*Official* New Zealand in Zimbabwe 2025 (Tests)

[NZTailender]

Hmm, what I saw of him was fairly much what I expected. Shaped it initially, can bowl good balls with late movement, but also bowled a fair bit of floaty full stuff which was pretty easily handled. I don't see a Test bowler there and his batting isn't good enough for all-rounder status (yet). Definitely doesn't have the tools as a first change bowler at that level.

Nek minnit 2030 stats: Z.Foulkes, 250 Test wickets 8 centuries

I watched the whole first session and apart from from his first over which was a bit wayward, I thought he was superb tbh. However, I do agree with your overall assessment. On a green, seam friendly pitch he'll be a handful but so would the next guy in line. If someone can do some work with him to control his line and length, or add a yard of pace, be would be an excellent first change bowler.

I definitely thought he bowled better than Fisher in that first session, who just seemed to be a bit quick and skiddy otherwise totally non threatening.

 

[SteveNZ]

I watched the whole first session and apart from from his first over which was a bit wayward, I thought he was superb tbh. However, I do agree with your overall assessment. On an overly understanding seam friendly pitch he'll be a handful but so would the next guy in line. If someone can do some work with him to control his line and length, or add a yard of pace, be would be an excellent first change bowler.

I definitely thought he bowled better than Fisher in that first session, who just seemed to be a bit quick and skiddy otherwise totally non threatening.

Yeah Fisher is one of those guys who will need to learn some more tools to be effective at Test level. The 145km get the wind up domestic batsmen won't work up higher. I can see him being effective on wickets with pace and carry, and grass cover, but completely ineffective bowling skiddy stuff elsewhere. But exposing him to Test cricket is a positive. That's how he'll work on increasing pace, hitting lengths (even if that's Wags-style short stuff) and so on.

Foulkes will definitely need a yard of pace as you say, but he's not really a tall, into the deck bowler that you ideally want from your 3rd seamer. Seems to bowl along it. Maybe a 4th seamer for green pitches, pretty decent option to carry in the XII if conditions suit given he can bat as well?

 

[Athlai]

I'm blaming you two for this, and not the beautiful classical styles of my man William Alexander Young.

Show us the WAY

 

[Bahnz]

I'll go 203, but that might be optimistic.

Which is crazy, really. At his peak, arguable that he is in the top 5 of our most skillful/effective pace bowler in Test history. Sir 431 obviously the runaway winner, then maybe Bond, Boult, Henry? Only Sir Richard over 100 wickets has Henry on career S/R (Bond and Jamieson also over 50 wickets)

His record starts getting silly once you exclude the tests where he wasn't opening. 119 at 22.36.

 

[lockton2skipper]

I thought foulkes looked a bit floaty and I didn't like his action . Not a patch on nathan smith .

 

[Skyliner]

The click-bait media only know bald stats and headlines, therefore expect howls of outrage if Foulkes isn't right there in the test mix going forward.

JD looked a little bit pedestrian.

 

[Skyliner]

Both Smith and Foulkes looked almost unplayable angling the ball in towards the left hander Ervine. He seems to have a major technical flaw when subjected to that line of attack.

 

[Mike5181]

Conway has an opportunity to put up a massive score here. 79* at the end of day 1 with all the time in the world to bat now.

 

[NZTailender]

I thought foulkes looked a bit floaty and I didn't like his action . Not a patch on nathan smith .

Interesting, I thought almost the opposite. But I didn't see any of his session 2 bowling. I mean when he pitched it up he definitely looked floaty, and a better team probably would've dispatched him to the boundary more, but in that first session I thought he hit the deck a bit shorter and was getting some decent deviation off the pitch/seam. Most of his first spell was like that.

He has a perfectly vertical release point as well. Like if Noon or Midnight you could set your watch to him (Johnny Unitas style). He could become a real Wagner into the pitch bowler with some work.

 

[NZTailender]

The click-bait media only know bald stats and headlines, therefore expect howls of outrage if Foulkes isn't right there in the test mix going forward.

JD looked a little bit pedestrian.

I thought Duffy was unlucky that the Zimbabwean batters weren't good enough to get close to some of his deliveries first spell, was getting some good shape

Conversely he could've made them play more.

 

[Immenso]

I see Conway passed 2000 careee runs this innings.

