Taylor's thumbs up for new skipper Kane Williamson

Ahead of the first Test, Kane Williamson had expressed that beating Zimbabwe in their own conditions wouldn't be as easy as popular opinion appeared to suggest. In the process of registering an emphatic innings and 117-run victory in Bulawayo, Williamson managed to get off to a winning start as a Test captain. Having taken over from Brendon McCullum, under whom New Zealand cricket successfully displayed a refreshing and 'fearless' brand of cricket, a lot of attention centered on how his the new captain would go about with his business.

Ross Taylor, who had led the side before McCullum, was impressed with Williamson's captaincy and opined that the new skipper was also looking to establish his own methods to the role. "Kane is trying to take a little bit of what Brendon had but put his own stamp on it too," he said on Sunday (July 31). "He has been very relaxed the way he has gone about it. He's been great to deal with. Obviously when you are captain. you can sometimes look after other stuff but it was nice to see him get some runs yesterday.
 
"He is a class player and I'm sure over time we will see a great captain evolve and hopefully the team can grow with him as well," he added.
 
Mike Hesson, New Zealand coach, was impressed by his side's show, especially the fact that they managed to adapt quickly to the conditions. The squad had undergone a training camp in Pretoria and followed it up with a warm-up game against Zimbabwe A before the start of the two-match Test series.
 
"We talked about playing the long game. We did that," Hesson said. "We also showed how important the new ball was. We can be a little bit impatient with the ball at times but I am clutching to find some work-ons. Before hand, we said 20 wickets would be tough to take so we're pleased that we did it."
 
Neil Wagner was the most impressive of the lot, bending his back and hurrying the Zimbabwean batsmen on the back foot with short-pitched deliveries, in conditions that didn't offer much bounce or pace for the bowlers. His six-wicket haul - his career-best figures of 6 for 41 - in the first innings had the hosts reeling at 72 for 8, before they managed to post 164.
 
"When he came up three or four years ago he was excited and keen to make an impression. He probably didn't stick to his game-plan for too long but he's a lot more experienced now and he's certainly got the confidence of the captain," Hesson said.
 
Wagner wasn't as successful in the second innings, bagging only two wickets. Nonetheless, he managed to trouble the Zimbabwe batsmen by reverse-swinging the old ball. "He's able to change his game, as we saw. He can swing the new ball if he's given it. He can certainly reverse the old one and we know he can bowl bumpers. Especially on unresponsive surfaces, he's a good bowler," Hesson added.
 
The New Zealand coach also heaped praise on wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling, who scored 107 - a knock that alongside Taylor's unbeaten 173 and Tom Latham's 105 remained overshadowed by Wagner's efforts, "He is incredibly perceptive. He is one of the few players that can adapt technique mid-game. He makes subtle changes to his grip. He is a very talented and very hard-working cricketer."
 
"His keeping in very tough conditions, in the subcontinent, in England, has been exceptional for us. He often bats with the tail and he has an ability to eke out as many runs as possible. We're not going to trade him for anyone," he added.
 
Having won the first Test comfortably, New Zealand will look to complete a whitewash to begin a new era in the cricket - the post-McCullum period. The next Test starts on Friday (August 5).