The historic rivalry between Zimbabwe and New Zealand was refreshed in July 2025, when the teams faced off at Bulawayo. The 2025 test match between the teams brought together passion, resilience and some of the best players together. Get ready for an exciting contest filled with plot twists, experiences, and cricketing euphoria. Read further to get into the action of international cricket and understand why the Zimbabwe vs New Zealand match is an unmissable story, minute by minute.
Contents
Series Overview: Zimbabwe vs New Zealand Players Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Players and Performers Zimbabwe National Cricket Team players New Zealand National Cricket Team Players Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Match HighlightsMatch Highlights Team & Player-wiseNoteworthy Records and Statistics: Other Trending Posts from the Cricket
Series Overview: Zimbabwe vs New Zealand Players
On July 30 to August 1, 2025, the first Test match between Zimbabwe and New Zealand was held at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat. This was a special occasion with the captains of Zimbabwe, Craig Ervine, and New Zealand, Devon Conway. Both teams had quality bowlers and batsmen. They had put in a great deal of time and planning into preparation with their support teams. Even the pitch was known as a lively pitch. There were over 9000 fans in attendance taking in the action of a Test match. Fans had the ability to experience the atmosphere live online on FanCode, allowing cricket fans around the world to enjoy the Test match cricket.
| Category | Details |
| Match | ZIM vs NZ, 1st Test, New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe, 2025 |
| Date | Wednesday, July 30, 2025 – Friday, August 01, 2025 |
| Time | 1:30 PM (local) |
| Venue | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Toss | Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat |
| Umpires | Alex Wharf, Asif Yaqoob |
| Third Umpire | Langton Rusere |
| Match Referee | Ranjan Madugalle |
| Stadium | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Capacity | 9,000 |
| Hosts to | Zimbabwe, Matabeleland |
| Streaming | FanCode |
Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Players and Performers
Zimbabwe National Cricket Team players
| Player Name | Role | Match 1 (Queens Sports Club) | Match 2 (Queens Sports Club) |
| Ben Curran | Batter | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Brian Bennett | Batting Allrounder | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Nick Welch | Batter | Innings: 2, Runs: 31 | Innings: 2, Runs: 58 |
| Sean Williams | Batting Allrounder | Innings: 2, Runs: 69 | Did Not Play |
| Craig Ervine (C) | Batter | Innings: 2, Runs: 50 | Did Not Play |
| Sikandar Raza | Batting Allrounder | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Tafadzwa Tsiga (WK) | WK-Batter | Innings: 2, Runs: 57 | Innings: 2, Runs: 38 |
| Newman Nyamhuri | Bowler | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Vincent Masekesa | Bowling Allrounder | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Blessing Muzarabani | Bowler | Wickets: 3 | Wickets: 1 |
| Tanaka Chivanga | Bowler | Wickets: 2 | Did Not Play |
| Clive Madande (Bench) | WK-Batter | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Wellington Masakadza (Bench) | Bowler | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Trevor Gwandu (Bench) | Bowler | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Tanunurwa Makoni (Bench) | Batter | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Roy Kaia (Bench) | Batting Allrounder | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Justin Sammons (Support Staff) | Head Coach | N/A | N/A |
| Dion Ebrahim (Support Staff) | Assistant Coach | N/A | N/A |
| Charl Langeveldt (Support Staff) | Bowling Coach | N/A | N/A |
| Stuart Matsikenyeri (Support Staff) | Fielding Coach | N/A | N/A |
New Zealand National Cricket Team Players
| Player Name | Role | Match 1 (Queens Sports Club) | Match 2 (Queens Sports Club) |
| Devon Conway | WK-Batter | Innings: 1, Runs: 88 | Innings: 1, Runs: 153 |
| Will Young | Batter | Innings: 1, Runs: 26 | Innings: 1, Runs: 74 |
| Henry Nicholls | Batter | Innings: 1, Runs: 23 | Innings: 1, Runs: 150* |
| Rachin Ravindra | Batting Allrounder | Innings: 1, Runs: 14 | Innings: 1, Runs: 165* |
| Daryl Mitchell | Batting Allrounder | Innings: 1, Runs: 80 | Did Not Play |
| Tom Blundell (WK) | WK-Batter | Innings: 1, Runs: 1 | Did Not Play |
| Michael Bracewell | Batting Allrounder | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Mitchell Santner (C) | Bowling Allrounder | Wickets: 4 | Wickets: 2 |
| Nathan Smith | Bowling Allrounder | Wickets: 1 | Wickets: 1 |
| Matt Henry | Bowler | Wickets: 9 | Wickets: 7 |
| William O’Rourke | Bowler | Wickets: 3 | Did Not Play (Injured) |
| Ajaz Patel (Bench) | Bowler | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
| Jacob Duffy (Bench) | Bowler | Wickets: 1 (Did Not Play in M1) | Wickets: 2 |
| Matthew Fisher (Bench) | Bowler | Did Not Play | Wickets: 2 |
Zimbabwe National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Match Highlights
- After winning the toss on Thursday, Zimbabwe opted to bat first, but they endured a tough opening day against New Zealand’s potent bowling attack. By the close of play, Zimbabwe had only registered 149 runs in their first innings.
- Matt Henry was the star for New Zealand, taking 6 wickets for just 39 runs to dismantle Zimbabwe’s batting order early on.
- New Zealand then took their batting turn, scoring 307 runs in their innings, building a massive first innings lead over Zimbabwe.
- Zimbabwe showed some fight in their second innings, scoring 165 runs, but it gave New Zealand a small target to chase down to win the match.
- New Zealand made it look easy as they chased down Zimbabwe’s 165 runs for one wicket to win the match by 9 wickets.
- The game showed that New Zealand has a well-rounded cricket team, with excellent bowling and batting performances across the board.
Match Highlights Team & Player-wise
New Zealand Batting Highlights:
- Devon Conway scored 245 runs, including an important century of 153.
- Rachin Ravindra scored an unbeaten 165, supporting each other well with Henry Nicholls.
- Henry Nicholls was not out on 150 runs, contributing to the team’s highest scores.
- Will Young scored 74 runs and Daryl Mitchell scored 80, providing good support to the team.
New Zealand Bowling Highlights:
- Matt Henry had 16 wickets in the series, including a six-wicket haul in the first Test and a five-wicket haul in the second Test.
- Zakary Foulkes, in his debut, took 9 wickets, a new record for a New Zealand debut.
- Mitchell Santner took some important wickets and took the captaincy role on.
- Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher each took some productive wickets.
Zimbabwe Batting Highlights:
- Tafadzwa Tsiga was the top scorer with only 95 runs in the entire series.
- Brendan Taylor was relatively well with 44 runs in the second Test.
- Craig Ervine and Sean Williams also put on a defence in the fight.
- Nick Welch had an unbeaten 47 in the second Test.
Zimbabwe Bowling Highlights:
- Blessing Muzarabani had 4 wickets in the series, including an important three-wicket spell.
- Tanaka Chivanga got two wickets.
Noteworthy Records and Statistics:
- The largest win for New Zealand in Test cricket was their second Test win, by an innings and 359 runs. This was their largest win by runs in Test match history, and the third largest win in the history of all cricket.
- In that Test, three players, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, and Rachin Ravindra, all scored 150+ runs in the same innings. This is only the third time this has been achieved in Test cricket history.
- Zakary Foulkes took 9 wickets for 75 runs on his Test debut. This was a new record for New Zealand bowlers making their Test debut.