 

[Smudge]

I thought Duffy was unlucky that the Zimbabwean batters weren't good enough to get close to some of his deliveries first spell, was getting some good shape

Conversely he could've made them play more.

Yeah I watched the first hour and as much as this Volts supporter wanted Duffy to succeed (unlucky to have a decent LBW shout turned down) your last point was the key one. Too many balls able to be left alone.

 

[Howsie]

Yeah Fisher is one of those guys who will need to learn some more tools to be effective at Test level. The 145km get the wind up domestic batsmen won't work up higher. I can see him being effective on wickets with pace and carry, and grass cover, but completely ineffective bowling skiddy stuff elsewhere. But exposing him to Test cricket is a positive. That's how he'll work on increasing pace, hitting lengths (even if that's Wags-style short stuff) and so on.

Foulkes will definitely need a yard of pace as you say, but he's not really a tall, into the deck bowler that you ideally want from your 3rd seamer. Seems to bowl along it. Maybe a 4th seamer for green pitches, pretty decent option to carry in the XII if conditions suit given he can bat as well?

Foulkes reminds me of Sam Curran really. Curran a better bat but bowling wise pretty similar. Nice shape, but probably not quick enough or tall enough for test cricket.

Foulkes has a pretty sharp bouncer tbf, and takes wickets with it. If he can consistently be up around that late 130’s mark and his batting continues to improve he might have a chance.

 

[SteveNZ]

His record starts getting silly once you exclude the tests where he wasn't opening. 119 at 22.36.

Absolutely elite world class bowler with the new ball. You could see it from his earliest domestic days, but unfortunately he was in the wake of Boult and Southee. His attitude around that time wasn't the best, either.

 

[Binkley]

Like others, I wasn’t super impressed with New Zealand’s debutant bowlers. But in retrospect, I reckon that my live viewing was biased by how freaking good Henry is. I would probably have gone “meh” if it was Malcolm Marshall bowling at the other end.

 

[Bahnz]

This batting line up still looks decent on paper, but they are suffering from:

1. Lack of recent Test experience
2. Four of their best five players being geriatric

The bowling, however, is gash.

Yeah, I gotta say my first reaction to seeing those names being listed out was "Wait, ALL of those guys are still playing?"

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah, I gotta say my first reaction to seeing those names being listed out was "Wait, ALL of those guys are still playing?"

It reminds me of Kenya a bit. They had their golden generation, and then fell away so badly that Collins Obuya was still good enough to make their side as he neared his 50th birthday.

This is why I told @Chubb that I thought to some extent that Zimbabwe cricket was Madhevere or bust. Bust is a firm favourite. They are not better than Namibia at youth level at the moment and only beat them out at senior level through a mix of ICC infrastructure funding and yesterday's heroes.

 

[layma17]

Although Foulkes isn't prepared to spearhead an assault, he may be a valuable fourth seamer on a green field who can bat sometimes. His upright release causes difficulties when he hits the deck shorter, but the fuller, floating stuff will be penalized.

For flatter decks, Fisher also requires greater variation. Both are long-term endeavors that require tools to progress; Henry simply makes everyone else appear mediocre.

 

[Immenso]

My hunch is Foulkes will have a pretty good career.

Teditionally big hooping in-swing gets gobbled up by test batsmen. Yesterday, I didn't actually notice him bowl a single in-swinger to the RHBs. Maybe to Raza, but it was quite short so not really.

Foulkes snaffled up the 2 fairly highly rated LHBs, pretty much exactly as any watcher of him would have expected.

The post-Broad 'permission' for RFM inswingers to bowl around the wicket to LHBs will be a huge advantage for Foulkes' career compared to the badly-timed Chris Martin.

His high release point, means that if he concentrates on wobble ball to RHBs (plus swing when conditions suit), sticks to his current modus operandi to LHBs , has me predicting a sub-30 averaging test career.

Not a hunch based on watching him yesterday, though, tbf. Based on following him for a few years. Yesterday, I'd agree was not particularly overwhelming. Still got 4 though.

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Zakary Foulkes is a brilliant talent, think you guys are stressing too much ..

23 years old , good cricketing brain , can bat , decent pace and has a knack of picking up wickets..A lot to work with .