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Bulawayo
12 - 16 September 2000
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat. They made a slow start but managed to see out the crucial first session with the loss of only one wicket with 51 runs on the board. They continued in the same vein after lunch and were two for 105 at tea. Scoring at less than two runs per over they clearly had a strategy of building their innings, no matter how long it took. In the evening session Zimbabwe lost two more wickets before ending the day at 4 for 185 off 102 overs.
New Zealand continued to bowl tightly on the second morning while Zimbabwe seemed content just to hang around and score very slowly. They moved to 5 for 251 at lunch, still scoring at less than two runs per over. In the afternoon session New Zealand wrapped up the innings to dismiss Zimbabwe at tea for 350. However, the final two wickets added the last 50 runs and may prove to be a turning point later in the game. Top scorer for Zimbabwe was Campbell with 88 while Wiseman took 5 for 90 off 45 overs for New Zealand. New Zealand batted out the day to be 2 for 62 scoring at closer to 2.5 runs per over.
On the third morning New Zealand started well, but lost their night watchman, Wiseman, before going to lunch at 3 for 128. In the afternoon session, Strang seized the advantage for Zimbabwe by taking three more wickets in the session with the total at 180 when they went to tea. However, in the evening session, Cairns (33*) and McMillan (58) fought back to see New Zealand 7 for 252 - still 98 runs behind Zimbabwe's first innings total.
Zimbabwe removed the crucial wicket of Cairns without addition to the overnight score. However, Vettori and Parore batted confidently through to lunch to be 8 for 324 and in the process evened the test. Zimbabwe ended the innings in the afternoon session to see New Zealand all out for 338 and with a first innings deficit of 12 runs. Top scorer for New Zealand was Horne with 110 while Strang took 8 for 159 off 57.5 overs. New Zealand then struck early and r3emoved three Zimbabwian wickets for 23 runs before tea. After tea, Zimbabwe again batted at less than two runs per over to end day four at 5 for 100 and an overall lead of 112 runs. New Zealand had worked their way into a winning position in the test, provided they can wrap up the Zimbabwian innings early on day five.
On the final morning, Zimbabwe lost two more wickets without adding to their overnight total. Zimbabwe struggled on until just before the drinks break when they were dismissed for 119 setting New Zealand at final innings target of 132 to win. Top scorer was Campbell with 45 while Cairns took 5 for 41 off 14.5 overs. By lunch, New Zealand had reached 1 for 40. However, the more significant event was the no balling of Grant Flower three times in the one over for chucking by umpire Darryl Hair. After the break, New Zealand batted solidly and reached the target shortly before tea with the loss of only three wickets. Top scorer for New Zealand was Sinclair with 43 while Strang was the most successful bowler with 2 for 49 off 20.4 overs.
Second Test
Harare
19 - 23 September 2000
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. Zimbabwe struck early to see New Zealand at 1 for 5. However, New Zealand consolidated and by lunch they had reached 60 without further loss. Zimbabwe struck twice early in the afternoon session and at tea New Zealand had again consolidated to be 3 for 131. In the evening session, New Zealand moved to a dominant position with Richardson (99) out in the final over to see the total 4 for 226.
New Zealand continued batting on the second morning with an impressive first innings total in mind. Zimbabwe managed to take two more wickets in the morning session, but at lunch the score had moved along to 6 for 302. The afternoon session again belonged to New Zealand as they lost only one wicket while adding a further 102 runs and in the process batted Zimbabwe out of any hope of winning the test to draw the series. New Zealand was dismissed after tea for a total of 465 with Cairns top scoring with 124. For Zimbabwe, Olonga finished with the best figures of 3 for 115 off 27 overs. Zimbabwe batted out the remaining hour of play to be 1 for 31 at stumps.
Zimbabwe started the third day looking to force a draw by scoring at around one run per over for the morning session. At lunch they had suceeded in not losing further wickets while the total moved to 71 runs. After lunch, the rot set in for Zimbabwe and they lost five wickets in the session. Eventually, after tea, they were dismissed for 166 having lost their last 6 wickets for 20 runs. Grant Flower top scored with 49 while Brother Andy made 48. For New Zealand, O'Conner took 3 for 43 off 28 overs. This left them 299 runs in arrears and the follow on was enforced by New Zealand. At stumps they had lost one wicket for 6 runs, still needing 293 to make New Zealand bat again.
Zimbabwe set about saving this test on the fourth day in the same manner as they made their first innings total in the first test - very slowly. Batting at closer to one run per over they lost a total of three wickets in the morning session, two through silly run outs, to be 4 for 66 at lunch. After lunch they picked up the pace and managed to bat through the session without loss of wickets and in doing so moved the total to 156. New Zealand struck back in the final session with one wicket while Whittall (105*) reached his third test century. At stumps, Zimbabwe was 5 for 228 needing another 71 runs to force New Zealand to bat again.
Zimbabwe continued batting on the final morning with the task of occupying the crease to hold out for the draw. They batted through the morning session without losing another wicket. After lunch New Zealand finally broke through with the new ball when the sixth wicket fell at 330. Three more wickets fell before tea and then Zimbabwe were dismissed just after tea for 370 leaving New Zealand a final innings target of 72 runs in 18 overs. Whitall was the best batsman with 188 not out while O'Connor with 4 for 73 off 45 overs was the most successful bowler. New Zealand lost two wickets before reaching the required runs to win the test with around three overs to spare.
