Zimbabwe chase a levelling win in Harare as Australia close in on the ODI series

Australia can put the three-match series beyond Zimbabwe when the second ODI begins at Harare Sports Club on Friday

Australia lead 1-0 after a 59-run win in the opener, built on Matthew Renshaw's maiden ODI century and a five-wicket haul from Nathan Ellis. A second win at the same ground would settle the series with a match still to play.

Zimbabwe were not disgraced. Half-centuries from Craig Ervine and stand-in captain Sikandar Raza kept the chase alive into the final 10 overs before the innings folded, and their bowlers had earlier claimed a maiden international five-for of their own.

The tour is Australia's first to Zimbabwe in 12 years, and both sides are treating it as early groundwork for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which Zimbabwe will co-host with South Africa and Namibia.

Ellis swings the opening match

Ellis finished with 5-31 from 9.1 overs, his first five-wicket haul in international cricket, and cleaned up the tail to end the contest.

Zimbabwe were bowled out for 235 in 45.1 overs chasing 295. Ervine made 59 and Raza 57 in a stand of 98 that briefly brought the target within range, before Spencer Johnson removed the captain and the middle order fell away.

Australia's total of 294 for 8 was underpinned by Renshaw's 109 from 94 balls at No. 6, with Cooper Connolly adding 51 from 46.

Nyamhuri gives Zimbabwe something to build on

Left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri took his maiden ODI five-wicket haul in the first match, the one clear gain for the hosts from a day that otherwise got away from them.

Zimbabwe's difficulty was containment rather than wicket-taking. Australia were eight down by the close of their innings, but the middle overs went at a rate the hosts could not match once Ellis found reverse swing.

Blessing Muzarabani leads an attack rebuilt around young quicks, and whether Nyamhuri is supported at the other end may decide how close this match stays.

A squad that leans on its veterans

Zimbabwe named four players who will be 40 or over by the end of the series. Brendan Taylor, recalled last year after serving a three-and-a-half-year ICC ban, marked the first ODI by taking the record for the longest career in men's ODI cricket.

Taylor's career now spans 22 years and 148 days since his debut against Sri Lanka in April 2004, passing Sachin Tendulkar's 22 years and 91 days. The wicketkeeper-batter has 6,704 runs from 207 ODIs.

Ervine, at 41, remains the side's most experienced batter, and leg-spinner Graeme Cremer is in line for a first ODI in eight years. Raza is captaining because Richard Ngarava is recovering from a lower-back complaint, with Tanaka Chivanga out with an Achilles injury.

Marsh leads an Australian side in transition

Mitchell Marsh played his 100th ODI in the opener and is in charge for the Zimbabwe leg, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc due to join the squad afterwards.

That leaves places open, and Renshaw and Connolly are among those using them. Renshaw's hundred was his first international century since the 184 he made as a Test opener against Pakistan at the SCG in 2017.

Australia move on to South Africa once the series finishes, so Harare is the whole of their Zimbabwe assignment.

A World Cup year takes shape

Zimbabwe beat Australia at the T20 World Cup in February, a result that knocked the Australians out of the tournament, and had also beaten them in an ODI in Townsville in 2022.

"They've had the wood over us more recently at the T20 World Cup," Ellis said before the series. "So excited to not only try and get a little bit of redemption, but also start building towards the one-day World Cup in a year or so."

For Zimbabwe, hosting duties in 2027 give these fixtures a purpose beyond the scoreline, and beating a near full-strength Australia at home would be the clearest sign yet that the rebuild is holding.

The second ODI starts at 9.30am local time, with the third and final match at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

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