New Zealand cruise to innings win despite Williams' stoic ton
Sean Williams' maiden Test century could not prevent Zimbabwe from crashing to defeat in the first match against New Zealand but it helped cushion the heavy innings loss
Sean Williams' maiden Test century could not prevent Zimbabwe from crashing to defeat in the first match against New Zealand but it helped cushion the heavy innings loss
Even though the result of the first Test between New Zealand and Zimbabwe was decided before Sunday, captains Kane Williamson and Graeme Cremer did not expect the match to end without a fight
Laid low by illness and with his team deep in trouble, Sean Williams produced the innings to silence his doubters
Ross Taylor and BJ Watling took 299 and 172 deliveries respectively to rack up 173* and 107 - their second hundreds against Zimbabwe - and build an advantage New Zealand may have considered unassailable
Both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe's first innings ended cheaply, but while Sri Lanka could bounce back and win, Zimbabwe's unsettled state prevented them from staging a fightback
Tom Latham's fourth Test century and 91 from Kane Williamson on his Test captaincy debut saw New Zealand dominate the second day against a hapless home side
Graeme Cremer has offered New Zealand an invitation he may end up regretting after a difficult second day in the field for him and his men in Bulawayo
It was not a fluent hundred, but it was exactly the sort of innings New Zealand had spoken about needing on their return to Test cricket
Neil Wagner's career-best 6 for 41 dismantled Zimbabwe's fragile line-up and the hosts were only saved from being dismissed for the lowest first-innings score in Bulawayo by their tail
Zimbabwe's small fightback on the opening day was heartening, but the earlier demise was sadly predictable
Stats highlights from the first Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Bulawayo, where Neil Wagner took a career-best six-for on the opening day
Meet the Zimbabwe batsman who got religion, shed weight, and made his Test debut last week
Fans can watch the ongoing Test series between Zimbabwe and New Zealand on television in New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka, and maybe several other places, but not in Zimbabwe
Players who have featured in the most ODIs before their Test debut
The ability to adapt quickly to unfamiliar conditions was crucial to New Zealand's victory in the first Test over Zimbabwe, according to coach Mike Hesson
Vusi Sibanda is working as a commentator while he sits out of the Zimbabwe side. But he's optimistic that his playing career will soon be back on track
Despite Zimbabwe's gap of nearly 20 months between Test matches, the side's interim coach Makhaya Ntini was confident his side are ready for New Zealand
For all the feelings of excitement at Test cricket's return to Bulawayo, there is the reality that the home side will find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer gulf between their visitors and themselves in every way