Zimbabwe will take on New Zealand in the first of the two-match Test series. This article provides details about Zimbabwe’s Playing 11 vs New Zealand for the first game of the Test series.
Zimbabwe Playing 11 vs New Zealand- 1st Test, New Zealand Tour of Zimbabwe 2025:
Openers: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran
Zimbabwe will be playing a Test match against New Zealand for the first time since 2016 and would want to put on a strong show in all three departments of the game.
The Craig Ervine-led side has all the resources to challenge New Zealand, given they use them in the right manner.
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The home team would have been boosted by the return of Ben Curran and experienced all-rounder Sikandar Raza, both of whom missed Zimbabwe’s last Test assignment against South Africa.
Curran is expected to open the innings with Brian Bennett, who has looked the most in form of Zimbabwe’s batter across formats, and would hope to carry his form into the Test series.
Bennett would want good support from Currant, who himself would look to get things right and score some runs against the BlackCaps.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Clive Madande (wk), Nicholas Welch
The openers will be followed by an experienced middle order, which includes the likes of captain Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, and Sikandar Raza.
The trio will have to take the responsibility of guiding the team to a challenging total in their first innings.
Experienced batters will be accompanied by wicketkeeper batter Clive Madande and Nicholas Welch, both of whom would also like to make handy contributions with the bat.
The hosts’ batting will play a crucial part in deciding which way the match is heading.
Bowlers: Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu
As far as the bowling is concerned, the selectors have decided to retain the core, which comprises players majority of whom played the last series against South Africa.
The team’s bowling lineup is made up of Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, and Trevor Gwandu.
The home team would surely miss the services of Richard Ngarava, who is not a part of the squad announced for the two-match Test series.
Fast bowling will be handled by Blessing Muzarabani and Trevor Gwandu in the absence of Ngarava.
The fast bowlers will look to pick up early wickets and get into New Zealand’s middle order, which will be without their regular captain Tom Latham, as soon as possible, to put pressure on the visitors.
As far as the spin department of the Craig Ervine-led side is concerned, it will be handled by Wellington Masakadza and Vincent Masekesa, with Sikandar Raza being the third spin bowling option.
The hosts are expected to go in with four specialist bowlers in the playing XI for the first match against New Zealand.
