An Oddsworth Opinion
The comparison behind New Zealand’s Zimbabwe sweep
The story
Wisden revisits New Zealand’s 2025 tour of Zimbabwe, presenting their return after a lengthy Test break as a dominant campaign. The tourists won the two-match series 2-0.
Wisden · 30 September at 10:34 BSTZimbabwe v New Zealand in 2025: New Zealand break nine-month Test fast with feastRead the full storyWisden presents New Zealand’s sweep in Zimbabwe as an emphatic return after a long Test break. Their preceding Test had already produced a victory over England by 423 runs, so overwhelming an opponent was hardly a new development.
In Zimbabwe, New Zealand won by nine wickets and then by an innings and 359 runs. Those results deserve their emphatic billing. Set beside the earlier England victory, though, they look like a continuation of New Zealand’s capacity to dominate individual Tests. We should resist treating the Zimbabwe tour as the moment that established it.
Zimbabwe had already been overwhelmed
South Africa had beaten Zimbabwe by 328 runs and then by an innings and 236 runs immediately before New Zealand’s visit. Zimbabwe were already suffering heavy Test defeats against another opponent.
That comparison matters when deciding how much credit the sweep should carry. Zimbabwe’s defeats by South Africa give New Zealand’s winning margins a useful benchmark. The innings victory demonstrated how comprehensively they could finish the job, while Zimbabwe’s preceding results make it a weak foundation for an argument that New Zealand deserved a higher ranking.
- LIrelandLost by 4 wickets v Ireland, 2024-07-25
- LIrelandLost by 63 runs v Ireland, 2025-02-06
- WBangladeshWon by 3 wickets v Bangladesh, 2025-04-20
- LBangladeshLost by an innings and 106 runs v Bangladesh, 2025-04-28
- LEnglandLost by an innings and 45 runs v England, 2025-05-22
- LSouth AfricaLost by 328 runs v South Africa, 2025-06-28
- LSouth AfricaLost by an innings and 236 runs v South Africa, 2025-07-06
- LNew ZealandLost by 9 wickets v New Zealand, 2025-07-30
- LNew ZealandLost by an innings and 359 runs v New Zealand, 2025-08-07
- WBangladeshWon by an innings and 85 runs v Bangladesh, 2026-06-28
England supplies the stronger argument
New Zealand’s subsequent Tests against England offer more persuasive evidence of their standing. A defeat by 115 runs was followed by victories by 253 runs and 160 runs.
Those wins extend the argument beyond a tour of Zimbabwe. The earlier England victory had shown New Zealand could win emphatically against that opponent; the later victories give us more reason to take that capability seriously. Their claim to a higher place deserves to rest more heavily on those results.
- WEnglandWon by 423 runs v England, 2024-12-14
- WZimbabweWon by 9 wickets v Zimbabwe, 2025-07-30
- WZimbabweWon by an innings and 359 runs v Zimbabwe, 2025-08-07
- DWest IndiesDrawn v West Indies, 2025-12-02
- WWest IndiesWon by 9 wickets v West Indies, 2025-12-10
- WWest IndiesWon by 323 runs v West Indies, 2025-12-18
- WIrelandWon by an innings and 79 runs v Ireland, 2026-05-27
- LEnglandLost by 115 runs v England, 2026-06-04
- WEnglandWon by 253 runs v England, 2026-06-17
- WEnglandWon by 160 runs v England, 2026-06-25
How high should they stand?
Our ratings place New Zealand fourth among men’s Test teams, against their third place in the ICC rankings. We favour the fourth-place assessment: the Zimbabwe results reinforce their standing without compelling a promotion.
Our ratings give New Zealand a 69% chance of beating an average Full Member side on neutral ground, against Zimbabwe’s 16%. That disparity makes a commanding New Zealand performance unsurprising. For a higher place, we want more of those England performances.