New Zealand sweep the Test series 2-0 against Zimbabwe. Foulkes, Henry and NZ bowlers outclass Zimbabwe on their way to an incredible record victory; Corbin Bosch, Rubin Hermann and Lhuan-dre Pretorius make their T20I debuts respectively.
Glenn Phillips ruled out of Zimbabwe T20I tri-series due to a groin injury; Bracewell appointed as replacement in first game. This update has impacted New Zealand’s squad balance in the Zimbabwe National Cricket Team Vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match Scorecard and T20I tri-series lineup.
| Match | Format | Venue | Result | Zimbabwe Score | New Zealand Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Test (2025) | Test | Bulawayo | NZ won by 9 wickets | 149 & 165 | 307 & 8/1 | New Zealand |
| 2nd Test (2025) | Test | Bulawayo | NZ won by an innings & 359 runs | 125 & 117 | 601/3d | New Zealand |
| 3rd T20I (2025 Tri-series) | T20I | Harare | NZ won by 8 wickets | 120/7 (20) | 122/2 (13.5) | New Zealand |
| 2nd ODI (2015) | ODI | Harare | NZ won by 10 wickets | 235/9 (50) | 236/0 (42.2) | New Zealand (ESPN) |
| 3rd ODI (2011) | ODI | Bulawayo | Zimbabwe won by 1 wicket | 328/5 (50) | 329/9 (49.5) | Zimbabwe |
Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
The Black Caps have taken an impressive two wins out of two matches in this tri-series tri-series tri-series tri-series tri-series to set themselves up to become the first side ever to claim an unblemished Test series against Zimbabwe.
Due to injury, Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips will miss both tests, replaced by Matt Henry as captain with Santner as deputy. Both players will miss both Tests as well, though Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes received their inaugural Test call-ups.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat, giving Corbin Bosch, Rubin Hermann and Lhuan-dre Pretorius their T20I debuts for South Africa. Zimbabwe were dismissed for an under-par total and Zakary Foulkes recorded his best match figures on his Test debut for New Zealand.
1st Test
New Zealand defeated Zimbabwe by an innings and 159 runs to take an early advantage in their three-match series, and win their inaugural Test by an innings and 159 runs in Harare.
New Zealander Zak Foulkes recorded impressive bowling figures on debut for New Zealand; Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher made their maiden Test appearances for Zimbabwe respectively.
Glenn Phillips was forced out of the first Test due to injury, with Matt Santner serving as his stand-in captain for this Test match – marking Santner’s inaugural captaincy of New Zealand in an International match – taking full advantage of an in-form South African attack to lead them to victory.
2nd Test
Zimbabwe have had difficulty since becoming Test cricket nations. Financial difficulties have affected domestic structure and forced cancellation of several tournaments such as Pro40. Zimbabwe also threatens boycott several matches and players have formed their own union.
Though India are struggling in Test cricket, they still hope to join the elite club of Test teams by winning more Tests – something which should happen during three Test matches against New Zealand over the coming months.
Zimbabwe struggled in their opening Test against New Zealand and fell to an incredible deficit of 419 runs before eventually being bowled out for just 54 runs.
However, in their second innings against New Zealand they did much better, reaching 277 themselves before restricting New Zealand’s scoring to only 328 overs – an outstanding performance since Zimbabwe had never previously chased totals exceeding 300 in their history!
New Zealand took a remarkable victory against Zimbabwe, winning by an innings and 35 runs – their largest win against them to date! Zakary Foulkes stood out as the star performer on debut, taking five wickets on debut, supported by Henry and Duffy who both claimed two wickets each.
3rd Test
After an impressive victory in the second Test, New Zealand completed their series win with Zimbabwe in an emphatic third Test at Bulawayo with an innings and 359-run victory by Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja, Henry Nicholls all hitting tons to ensure an easy chase to victory after an initially difficult start by Zimbabwe. Matt Henry took 16 wickets throughout this series ensuring New Zealand took an unassailable 2-0 advantage.
Zakary Foulkes made an unforgettable Test debut, shredding Zimbabwe’s batting line-up on his maiden Test appearance and finishing with 9/75 – one of the highest figures ever achieved by any New Zealand bowler on their first outing. James Neesham and Jacob Duffy also recorded maiden Test scalps to join Zakary Foulkes’ feats of bowling.
4th Test
On 4 August 2011, Zimbabwe returned to Test cricket following six-year exile, hosting Bangladesh in a one-off Test match at Harare Sports Club and winning by 130 runs – marking an uplifting return.
As part of their celebrations, Zimbabwe Cricket Board announced upgrades at Harare Sports Club and Mutare grounds and plans for Victoria Falls Test ground as a result.
Zimbabwe hosted Australia in a triangular ODI series the following month and managed a stunning comeback victory by defeating them by an innings and 359 runs in their fourth match – this marked Zimbabwe’s first win against Australia since 1983 world cup in England![58]
Zimbabwe were poised to clinch their first series victory since returning to Test cricket in 2017. Unfortunately, Graeme Cremer’s back injury ruled him out of playing, leaving their squad short-handed. To accommodate this circumstance and secure victory during this tour Peter Moor was appointed captain temporarily.
Zimbabwe were comprehensively outplayed in all formats by New Zealand; yet were victorious in their final ODI against New Zealand by five wickets, recording an historic series win away from home against them for any format.
This win marked a special achievement by their cricketers: their first ever series win away from home against them at any level!
5th Test
By the second half of the decade, Zimbabwe had emerged as an effective one-day side, defeating England 5-0 in 1997 and New Zealand three times home and away between 2000-2001. They reached multiple multi-national one-day tournament finals while Test cricket remained difficult.
After several disappointing performances in early 2006, coach Graeme Cremer announced his resignation. Zimbabwe was particularly dismal at the 2006 World Cup; losing all three matches against Bangladesh before going down in an innings loss against South Africa with opening batsman Brendan Taylor making just two runs before being run out for a duck in just the opening match against them.
After this setback, a change of policy was instituted in order to try and turn around Zimbabwe’s fortunes. A new generation of Zimbabwe players emerged such as Travis Friend and Andy Blignaut; fast bowlers Hamilton Masakadza and Dougie Marillier emerged; these talented, multi-discipline players served as an essential foundation for Zimbabwean cricket team success.
Zimbabwe had inconsistent results during this period, finishing eighth at the 2007 World Cup and first-round of 2008 Asia Cup before beating Bangladesh by seven wickets; later that year they completed all games before facing South Africa in tri-series play and lost out by one wicket; at this time Dav Whatmore from former South African cricket played on their management team.
