5-star Henry scythes through Zimbabwe

Bulawayo: A new crop of New Zealand fast bowlers showcased their red-ball skills to perfection against struggling Zimbabwe on Thursday and overshadowed Brendan Taylor’s comeback to Test cricket after a 3-and-a-half-year ban.

Matt Henry followed his nine-wicket haul in the first Test with another impactful 5-40 and debutant pace bowler Zakary Foulkes picked up 4-38 to dismiss Zimbabwe for 125 on Day 1 of the second Test inside two sessions.

New Zealand opening pair of Will Young (74) and Devon Conway (79 not out) decimated Zimbabwe pace in the last session with aggressive batting and motored the Black Caps to 174-1 for a 49-run lead by stumps.

Young smashed 11 fours in a 162-run stand with Conway before he finally chopped on Trevor Gwandu’s short ball back onto his leg stump.

The 39-year-old Taylor made 44 off 107 balls on what he described as a “debut-like feeling” in returning to international cricket from his ban for violating multiple ICC codes of conduct. Zimbabwe batters seemed to have learned little from a nine-wicket defeat in the first test, inside three days, and despite New Zealand losing fast bowlers Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke due to injuries they had pretty good red-ball pace stock to challenge the home team.

The three debutant fast bowlers — Foulkes, Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher — all matched the impeccable bowling of Henry to stun Zimbabwe after captain Craig Ervine won the toss and elected to bat. Wicketkeeper-batter Tafadzwa Tsiga made an unbeaten 33 and shared a 25-run

last wicket stand.