Zimbabwe’s Test team’s most famous victories

Zimbabwe have played fewer than 130 Tests since their debut in 1992, a total some countries pass inside a decade. That scarcity is the point. Every win is an occasion, which is why the side is followed so closely across southern Africa, and why their fixtures appear on sportsbooks such as Virgin Bet whenever a series is announced. The list is short. Several of the matches on it rank among the better upsets the longest format has produced.

The Flower brothers and a first win

Zimbabwe waited two and a half years for their first Test win, and when it came it was emphatic. Pakistan arrived in Harare in February 1995 and were made to field for two days. Grant Flower finished on 201 not out, his brother Andy made 156, and their stand of 269 remains the highest by two brothers in Test cricket. Zimbabwe declared on 544 for four.

Heath Streak, 20 years old, then took nine wickets in the match as Pakistan were dismissed for 322 and 158. Zimbabwe won by an innings and 64 runs.

Peshawar, and a first win abroad

Winning away from home took longer. Zimbabwe managed it in Peshawar in November 1998, beating Pakistan by seven wickets on their own ground. Streak again led an attack that was quicker and more disciplined than the scoreline of most Zimbabwe tours suggested, and the batting held up on a surface that offered the seamers something all match.

It stands as the only Test Zimbabwe have won in Pakistan, and one of very few they have won anywhere outside Harare and Bulawayo.

India beaten in Harare

The same year brought a win over India in Harare, by 61 runs. Zimbabwe set a modest target and defended it, Henry Olonga running through the middle order in a spell that decided the match. Olonga was the first black cricketer to play for Zimbabwe and the fastest bowler the country had produced, and the Harare Test was the afternoon his pace did what it always threatened to.

The return, and Pakistan again

Zimbabwe stopped playing Tests in 2005 and stayed away for six years. The comeback, against Bangladesh in Harare in August 2011, ended in a 130-run win, with captain Brendan Taylor top-scoring with 71 and an unbeaten 105, his maiden Test century. It was the clearest signal available that the side had not been hollowed out entirely by the exile.

Two years later came the win most supporters still reach for first. Pakistan were beaten by 24 runs in Harare in September 2013, Zimbabwe defending a small fourth-innings target on a worn pitch with an attack led by Tendai Chatara and Shingi Masakadza. Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor did the batting. No Zimbabwe side has beaten a stronger opponent since.

Sylhet in November 2018 produced another, a 151-run win over Bangladesh built on 88 from Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza’s off spin.

Where the side stands now

Zimbabwe are not part of the World Test Championship, so they play in short bursts, often two or three matches a year against Afghanistan, Ireland, Bangladesh or the West Indies. The schedule makes continuity difficult, and it makes any win harder to build on than it would be for a full member on the main circuit.

The current side is a mix of long servers and new arrivals. Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza have carried the batting for more than a decade, Craig Ervine captained through a long rebuilding stretch, and Blessing Muzarabani has become the bowler the team is built around. His nine wickets in the match at Sylhet in April 2025 delivered a three-wicket win over Bangladesh, and Richard Ngarava gives him a left-arm partner with real pace.

The most encouraging sign has been Brian Bennett. His 139 against England at Trent Bridge in May 2025 came in a heavy defeat. It was made against a full-strength attack, at a pace few Zimbabwe openers have managed, and he is still in his early twenties.

Zimbabwe will not win often. Harare 1995, Peshawar 1998 and Harare 2013 are the reason people keep watching to see whether the next one is coming.

Betting is for over-18s only.

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