New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson makes history as they punish Zimbabwe
Tuesday 9 August 2016 10:22, UK
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson became the youngest player to score a century against all nine Test-playing nations during day two of their match with Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
The 25-year-old, playing in his 50th Test, joined a list of 12 other players to achieve the feat when he hit a full Donald Tiripano delivery to the square-leg boundary in the second over on Sunday.
After Williamson departed for 113, Ross Taylor made history of his own when he overtook Martin Crowe as the Black Caps' third highest Test run-scorer as he notched up his second successive century.
BJ Watling also added an unbeaten 83 to allow the Black Caps to declare on 582-4 at tea.
Zimbabwe, beaten by an innings in the first of two Tests, made sedate progress in the final session as openers Tino Mawoyo and Chamu Chibhabha struggled to 55-0 from 30 overs at stumps.
That leaves the hosts 527 runs behind and they still face an uphill task to save the match with three days remaining, with New Zealand having piled on the runs when they resumed on 329-2.
Zimbabwe immediately took the new ball but could not prevent Williamson, who resumed the day on 95, from completing his history-making ton.
Williamson finally went in the ninth over of the day when he was caught at gully flashing at a wide Michael Chinouya ball, before Henry Nicholls was trapped lbw by Graeme Cremer for 15.
But Nicholls' dismissal only brought Taylor and Watling together and the fifth-wicket pair made Zimbabwe toil during an unbroken stand of 193 in 45.1 overs.
Taylor, dropped on 91 by wicketkeeper Peter Moor, followed his first-Test unbeaten 173 with 124 not out, his 15th format hundred, while Watling smashed 10 fours in his 142-ball knock to lift the tourists to their highest total against Zimbabwe.
The home side were then faced with a 30-over final session and were clearly focused solely on survival as they started their innings with five consecutive maidens.
Chibhabha and Mawoyo successfully frustrated the New Zealand bowlers for the rest of the day with unbeaten scores of 31 and 20, respectively.
