Tour of Zimbabwe 1997-98               Captain : Stephen Fleming

35th official Test tour.

Second Test-playing  tour of Zimbabwe by New Zealand

 (September - October 1997)

P A G E    I N    P R E P A R A T I O N

All New Zealand tours

Previous tour

Pakistan 1996-97

Next tour

Australia 1997-98

Next tour of Zimbabwe 

2000-01

Members of the Test tour party (15)

Opening batsmen  Blair Pocock, Chris Spearman, Matthew Horne

Middle-order batsmen  Nathan Astle, Stephen Fleming, Craig McMillan

Wicket-keeper  Adam Parore

All-rounder:  Chris Cairns

Medium-paced bowlers: Chris Harris, Gavin Larsen

Spin bowlers  Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman

Fast bowlers  Heath Davis, Shayne O’Connor, David Sewell

Provincial representation

A - Auckland (2)

C - Canterbury (5)

CD - Central Districts (1)

ND - Northern Districts (1)

O - Otago (4)

W - Wellington (2)  

Average age of  team at time of first Test match

(18 September 1997)  25  yrs  2 months.

Test Appearances made before the tour

Parore 34,  Fleming 27,  Cairns 23,  Astle 11,  Pocock 11,  Harris 9,  Spearman 5,  Davis 4,  Vettori 4,  Horne 3,  O’Connor 0,  Sewell 0.

Team Officials

John Graham, a flanker in the All Blacks rugby team between 1958 and 1964, was the retired Headteacher of an Auckland grammar school. Chris Doig asked him to take on the team management.

Selectors

Ross Dykes (convenor),  Richard Pickard and Mike Shrimpton,  with  John Reid (operations manager).

Selection

Fleming had become New Zealand's youngest Test skipper at 23 during England's visit to NZ in early 1997 when he replaced Lee Germon.

An initial squad of fifteen was considered, and then increased to seventeen with Shane O’Connor and Andrew Penn as cover for Simon Doull and Geoff Allott who were trying to prove their fitness.

Unavailable  :  Geoff Allott  (back and knee surgery)

                      Simon Doull  (double stress fracture of the back)

                      Bryan Young  (knee)  - he was replaced by Chris Spearman

Tour Party Announced  : 21 August 1997

Not selected:  Danny Morrison.

Withdrawal:  Andrew Penn (CD) fractured his ankle and was replaced by David Sewell.

Time between selection and departure from New Zealand

  11 days

(21 August to 1 September)

Travel

Christchurch  Q Nairobi    Q Harare

Players not on the Academy tour of South Africa attended a training camp at Lincoln University at which fitness tests were carried out.

The team departed from New Zealand on 1 September 1997.

At the end of the New Zealand Academy tour of South Africa, O'Connor, Vettori, McMillan, Sewell and Wiseman flew direct to Kenya to join the side.  Coach Steve Rixon was with them, too.

 1st match in Kenya starts 4 Sept 1997.

The New Zealanders flew in to Zimbabwe on Wednesday 10 September. They touched down at Harare International Airport at 11:30 am on a flight from Nairobi.  It was now an 18-man group of fifteen players and three officials. They trained at the Alexandra Sports Club next day.

Time spent in Zimbabwe

   x days

(10 September - depart Host)

On-tour selection panel

Reinforcements

Fixtures/Results

(1) South Country Club   (2)   Alexandra Sports Club   (3)  Harare Sports Club

† not first-class

§ one-day international

Time spent in Kenya and Zimbabwe before First Test: 

8 days

(10 September - 18 September)

Test appearances on tour

2  -    Astle,  Cairns,  Fleming,  Harris,  Horne,  O’Connor,  Parore,  Pocock,  Spearman,  Vettori

1  -    Davis,  Sewell.

0  -    Larsen,  McMillan,  Wiseman.

Highlights

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Tour Summary

Return to New Zealand

?  Q ?

last ODI  5 October

Time away from New Zealand    x days  

(1 September to arrive home NZ)

Finances