Sean Williams Equals Test Century Record as Zimbabwe Falter Against South Africa

Sean Williams produced a defiant knock on Sunday, scoring a brilliant 137 against South Africa to notch up his sixth Test century, equalling the record for the second-most Test hundreds by a Zimbabwean. The 38-year-old joined the elite company of Brendon Taylor and Grant Flower, while only Andy Flower stands ahead with 12 centuries in the format.

Williams’ innings was the lone bright spot for Zimbabwe on Day 2 of the first Test at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. Facing South Africa’s daunting first-innings total of 418/9 declared, the left-hander anchored Zimbabwe’s response with a composed and fluent knock. He forged a 96-run partnership with skipper Craig Ervine to steady the innings after early setbacks.

Ervine, who contributed 36 off 90 deliveries, became the 200th Test victim of Keshav Maharaj in a landmark moment for the South African spinner. Maharaj, captaining South Africa in this match, made history by becoming the first South African spinner to reach the 200-wicket milestone in Test cricket and the ninth overall from the country to join the elite club.

Williams continued to battle on after Ervine’s dismissal, reaching his century with authority and keeping Zimbabwe’s hopes alive. However, Maharaj struck again to remove the centurion, deceiving Williams in flight and inducing a stumping by Kyle Verreynne. Williams’ resistance ended at 137 off 164 balls, triggering a collapse that saw Zimbabwe bowled out for 251.

Maharaj finished with 3/70 in 16.4 overs, and was well-supported by the pace duo of Codi Yusuf and Wiaan Mulder. Yusuf’s early breakthroughs saw him return figures of 3/42, while Mulder ran through the middle and lower order with an impressive 4/50 from 16 overs.

South Africa wasted no time in asserting dominance in their second innings, despite losing opener Matthew Breetzke early for 1. Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder maintained a brisk scoring rate, closing the day at 49/1 and extending the lead to 216 runs.

With a commanding position in the match and milestones being achieved on both sides, the contest heads into Day 3 with South Africa firmly in control and Zimbabwe looking to regroup after a promising start built around Williams’ remarkable century.