New Zealand pacer Matt Henry stated that it was rewarding to take advantage of the circumstances on Day 1 of the Bulawayo Test against Zimbabwe, which he believed played an important role in providing the squad with a firm foundation.
His performances aided New Zealand’s overwhelming victory in the first Test of the two-match series, as they easily chased down the low target of eight runs in their second innings.
Henry, who was named Player of the Match for taking nine wickets, also stated that Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke would be evaluated for injuries. He also mentioned that he is looking forward to the next home summer. He believes the team’s outstanding bowling performance had a significant influence on the outcome of the match in Bulawayo.
“That’s probably the nature of playing international cricket, you’re chopping and changing between formats and have to trust the work put in beforehand. It was great the way we could exploit it (helpful conditions) on day one and set the platform. They’ll both get checked out today (injury concerns for Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke). We’ve got another game here and a big home summer coming up. Being smart with bodies is really important. Great to be back here playing Test cricket,” Henry said in the post-match presentation.
The victory was a collective performance: Mitchell Santner
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner praised the team’s overall performance but admitted that they could have been more clinical with the bat. He felt that the side missed the opportunity to build stronger partnerships and acknowledged that no significant stand was put together despite a promising start.
“It was a great collective performance. We held our lengths and lines for a period. To get them out for 150 was quite nice. Could’ve been more clinical with the bat but having a lead is nice. We had good intent (with the bat). We talked about getting partnerships together but we didn’t have any significant ones. They bowled well. It’s obviously a challenge when it’s bouncing like that,” said Santner.
Santner acknowledged the need to monitor Nathan and appreciated his impressive bowling in the first innings. The left-arm spinner’s four-wicket haul in the second innings were instrumental in applying pressure and tightening New Zealand’s grip on Zimbabwe.
“To take a lead is obviously nice and we bowled well in the second innings as well. It’s always an ugly one when your bowlers go down. I feel for Nathan Smith. He bowled so well in the first innings. We’ll have to see how he pulls up but doesn’t look great. He’s shown his quality for a few years (talking about Matt Henry). He obviously wasn’t in the Test team for a bit, behind the big three. Ever since he’s come back in, he’s done an outstanding job,” Santner added.
India
