| New Zealand cricket team in Zimbabwe in 2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | ||
| Zimbabwe | New Zealand | ||
| Dates | 25 July – 6 September 2005 | ||
| Captains | Tatenda Taibu | Stephen Fleming | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | New Zealand won the 2-match series 2–0 | ||
| Most runs | Brendan Taylor (124) | Daniel Vettori (175) | |
| Most wickets | Heath Streak (6) Blessing Mahwire (6) | Shane Bond (13) | |
| Player of the series | Shane Bond (NZ) | ||
TheNew Zealand cricket team played a controversial tour of Zimbabwe in August and September 2005, including some warm-up matches in Namibia. They played twoTest matches againstZimbabwe, and also participated in a triangularOne Day International competition with Zimbabwe andIndia.[1]
Concerns overshuman rights violations in Zimbabwe, in particular the slum clearances known asOperation Murambatsvina, prompted calls by the New Zealand'sGreen Party and human rights advocates includingAmnesty International for the cricket team to boycott the tour. The New Zealand Government made it clear that the scheduled return visit of theZimbabwean cricket team to New Zealand in December 2005 would not occur as entry to New Zealand would be denied to the Zimbabwean players.
The Black Caps were obliged to tour by theInternational Cricket Council (ICC), and faced a fine of overNZ$3 million if they did not tour. The ICC was asked to waive this fine but refused. It was also claimed that a withdrawal from the tour would greatly harm New Zealand's chances of co-hosting the2011 World Cup with a potential loss of $NZ20 million. Two opinion polls showed a majority of New Zealanders opposed the tour. The TVNZ/Colmar Brunton poll taken on 30 June found 77 percent opposed, and a Fairfax New Zealand/ACNielsen poll on 18 July showed 53 percent opposed,(NZ Herald).Parliament voted with a substantial majority on 26 July to ask the Black Caps to abandon the tour. OnlyACT and theMāori Party voted against the resolution. A month ahead of the tour,New Zealand Cricket and the players were unanimous in their decision of willing to tour.[2]
The two Tests against Zimbabwe were being followed by a tri-nationsOne Day International (ODI) series, withIndia making up the threesome.
 Zimbabwe[3] |  New Zealand[4] |
|---|---|
The New Zealand squad for the tour was announced on 22 June 2005.Shane Bond, who was out of international cricket for two years owing to a back injury, made both Test and ODI squads.Daryl Tuffey andChris Harris were excluded after failing to recover from their injuries. SpinnerJeetan Patel was the only new inclusion to either team; he made the ODI squad.[4]
Zimbabwe announced their 14-member Test squad on 3 August.Tatenda Taibu was retained as captain andHeath Streak was appointed his deputy.[3]
v | ||
New Zealand won by an innings and 294 runs Harare Sports Club,Harare Umpires:Mark Benson (Eng) andDarrell Hair (Aus) Player of the match:Daniel Vettori (NZ) |
v | ||
New Zealand won by an innings and 46 runs Queens Sports Club,Bulawayo Umpires:Mark Benson (Eng) andDarrell Hair (Aus) Player of the match:Shane Bond (NZ) |
Please seeVideocon Tri-Series 2005 for a full treatment of the one-day international matches with Zimbabwe andIndia.