Matt Henry's six-wicket haul headlined a dominant opening day for New Zealand in their first Test with Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
ZIM Vs NZ, 1st Test: Matt Henry Stars As New Zealand Dominate Zimbabwe On Opening Day In Bulawayo
The wickets continued to tumble as Ben Curran (13), Sean Williams (two) and Nick Welch (27) were dismissed to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 69-5 before 30 overs had even been played
Henry ended with figures of 6-39 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 149, and the tourists reached stumps 57 runs behind their opponents having scored 92 without loss.
Craig Ervine opted to bat first against a strong New Zealand attack, and the tourists made the breakthrough in the third over when Brian Bennett (10) was caught off Henry's bowling.
The wickets continued to tumble as Ben Curran (13), Sean Williams (two) and Nick Welch (27) were dismissed to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 69-5 before 30 overs had even been played.
Ervine was able to steady the ship somewhat as he top-scored for the hosts with 39 from 116 balls, but he was trapped lbw by Nathan Smith on his way to figures of 3-20.
It seemed fitting that Henry concluded Zimbabwe's innings with the wicket of Blessing Muzarabani (one), then New Zealand wasted little time in scoring some early runs.
Devon Conway stormed to his 12th Test half-century and ended the day on 51, and he was joined by Will Young (41) with the pair returning to the crease on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Henry builds on Tri-Nation momentum
The Black Caps were led by Henry, whose figures of 6-39 were his third-best in a Test innings, only faring better against Australia in 2024 (7-67) and South Africa in 2022 (7-23).
Henry also took the most wickets in New Zealand's recent Tri-Nations series success over Zimbabwe and South Africa, with 10, and you would not bet against him continuing his fine form in the longer format.
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