5 things to watch out for in the Zimbabwe - New Zealand series

New Zealand’s tour of Zimbabwe, comprising of 3 ODIs and 1 T20I is set to commence today. With both the teams undergoing some significant changes, it would be interesting to see how they fare.Though Zimbabwe were lacklustre in their home series against India earlier, a few players have grabbed the attention with their individual performances. Meanwhile, the New Zealand squad consists of a predominantly young brigade this time, and it would be worthwhile to follow the performances of these youngsters under the new captain.

#1 Kane Williamson\'s Captaincy

Can Williamson prove to be McCullum’s ideal successor?

With the hard-hitting Brendon McCullum and one of New Zealand’s frontline bowlers Tim Southee being rested for the tour of Zimbabwe, Kane Williamson has been handed the captaincy baton. While the Black Caps are sure to miss the early fireworks from Brendon, it is rather a good move to give the 24-year-old the responsibility at the helm in order to adequately equip him for the future.

Kane is a strong contender to become New Zealand’s full-time captain in the near future especially since Brendon recently hinted at an early retirement from ODI cricket and this series would serve as a testing ground to measure his expertise in marshalling the troops.

Since Brendon has been rested for the tour of South Africa too, captaining the side against both a mediocre Zimbabwe and a talent heavy South Africa is sure to pose a tough test for Williamson and give him a rich and valuable experience as a captain.

#2 The young kiwi squad

Can Ish Sodhi manage to nail down a ODI spot?

New Zealand have roped in many youngsters in their squad of 15, for their tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa. It would be a treat to watch this young brigade showcase their talent by using the opportunity that they have received.

Ish Sodhi, who will be probably making his debut ODI against Zimbabwe as the third spinner, is one such person to watch out for. With 27 wickets and 337 runs from 11 Test matches, he will prove handy with both the ball and bat on the turning pitches of Zimbabwe.

The absence of several frontline players including the likes of McCullum, Southee, Corey Anderson and Trent Boult, has opened up opportunities for players like George Worker, Ben Wheeler, Tom Latham and Colin Munro who are looking to make it big on the international stage.

New Zealand Coach Mike Hesson has expressed that the motive behind resting key players and providing youngsters with the opportunity is to help groom the players into solid international cricketers. That being said, it is to be seen who all will make the opportunity count by creating a mark for themselves in this tour.

#3 Comebacks - Milne and Neesham

Milne was injured during the 2015 World Cup

The injury-ridden Adam Milne and James Neesham have been recalled to the NZ squad after a long hiatus. Milne, who played his last ODI in March 2015, was sidelined since then owing to an injury.

Neesham, on the other hand, is yet to play an ODI in 2015. With both these key players completely recovered and fit, they would be raring to have a go against Zimbabwe. Given the inexperience of many members of the squad, the presence of Milne, Neesham and a few other senior players including McClenaghan is sure to give a lot of depth to the side.

It remains to be seen which combination of players would make it to the final Playing XI in each match.

#4 Chigumbura\'s batting prowess

Chigumbura recently scored back-to-back ODI hundreds

The captain of the Zimbabwean side, though tested with loss after loss against India in the series held in July, displayed some solid performances with the willow. He scored a gutsy century in the first match of the series, driving his team almost to the gateway of victory. He also managed to score a ton against Pakistan before that.

With rising expectations on his shoulders after the disastrous 0-3 loss to India, he will be one person to watch out for – both for his captaincy as well as for his batting. If assisted consistently by Chibhabha and a couple of other batsmen throughout the series, Zimbabwe are sure to post defendable scores or chase above-par scores on the Harare ground.

#5 The Zimbabwean top order

Will Sibanda step up for Zimbabwe?

The Harare pitch is generally suited for the team batting first. In Zimbabwe’s recent ODI series against India, Chigumbura was lucky enough to win the toss on all three occasions. But he continually made the mistake of letting India bat first, not once or twice, but all three times.

After the retirement of Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwean top order has been shaky and they have shown themselves to be poor chasers. With such a trend, will Chigumbura continue to choose to bowl if he wins the toss remains to be seen. This is a decisive factor in predicting the favourable team during the course of the match.

Their bowling is not as much a concern as their top order batting. Their batsmen have had some serious retrospection to do after the series against India. If they fail to click as a unit consistently, then another whitewash loss for the team will not be too far away.