Online Reporter
DON’T expect the Black Caps of New Zealand to follow South Africa’s lead for their upcoming Test cricket series in Zimbabwe.
The newly-minted world Test champions left a host of their big names at home for their two-match series against their neighbours.
Making seven changes to the team that beat Australia by five wickets in last month’s World Test Championship final didn’t appear to hurt them, however.
Teenager wicketkeeper Luhandre Pretorius made a century on debut, while journeyman seam-bowling all-rounder Corbin Bosch also reached three figures, then took five wickets in Zimbabwe’s second innings as South Africa won the first Test in Bulawayo by 328 runs on Tuesday.
That says a lot about the strength — or lack thereof — of Zimbabwe and not much else. Before this, they were beaten by an innings and 45 runs by England in a one-off four-day Test in May.
The Black Caps will soon join the two African nations for a Twenty20 tri-series, starting on July 14, then will face Zimbabwe in a two-match series of their own, starting on July 31.
A strong T20 squad was named last week and a near full-strength test squad is expected to be named next week, for new coach Rob Walter’s first test series since succeeding Gary Stead.
There will be two notable absentees, but they have been signalled well in advance.
Former captain Kane Williamson is playing for Middlesex and London Spirit in England and has made himself unavailable, now that he engages with New Zealand Cricket on a casual playing contract, not a central one.
Kyle Jamieson will meanwhile be absent on parental leave as he and his partner Emma are expecting their first child.
It has been more than six months since the Black Caps were last in action in Test cricket and they finished 2024 with a number of their batters struggling for form as they lost 2-1 to England at home.
Captain Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell have all been below their best for an extended period of time.
The only century any of them have scored in the Black Caps’ last 18 Tests was a slogged consolation effort by Blundell when a big loss was looming in the second innings of the second Test against England last December.
Conway and Blundell would be the two under the most pressure, and while Walter is unlikely to make big changes for his first test series in charge, he did leave Conway – who is no longer centrally contracted — out of his first T20 squad.
A new face is more likely in the bowling ranks, with Jamieson absent, Tim Southee now retired and Ben Sears recovering from an injury that kept him from being picked for the T20s.
Jamieson has only played in three of the Black Caps’ last 21 Tests while battling back injuries and will have to wait until the West Indies visit for three matches in December to return to red-ball action.
The post-Southee era will begin in Zimbabwe, with veteran Matt Henry leading the seam attack and the towering figure of Will O’Rourke — who only made his debut in early 2024 — now his most reliable foil.
Nathan Smith joined those two and Southee in a quartet for the first two tests against England last year, before making way for an extra spin option in the form of Mitchell Santner for the third match in Hamilton.
If the Black Caps opt for a seam quartet in Zimbabwe, Jacob Duffy could be in line to finally make his debut, three years after he was first included in a squad. He was previously coached by Walter at Otago.
A fifth seamer would likely be needed in the squad for cover. If Sears isn’t fit to try to add to his lone test cap — against Australia last March — it could mean a first call-up for Zac Foulkes, who was recently handed a central contract, or Ben Lister, with all-rounder Muhammad Abbas — another new contractee — a wildcard option.
The Tests against Zimbabwe are not part of the next edition of the World Test Championship, but they are two of just five tests the Black Caps will play this year.
The home series against the West Indies in December marks the start of their 2025-27 campaign, where they will then play England away, India at home, Australia away, Sri Lanka at home and Pakistan away. — stuff.co.nz/Sports Reporter
