'Outstanding' Foulkes savours record debut performance

New Zealand stand-in captain Mitchell Santner was all praise for Zakary Foulkes, who bagged the best figures for a New Zealand bowler on Test debut. Foulkes, one of three debutants in the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, picked up match figures of 9 for 75 as New Zealand eased to a record-breaking innings win on the third afternoon.

"We've seen a little bit in the white ball stuff recently, but to do it in a Test match on debut is pretty special," Santner said of Foulkes' feat. "He was obviously going for that ten-for, I think he bowled a ten-over spell there, which is credit to him as well to be able to bowl ten overs in a row. But he's probably loved Zimbabwe more than some others."

Foulkes was added to the squad after Nathan Smith was ruled out due to an abdominal strain he suffered in the first Test. Foulkes, who has played one ODI and 13 T20Is, can swing the ball away and into the right-handers, which, according to Santner, is a rare quality.

"Someone kind of swinging into the right-hander is, you don't see that often," Santner said. "So I guess [he's] another addition to our attack with the guys moving the ball away. "He was outstanding. When the lefties come on, he looks pretty tough to play and to get nine in the game on debut is a pretty good effort."

Foulkes has mostly been playing white-ball cricket recently, and while his debut felt a "little bit rushed", he explained how he adapted to the red-ball grind.

"It still hasn't really kicked in to be honest," Foulkes said after his nine-for. "It's all happened pretty quickly. It was awesome to be out there with the guys.

"It was all a little bit rushed. I've been on a white ball diet so the prospect of bowling a few more overs and stuff, I definitely felt a bit sore on day two. Thankfully, we didn't have to bowl on day two, which was nice. It was cool to get back into red-ball cricket."

While Foulkes was the star of the second Test, fellow debutants Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher also did their bit. Duffy picked two wickets and scored handy runs as a nightwatcher at No. 3 while Fisher steamed in and picked two wickets. The trio complemented Matt Henry well, who picked 7 for 56 for the game and was named Player of the Series.

"It's been really cool," Foulkes said. "Duff's [Duffy] sort of taken me under his wing, which is nice. We've played a little bit together for the BlackCaps, which is cool. And then Fisher, yeah, it's awesome to see what he's done in the last few years. He was bowling pretty quick in the nets the other day, which wasn't too nice. But it was awesome to see both those guys get a crack and do so well.

"Growing up, it was always Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Tim Southee. It's awesome to be sharing the pitch with them now. I've played a handful of games with them for Canterbury and a lot of trainings and stuff. So it's awesome to be a part of this team with them."

While New Zealand posted big wins in both matches, Santner felt Zimbabwe put them under pressure on the bowling-friendly surfaces. He also heaped praise on the four-pronged pace attack for making light work of Zimbabwe in both innings.

"We were challenged at times throughout the game and I guess we kind of got through those periods and we cashed in," Santner said. "The way we bowled, especially in the first innings, it was probably a little bit there, but to get Zimbabwe for 120 [125] in that first innings and then we could really cash in with the bat.

"The score looks like it was a very one-sided affair, but throughout this game, even the first, there were periods where we were under pressure, Zimbabwe were on top. If you can kind of weather those storms and kind of get through it, you'll put yourself in a better position.

"The last time we were here in 2016, I remember it [pitches] being a lot flatter, a little bit slow and kind of a lot of hard work to get wickets. I think the first Test was potentially a little bit soft underfoot and it really did a lot. Then this Test, our bowlers were able to extract a little bit of seam movement and a bit of swing which made it pretty tough.

"The way they were able to kind of hang and hang on a length for a long time made it challenging for the Zim batters for sure."