Were the Black Caps Bad or the Zimbabweans Good?

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So the Black Caps have beaten Zimbabwe in the only test of their tour to the Southern African country but it was much closer than many had thought with Taylor's men only sealing their win by 34 runs late on the 5th day. For neutrals, this was an unexpectedly thrilling finish to a quite sedate and low quality test match.

The question is how bad were the Black Caps or rather how good were the Zimbabweans? Again it's been a bit of both combined with a wicket that was very batsman-friendly and made life difficult for the bowlers. Although I hazard to say that the Zimbabweans are a bit better than people thought despite their long exile from international cricket.




The Black Caps are also clearly a team in transition. This was Ross Taylor's first proper test as captain and he had a young bowler making his first test start in Doug Bracewell - who I actually thought acquitted himself very well in the test arena and hopefully could be a very good player for New Zealand for years to come. Ultimately, Daniel Vettori's experience came to play and he created that critical spark that pushed New Zealand to an unlikely win.

What about Brendan Taylor though? I've always noted him to be one to watch and he didn't disappoint. Now more experienced, he is in the peak of his powers and would be worthy of selection in any international side. A very fine batsman. He is Mr Zimbabwe and lifted the likes of Waller, Jarvis, Price & Sibanda to greater heights.

For the game of cricket, it's good to see a competitive Zimbabwe side and not one that is flogged by an innings and 200 runs in 3 days.

Well done New Zealand and well done Zimbabwe.