Black Caps’ match abuzz with drama

Bees rather than cricket balls were the only things to put the Black Caps on the back foot in a bizarre incident in their tour match in Harare.

Day two of their match against Zimbabwe A featured comical scenes as a swarm of bees buzzed over the Harare Sports Club and forced the players to hit the deck in search of cover. New Zealand ended the day with a 385-run lead after a four-wicket haul by legspinner Ish Sodhi.

Allrounder Mitchell Santner said it was the first time he had seen anything like it while playing cricket, but downplayed the threat the bees posed.

‘‘I saw Boulty [Trent Boult] hit the deck pretty early – from there everyone else seemed to hit the deck. I was the only one standing, I think you’ll find,’’ he said.

‘‘They were quite far away, so I don’t know why everyone was on the ground. But it was a bit weird, we had to stop play for a bit. But I think they moved on and we carried on.’’

Sodhi ripped through Zimbabwe A’s middle and lower order to help put the Black Caps in a dominant position with a day to play. Sodhi snared 4-18 from just 4.5 overs as Zimbabwe A folded for 114 in reply to New Zealand’s 345-7 declared.

Led by experimental opener Santner’s 51 (retired), the Black Caps reached stumps on day two on 154-2 to hold a 385-run lead.