On the third day of the second Test at Queens Sports Club, New Zealand won a big and historic match over Zimbabwe. The Black Caps triumphed by an innings and 359 runs, which is the third-largest win by an innings in Test cricket history. There were only two bigger wins: England’s win over Australia in 1938 (by an innings and 579 runs) and Australia’s win over South Africa in 2002 (by an innings and 360 runs).
Zimbabwe lost their second innings and were bowled out for just 117 runs. The hero of the show was debutant bowler Zak Foulkes, who took five wickets for 37 runs. Foulkes had a great debut, taking nine wickets for 77 runs. This tied the record for the most wickets taken by a New Zealander on their first Test match. Nic Welch was the only other Zimbabwean batsman to put up a fight, and he stayed unbeaten on 47.
New Zealand’s huge first innings total of 601 for three, which they proclaimed overnight, provided the basis for their win. Devon Conway (153), Henry Nicholls (150), and Rachin Ravindra (165 not out) all scored centuries, putting the visitors in a position that couldn’t be beaten.
The New Zealand speed assault didn’t let up in the second innings. Matt Henry, who took 16 wickets in the two matches and was voted Player of the Series, started the collapse by bowling Brian Bennett out for a duck. Henry, Jacob Duffy, and Matthew Fisher kept putting pressure on the Zimbabwean batsmen, and then Foulkes ran through the middle and lower order.
Devon Conway was selected Player of the Match for his great knock of 153. The win also meant that Zimbabwe had lost six Tests in a row, four of which were innings losses. Mitch Santner, the captain of New Zealand for the series, lauded his team’s performance, saying they “bowled well in the first innings after losing the toss” and “the batsmen got through some tough times with their partnerships and then cashed in.”