Santner hails New Zealand’s collective effort after Bulawayo win

Santner praised Nathan’s outstanding bowling in the first innings and acknowledged the need to keep an eye on him. In order to exert pressure and strengthen New Zealand’s hold on Zimbabwe, the left-arm spinner took four wickets in the second innings.

Henry, who took nine wickets in the game and was named Player of the Match, added that Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith would be examined for injuries. He added that he is excited for the forthcoming summer at home. He thought the result of the game at Bulawayo was greatly influenced by the team’s excellent bowling performance.

“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.

A team effort led to the victory: Santner

Although he acknowledged that they should have been more clinical with the bat, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised the team’s overall effort. Despite a great start, he believed the team lost the chance to forge closer alliances and admitted that no meaningful stand was assembled.

“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.

Matt Henry, a pacer for New Zealand, said he was pleased to exploit the conditions on Day 1 of the Bulawayo Test match against Zimbabwe, which he believed were essential in giving the squad a strong foundation. His performances enabled New Zealand to easily chase down the meagre target of eight runs in their second innings, securing a commanding victory in the opening Test of the two-match series.

“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.