![Devon Conway scored a stunning hundred [Source: @Kiwiscricketfan/x.com]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1754655085070_HighestindividualscoreforNZvsZIMinTests.jpg?type=mq)
Devon Conway scored a stunning hundred [Source: @Kiwiscricketfan/x.com]
New Zealand opener, Devon Conway walked out in Bulawayo for the second Test against Zimbabwe like a man on a mission. Having been stuck in a rough patch last year, he looked hungry from the first ball.
After folding the hosts for 125, Conway and Will Young made the Zimbabwe bowlers toil under the blazing sun and before you knew it, Conway had brought up his fifth Test ton and crossed 2,000 Test runs. And when he finally fell for a glorious 153, it was the third-highest score by a Kiwi batter against Zimbabwe in Tests.
Conway’s knock got us thinking, who else has gone big against the Chevrons in whites? Let’s take a look at the top five highest individual scores by New Zealand batters vs Zimbabwe in Tests.
5. Nathan Astle: 141 At Wellington, 2000
December 2000 at the Basin Reserve was a batter’s dream. The pitch was flat, the sun was out and Nathan Astle looked in no mood to throw his wicket away. Coming in at 3-67 after Stephen Fleming’s run-out, Astle dug in and turned the screws on Zimbabwe’s bowlers. He batted for over nine hours alongside Craig McMillan, grinding the attack.
His 141 came off 408 balls, a real old-school Test innings, laced with 16 fours and 2 sixes. It was the kind of knock where the scoreboard ticked slowly, but by the end, Zimbabwe’s legs were heavy and their morale drained. The match eventually ended in a draw, but Astle’s marathon effort remains one of the great Kiwi knocks against Zimbabwe.
4. Craig McMillan: 142 At Wellington, 2000
In the same Test match as mentioned above, Craig McMillan was the man making Zimbabwe feel like they were bowling on a road. Coming in with the score already steady thanks to Mark Richardson and Nathan Astle, McMillan threw his weight behind the innings. His 142 off 209 balls was a knock for the ages.
Bryan Strang and Brian Murphy toiled away for over 90 overs between them, but McMillan was immovable. He fell with the team score at a mammoth 367 and New Zealand eventually declared at 487/7 after 181 overs. Zimbabwe’s reply had some resistance with Gavin Rennie’s 93 and Andy Flower’s 79 but Chris Martin’s 5-fer kept them in check. In the end, defensive batting from both sides meant the game fizzled into a draw.
3. Devon Conway: 153 At Bulawayo, 2025*
Coming to the present, Zimbabwe had just been skittled for 125 and Devon Conway, alongside Will Young, walked in knowing the surface had demons if you weren’t careful. But from ball one, Conway looked like he was playing on a different pitch. He left the good ones alone, put away the bad balls, and rotated the strike with ease.
The southpaw peppered the off-side with boundaries, clipped anything on the pads and by the time the Kiwis passed 300, Zimbabwe’s heads had dropped. Muzarabani eventually got one to sneak past his defence, ending a 245-ball epic that included 18 fours. New Zealand were cruising at 337/3 after 90 overs, leading by 248, a game well in their grip thanks to Conway’s class.
2. Matt Horne: 157 At Auckland, 1998
Back in February 1998 at Eden Park, Matt Horne played the kind of knock openers dream about. Zimbabwe had managed just 170 in their first innings and New Zealand saw the opportunity to bat them out of the contest. Horne anchored the innings beautifully, never looking rushed, and picking his moments to attack. His 157 came off 260 balls and featured 19 crisp boundaries and four cleanly struck sixes.
Nathan Astle’s 114 and Craig McMillan’s quickfire 88 added to the carnage, taking New Zealand to 460. With a mountain to climb, Zimbabwe fought harder in their second dig with Andy Flower’s 83 and Paul Strang’s counter-attacking 67 gave them respectability but they still fell an innings and 13 runs short.
1. Ross Taylor: 173* At Bulawayo, 2016
After bowling Zimbabwe out for 164 in the first innings of the first Test in Bulawayo, Tom Latham’s 105 and Kane Williamson’s 91 had set the table. But Ross Taylor feasted like a man on a mission. He scored a whopping 173* when the declaration came, having faced 299 balls and struck 19 boundaries.
Taylor shared a memorable stand with BJ Watling, whose 107 was just as vital. By the time New Zealand declared at 576/6, Zimbabwe were mentally and physically drained. Sean Williams’ fighting 119 in the second innings delayed the inevitable as the Kiwis won by an innings and 117 runs.
