“We had a couple of other batsmen that got starts and probably faced 20 to 30 balls,” Zimbabwe’s assistant coach Dion Ebrahim admitted after a tough second day. “Unfortunately, we needed those batsmen to kick on and make a bigger contribution... so, yeah, a little bit disappointed.”
Despite Sean Williams’ superb lone effort—a fluent 137 that accounted for more than half of Zimbabwe’s total—the hosts were left chasing the game as South Africa extended their dominance in the opening Test at the Queen’s Cricket Ground.
Earlier, Codi Yusuf made an immediate impact on debut. He struck in his very first over, removing Takudzwanashe Kaitano without scoring. He then had Nick Welch caught behind cheaply. Zimbabwe’s innings plunged deeper into crisis when Brian Bennett, who had looked promising on 19 off 28 balls, was struck on the helmet and forced to retire hurt.
Yeah, obviously losing Brian is a huge blow. He’s been one of our batsmen in form... losing him is a massive blow.
Williams and skipper Craig Ervine did their best to steady the innings, adding 91 runs. But the stand ended when Ervine, having made 36, was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj, who became the first South African spinner to reach 200 Test wickets.
Look, this was a key partnership. I guess it’ll be unfair to scrutinise some of the dismissals because it was within the game plan. It was just a lack of execution.
After Ervine fell, Williams pressed on with admirable determination, reaching his sixth Test hundred off 122 balls. His 137 featured 16 boundaries, but resistance faded rapidly once he departed—again stumped off Maharaj.
Wiaan Mulder then ripped through the tail, claiming four wickets to finish with 4 for 50. Zimbabwe folded for 251 in reply to South Africa’s first-innings declaration at 418 for 9, which had been powered by teenage sensation Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ 153 and Corbin Bosch’s rapid century.
Leading by 167, the Proteas extended their advantage to 216 by stumps, closing at 49 for 1 in their second innings after Tanaka Chivanga removed Matthew Breetzke for just 1.
Brief Scores: South Africa 418/9 decl & 49/1 in 13 overs (Tony de Zorzi 22*, Wiaan Mulder 25*; Tanaka Chivanga 1-18) Zimbabwe 251 all out in 67.3 overs (Sean Williams 137, Craig Ervine 36; Wiaan Mulder 4-50, Keshav Maharaj 3-70, Codi Yusuf 3-42) South Africa lead by 216 runs.
