriller
LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) — Jason Holder took four wickets and then smashed a boundary off the final ball of the game to lift West Indies to a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan on Saturday and level the three-match Twenty20 cricket international series. The veteran allrounder bowled an inspired spell to take 4-19 off four overs, as Pakistan struggled to 133 for nine after it won the toss and batted in Florida. The West Indies reply also stumbled as Pakistan's spinners kept scoring difficult but late cameos by Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd kept West Indies just about in the contest before Holder's heroics off Pakistan talisman Shahid Shah Afridi's final delivery clinched it. It is the first T20 victory for West Indies in seven matches, a span that includes a heavy 5-0 series defeat to Australia, on top of a test series sweep last month. 'Been a tough couple of weeks for us,' captain Shai Hope said. 'We always try to get better, the guys have put in a lot of hard work. 'Hopefully today is the turnaround we are looking for.' Earlier, Hasan Nawaz's 40 from 23 balls and captain Salman Agha's 38 from 33 deliveries led Pakistan from a precarious 53-4 in the 10th over, but 133 looked a vulnerable target at the innings break. Fresh from taking three wickets in Pakistan's 14-run win in the opening game at the same venue on Thursday, Mohammad Nawaz took another three Saturday, returning 3-14 from his four overs. Like Thursday's game, West Indies found scoring more than five-an-over difficult on the spin-friendly pitch and lost regular wickets. When Roston Chase was teased into a big shot by Saim Ayub, West Indies had sunk to 70-5 in the 14th over and looking at a steep mountain to climb. West Indies rally Motie got the innings moving with his quickfire 28 from 20 balls before Shepherd chipped in with 15 from 11 balls, including taking 10 runs off Hasan Ali in the second-to-last over to give West Indies a glimpse. Needing eight runs from the final over, Afridi removed Shepherd off the second ball, with Holder and new batter Shamar Joseph only able to score singles off the next three balls. Afridi then bowled a wide to leave West Indies needing three runs from the final ball. Holder then found the gap at backward square to score the boundary they needed and end their six T20 match losing streak. 'We've had a fair bit of criticism which is warranted,' player-of-the-match Holder said. 'We haven't done justice to our potential. 'We can be a lot better, consistency has definitely plagued us.' The third T20 will be held in Lauderhill on Sunday before an ODI series in the Caribbean. ___ AP cricket:
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
All Blacks scrum-half Roigard out of Argentina Tests
All Black Cameron Roigard has been ruled out of two Tests in Argentina, New Zealand Rugby announced Sunday, with the scrum-half joining a worrying injury list ahead of the Rugby Championship. Roigard suffered a stress fracture to his foot while playing in last month's 3-0 home series sweep of an under-strength France. Scan results confirmed he won't be fit for Tests against the Pumas in Cordoba on August 16 and Buenos Aires a week later, robbing New Zealand of a speedy half, who has emerged as a key player under coach Scott Robertson. The 24-year-old's availability for two home Tests against South Africa in September is unclear. Robertson will need to dig into his scrum-half depth when naming a 36-man squad on Monday to travel to Argentina. Noah Hotham was already ruled out with an ankle injury, leaving only Cortez Ratima available from the three scrum-halves involved in the France series. Robertson may consider a recall for 23-cap scrum-half Finlay Christie, whose last test was more than a year ago against England. Another candidate is Otago Highlander Folau Fakatava, who made two bench appearances against Ireland in 2022. Robertson had previously said first-choice prop Tyrel Lomax and winger Caleb Clarke will miss the Argentina Tests as they recuperate from injury, along with Hotham and back-rower Luke Jacobson. Captain Scott Barrett is likely to be included after missing the last two French Tests with a calf muscle complaint. His brother and playmaker Beauden Barrett is also expected to be available after shaking off an injury, along with key forwards Tupou Vaa'i, Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams. dgi/fox
