Fuelled by steak, Robinson grills South Africa in Harare

Tim Robinson's career-best 75 not out off 57 in Harare on Wednesday (July 16) was fuelled by prime Zimbabwean beef. At least, that's his story and he's sticking to it.

"Zimbabwe, as a country, I love it so far," Robinson told reporters after guiding New Zealand to victory by 21 runs in their T20I triseries match against South Africa. "The climate's fantastic and the people have been very nice and very accommodating. And I love all the steaks. That's my favourite. I love the red meat over here; it's fantastic."

Robinson took guard at No. 3 after 17 balls, or after New Zealand had slipped to 27/1. They lost four more wickets for 43 runs in the next 40 deliveries before debutant Bevon Jacobs joined Robinson and shared an unbroken stand of 103 that took the Kiwis to a decent total of 173/5.

"We were struggling when we lost those early wickets," Robinson said. "The way me and Bev thought about it was that the longer we spent at the crease, the easier runs would come. We couldn't afford to lose many more wickets, so we were trying to take it as deep as we possibly could."

That done, Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy claimed three wickets each to help dismiss South Africa for 152 in 18.2.

Of batting with the Pretoria-born Jacobs, who scored an unbeaten 44 off 30, Robinson said, "He's quite big and you think he should hit a big ball, and he sure does. He was very calm and looked to really enjoy it. He looked completely comfortable. I think he's going to play a lot of cricket in future."

Maybe for Mumbai Indians, who bought the 23-year-old seam-bowling allrounder before this year's IPL but did not deploy him in a single game.

Of his own approach, Robinson said, "The one thing you have to do as a cricketer is to try and be as grounded as you can be - be where your feet are and try and play the ball that comes to you."

That worked on Monday, and Robinson looked forward to his next opportunity: "It's a great feeling contributing to a win for your country; an addicting feeling that I hope to replicate."

The Harare Sports Club crowd would be keen to see him do it again - their support for the New Zealanders was clear. But they will take it back on Friday, when the home side will be up against the Black Caps.

"I did notice that," Robinson said of the fans' backing. "My theory is it's a testament to the way that we want to play our cricket and the way we want to treat others. Hopefully we can continue to make the most of it for our supporters here."

It's a nice thought, but it's likely off the mark. Closer to the truth, probably, is that the locals are shouting for New Zealand because they are not South Africa.

There has long been a brooding unhappiness north of the Limpopo River that Zimbabweans are disrespected by their big brothers from down south because they don't often play them. Indeed, before the current tour the Proteas were last in the country in September 2014.

You might say the Zimbos have beef with the South Africans.