Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) (AFP) – Left-arm seamer Neil Wagner’s raw pace and aggression proved too much for an out-of-touch Zimbabwean batting lineup as New Zealand stamped their authority on the first Test on the opening day at Queens Sports Club on Thursday.
On a surface offering little to the bowlers, Wagner bent his back and used the short ball to good effect to take career-best figures of 6 for 41, bowling Zimbabwe out for just 164 after they had won the toss and elected to bat first.
Zimbabwe had not played a Test since November 2014, and the hiatus showed in their inability to occupy the crease on a pitch that held no demons.
New Zealand closed the day on 32 without loss, with Tom Latham on 16 and Martin Guptill on 14.