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Zimbabwe vs New Zealand 2016, 1st Test at Bulawayo: Likely XI for Kane Williamson led NZ

Kane Williamson will become New Zealand’s 29th Test captain when he leads the Black Caps against Graeme Creamer's Zimbabwe in the first Test at Bulawayo.

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This will be Kane Williamson’s first stint as New Zealand’s Test skipper  © Getty Images

New Zealand are set to start their grueling cricketing season with a two-Test series against Zimbabwe in their own backyard. New Zealand will be led by Kane Williamson for the very first time, after the retirement of their maverick player Brendon McCullum. On the flip-side Zimbabwe are playing their first Test after a long gap of 2-year Skipper Graeme Creamer, who will lead a young side, would hope to see a more spirited show against New Zealand after their encouraging performance against India last month. Vishal Mehra takes a look at the probable XI that Williamson might field against Creamer’s men.  FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, 1st Test match

Top Order: Martin Guptill who has been in top scoring form all year round is likely open with Tom Latham. Guptill scored a 101-ball 74 in the tour match against Zimbabwe A. Latham on the other hand was the fourth highest run scorer in their series against Sri Lanka, out scoring the likes of Ross Taylor, and McCullum. The tour game was a bit of a disappointment for Latham where he made just 24 runs from 37 balls. Coming in at No.3 will be skipper Williamson, who has been their most consistent batsmen since the past few years. Williamson did not have the best of series against Australia, making just 142 runs in 2-Test, at an low average of 35.50.  Williamson will hope to get ample time in the middle before he takes on South Africa and India later in the year. Zimbabwe vs New Zealand 2016, 1st Test at Bulawayo, Preview and Predictions

Middle Order: Coming in after Williamson will be the experienced Ross Taylor. Taylor made a mammoth 290 against Australia last year, which was followed by a dull show against Sri Lanka and will hope to score big runs. Henry Nicholls, who is just 2-match old, showed his skills against Australia in the first Test at Wellington early this year. Nicholls made a 93-ball 52 in the tour game. Wicketkeeper BJ Watling is likely to be promoted at No. 5 after the retirement of McCullum. Watling has time and again showed his prowess with the bat and will be expected to be more consistent this time around. He scored a 102-ball 61 in the tour game. Coming in next will be Mitchell Santner,who has impressed one and all with his batting and bowling. Santner who is mainly in for his bowling can strike the ball hard and long. ALSO READ: Kane Williamson: New Zealand may play different brand of cricket against Zimbabwe

Lower Order: New Zealand’s bowling is all sorted with the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner looking in top form. Southee has been in terrific form since the Sri Lanka series. Southee was the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand grabbing 16-wickets since then. Wagner is the joint highest with 16 wickets to his name but an impressive economy rate of 3.50 since then. Boult, who was to star with the ball, was a bit of a let down in comparison to his earlier performances in his last few series. Ish Sodhi, who was the star with the ball in the ICC World T20, is most likely to find his place in the team as the second spinner after Santner. Sodhi was the best bowler in the practice game picking up a 4-for. With pitches likely to offer spin, Sodhi will act as a perfect foil to Santner.

(Vishal Mehra is a reporter at CricketCountry, currently tripping on #thenightof and #mrrobotS2, and plays cricket once every white moon. His twitter handle is @capturethecatch )

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