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Zimbabwe's defeat at the hands of New Zealand yesterday has drawn the expected response from around the world, and it's not pretty reading. If you have a strong stomach, read on for more details...

We'll start with CricInfo, who have long been the most vocal of the cricketing websites in calling for Zimbabwe's international status to be reviewed, and gleefully posted not one but two articles on the match:

And the slaughter continued

Those - and they are growing in number - who have been advocating that Zimbabwe's international status should be either suspended or revoked have warned that the day would come when records would tumble. So bad, they argued, had Zimbabwe become, that the integrity of international cricket was being risked because of the ICC's steadfast refusal to address the situation. Today that day arrived. The only blessing, aside from the loss of the six overs which spared Zimbabwe even more punishment, was that it was in a one-day international which few around the world would have bothered to watch.

Vincent fills his boots as the records tumble

Bulawayo means 'place of slaughter,' making it a most appropriate venue for as one-sided an international match as there has been in quite some time - well, since the last one involving Zimbabwe, at least. The record books will show that New Zealand beat Zimbabwe in the opening game in the Videocon tri-series by 192 runs. One fears what might happen when the losers meet India in Harare next Monday.

Cricket365 also doubles up, although they don't indulge in quite the same amount of schadenfreude as their colleagues at CricInfo:

Absolute carnage in Bulawayo

New Zealand amassed a mammoth 397 for 5 in 44 overs against a hapless Zimbabwean attack, in the opening game of the Videocon Tri-Series in Bulawayo on Wednesday. ... Clearly the wrong decision by Zim captain Tatenda Taibu to put New Zealand into bat after winning the toss.

Mission impossible for Zimbabwe

From the start, it was just a matter of how many runs Zimbabwe were going to lose by. Despite a valiant opening partnership of 62 between Brendan Taylor, 36, and Stuart Carlisle, 25, Tatenda Taibu's men were never in contention for a triumph. They lost wickets at regular intervals, and when number ten Gavin Ewing was run out for 20, the fat lady sung her final word.

CricketWorld settles for just the one article on the subject, pointing out the list of records that fell in the match. Even Zimbabwe came close to one, although Andy Blignaut will probably prefer not to be reminded of it:

Vincent Fires Kiwis To Second Highest Total

Blignaut's figures of two for 96 off nine overs were the second worse in the history of ODI cricket.

Finally, we move on to BBC Sport, who spare a though for new coach Kevin Curran, who has received a definite baptism of fire. Although someone should maybe remind the Beeb that it's the Black Caps, not Cats. :)

N Zealand rattle up massive score

The match, reduced in duration because of a damp pitch, was a baptism of fire for new Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran. Curran was appointed to replace West Indian Phil Simmons following two Test match maulings by the Black Cats.

It seems unlikely that Curran will get much chance to work on the team until the India test series is out of the way. With the return trip to New Zealand cancelled, the team will get a six-month break before they're due to tour the West Indies. Hopefully the time will be filled with 'A' tours and plenty of practice, although many more results like yesterday may be too much for the ICC to overlook.