Zimbabwe wins toss, elects to bat against New Zealand in 1st cricket test

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand on Wednesday in the first cricket test between the two nations in almost nine years.

New Zealand has won 11 of its 17 test matches against Zimbabwe and drawn six. This is the first match between the two teams since 2016 in cricket’s traditional format.

New Zealand, playing its first test match this year, is without several regulars with captain Tom Latham still recovering from a shoulder injury and Glenn Phillips ruled out of the two-match series because of a groin strain he sustained during the Major League Cricket competition in the U.S.

Kane Williamson was unavailable for the series, and fast bowler Kyle Jamieson took time out to be at home for the birth of his first child.

In the absence of Latham, Mitchell Santer was leading the Black Caps for the first time in test matches. Santner led New Zealand to the tri-series title last week in Harare, beating South Africa in the final in the white ball format.

Santner said he’d have preferred to bat first, but hoped the soft pitch would help his three fast bowlers – Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith -- early on.

This series is not part of the World Test Championship. Zimbabwe has played seven test matches this year, losing six and winning one.

Zimbabwe is strengthened with the return of allrounder Sikandar Raza and opener Ben Curran after missing out last home series against South Africa, which the Proteas won 2-0.

Sean Williams is Zimbabwe’s main scorer in tests this year and has made 577 runs in seven matches that included five 50-plus scores.

Zimbabwe’s bowling resources seem slim, with paceman Blessing Muzarabani the only member of the attack who has played 10 or more test matches.

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Lineups:

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (captain), Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Newman Nyamhuri, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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