New Zealand wary of Zimbabwe's home advantage threat

The upcoming two-match Test series between New Zealand and Zimbabwe will mark Kane Williamson's first full series as Test captain, having taken over the reins following Brendon McCullum's retirement from international cricket. Given the former skipper's legacy and achievements with the side, there will be enough attention on how Williamson goes about his business.

"He (Kane Williamson) is a very switched-on guy and certainly leads from the front with his batting," Tom Latham, New Zealand batsman, said about his skipper on Monday (July 25). "He has had enough experience throughout his career and I'm sure he is going to do a fantastic job."

Even as New Zealand haven't played a Test since February this year, the players have been constantly playing different forms of cricket. While some are coming into the series at the back of playing the County Championship, some have been warmed up to top-quality cricket with some Caribbean Premier League matches under their belt.

In the practice match played at the Harare Sports Club, the visitors comfortably beat the Zimbabwe A side to register a 25-run win. However, Latham is vary of Zimbabwe performing well in home conditions.
"Zimbabwe are certainly very good in their home conditions and they showed it last year in the one-day series we had over here last year," he said citing how they chased down 304 runs in a One-Day International last year.

Despite the home advantage that Zimbabwe possess, New Zealand will hope to win both their matches against the lowest-ranked Test side. In order to do so, they have prepared themselves well with a training camp in University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre, before playing a practice game against Zimbabwe A - a side that had five players from the hosts' Test squad.

"It was a good three days for the whole group. Everyone spent a little bit time at the crease and got enough overs under their belt to put them in good stead for the Test match coming up.

"That's the beauty of coming over nice and early. We have not played a Test for a while and it is about getting used to the long form and being patient with all facets of the game. Certainly a beneficial couple of weeks for us, and I know the boys are looking forward to the first Test," he added.

He believes New Zealand need to be patient in the 'low and slow' conditions at Bulawayo in order to get the desired result. "The conditions are low and slow compared to what we have back home and we need to adjust to it...It is about (being) patient and playing the long game.

"It is more about the patience side of things, you are not going to go and blast quick runs over here. So, it's about the patience game, and wear the bowlers down, and bat for a day or four sessions, and that is probably the biggest thing for the whole batting group," he concluded.