Tag: Henry Nicholls

Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra centuries flatten Zimbabwe

Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, and Rachin Ravindra hit centuries as New Zealand produced a relentless batting performance on the second day of the second Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club on Friday.

New Zealand were 601 for three at the close in reply to Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 125, a lead of 476 runs.

Conway scored 153, ending a 16-match streak without a Test century.

Henry Nicholls, playing in his first Test series since December 2023, made 150 not out, while Rachin Ravindra hammered an unbeaten 165 at better than a run a ball.

It was another day of one-sided cricket after the Black Caps resumed on 174 for one, already 49 runs ahead. It took Zimbabwe an hour to remove nightwatchman Jacob Duffy, who made 36.

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The rest of the day brought only one more wicket, that of Conway, who fell to the second new ball when he misjudged the bounce against Blessing Muzarabani and was bowled off his body.

Nicholls was on 64 when Ravindra joined him after Conway’s dismissal. Ravindra, a left-hander like the other two centurions, quickly went on the attack and by the close had overtaken his partner.

Ravindra reached his century off 104 balls. With stand-in captain Mitchell Santner opting not to declare despite having a significant lead, Ravindra went on the rampage towards the close, adding another 65 runs off just 35 balls.

Zimbabwe fast bowlers Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga, usually the team’s most effective bowlers, were both expensive against formidable New Zealand batting.

Muzarabani took one for 101 in 24 overs, while Chivanga went wicketless in conceding 94 runs off 17 overs.

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine used seven bowlers in a futile attempt to stop the flow of runs on a day in which New Zealand scored 427 runs for the loss of two wickets.

READ: Australia’s opening pair confirmed for T20 World Cup 2026

Williamson, Nicholls double tons put New Zealand on top in second Test

WELLINGTON: Aggressive double centuries for Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls powered New Zealand’s dominance in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The Black Caps declared their first innings at an imposing 580-4 before reducing Sri Lanka to 26-2 at stumps on day two, leaving the tourists with a very slim prospect of squaring the two-match series.

The in-form Williamson scored 215 and Nicholls posted a career-best 200 not out, with the pair’s third-wicket stand of 363 virtually batting Sri Lanka out of the contest.

Their partnership was the fifth-highest by any New Zealand combination and they became the country’s first batters to reach 200 in the same innings.

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne will resume on 16 on Sunday and nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya remains on four, with the deficit a daunting 554 runs.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers struggled to generate life on a flat Basin Reserve pitch, forcing Karunaratne to set defensive fields during much of the mammoth partnership.

Williamson and Nicholls batted at a lively clip from the outset, advancing quickly from a 155-2 overnight score and barely looking troubled as they unleashed an array of attacking strokes through the first two sessions.

Williamson was impenetrable as he reached three figures for the third time in successive Tests, becoming the first New Zealander to pass 8,000 runs in the process.

It was a sixth double-century for the 32-year-old — whose unbeaten 121 was pivotal in a final-ball first Test in Christchurch earlier this week.

Having resumed on 26, Williamson struck 23 fours and two sixes before holing out in the deep off spinner Jayasuriya as he tried to escalate the scoring rate.

Nicholls marched on from his overnight 18 to reach three figures before pushing past his previous-best score of 174.

His aggressive 240-ball knock, which featured four sixes, represented a remarkable return to form for the left-hander, whose place in the team was under pressure after failing to reach 40 in his 15 previous innings.

Nicholls said he was aware of criticism of his ongoing selection but said he was made to feel comfortable by support from his teammates and coach Gary Stead.

“Everyone in the group’s been great and you really feel that support,” he said.

“For me, it was just about trusting that I had done it before. It hasn’t happened as much as I’d like in the last period.

“Now the challenge is doing it again knowing that the blueprint is there.”

Nicholls compared the partnership with a 369-run stand with Williamson against Pakistan in Christchurch two years ago.

“The way Kane’s playing, he’s in a real zone out there. It was nice to make that partnership into another really big one.”

Kasun Rajitha, who was off the field for a period nursing a shoulder injury, lodged the best bowling figures of 2-126.

Sri Lanka spinner Dhananjaya de Silva said the tourists were guilty of allowing the double centurions too much leeway.

“Obviously Kane and Henry batted very well. We have to be at our best when we’re facing these players but we missed our lengths,” he said.

De Silva said Sri Lanka hadn’t given up on squaring the series although he conceded it will be very difficult to force a victory.

“We’re not playing for a draw, we’re playing for a win.

“So we have to bat for at least one and a half days. We’ll see what will happen,” he said.

Their response began poorly.

Matt Henry removed opener Oshada Fernando for six before fellow-seamer Doug Bracewell dismissed Kusal Mendis without scoring via a spectacular catch at point from Devon Conway.

It came from Bracewell’s third ball of the match in what is his first Test appearance for more than six years.

READ: Najam Sethi hints at change in New Zealand tour’s schedule

Mitchell, Blundell stand firm as New Zealand score 225/5 at Stumps

LEEDS: New Zealand’s reliable pair of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell stood firm with their unbeaten fifth-wicket century-plus partnership as the touring side finished on 225/5 at the conclusion of the first day of the ongoing third Test.

At the Toss, the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson opted to bat first after the coin flipped in his favour in the third match of the series, led by the hosts 2-0.

Batting first, the touring side sustained early trouble as they lost three wickets at an alarming rate with their returning captain Williamson also making his way back after scoring 31 off 64.

The left-handed opener Tom Latham was the first casualty for the side as he fell to veteran pacer Stuart Broad for a duck in the first over. His opening partner Will Young, on the other hand, could only manage to score 20 to his name before England spinner Jack Leach trapped him in his legs.

The pair of Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls then attempted to anchor the innings for the touring side but could only add 21 runs to the team’s total before England’s debutant Jamie Overton castled the latter to claim his first Test wicket. Conway scored 26 off 62 balls with the help of five boundaries.

 

With the side struggling to get going at 83/4, Nicholls, who was looking to keep his end tight put on a valuable 40-run partnership with Mitchell before losing his wicket in an unusual way as his straight drive took off from the middle of Mitchell’s bat and went straight to the fielder at mid-off. The bizarre dismissal put an end to Nicholls’ gritty knock of 19 runs, for which he faced 99 balls.

The pair of Mitchell and Blundell seemed to remain unaffected by the bizarre dismissal of Nicholls as they went on to neutralise the threat by the strong English bowling attack and remained unbeaten till the conclusion of the opening day.

New Zealand’s top-scorer of the ongoing series Mitchell starred again as he remained unbeaten with his astonishing 78 off 159 balls, laced with six boundaries and two sixes. Blundell, on the other hand, is five short of his half-century.

The duo will now resume the proceedings for the touring side on 225/5 on the second day of the third Test, while the English bowlers will be looking to break their partnership.

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