During the first Test at Harare, Cremer took four crucial wickets in Sri Lankan first innings and while bat, also scored his maiden Test century, guiding his team to avoid follow-on. With this, He became the first Zimbabwe player and only the seventh captain to make a hundred and take four wickets in an innings of a Test. His efforts in both innings of the Test ended in vein, where they lost the match by 225 runs. During the first test, Cremer set a record for facing the most number of balls as a number 8 batsman in a test match facing 351 balls just after Wasim Akram who faced 363 balls as number 8 batsman in a single test. However, Cremer was awarded man of the match for his all-round performance in the match. Zimbabwe lost this series 0–2.