Zimbabwe come in from the cold after 22-year hiatus
First Test meeting in more than two decades looms at Trent Bridge as England warm up for big summer
Andrew Miller21-May-2025
Sean Williams fields the ball during Zimbabwe’s training session•Getty Images
Big picture: The end of a two-decade hiatusIt puts it into context somewhat. Five months between Test matches feels like an eternity in England’s ultra-jampacked cycle, but how about 22 years between contests for this week’s lesser-heralded visitors to Trent Bridge?June 7, 2003 at Chester-le-Street was the last time England and Zimbabwe came together for a Test match, when Richard Johnson – now Middlesex’s grizzled head coach – claimed five lbws in a debut haul of 6 for 33, only days after a certain James Anderson had picked up 5 for 73 at Lord’s in the first of his eventual 188 Test appearances.And it’s saying something when not even Anderson’s gargantuan career was quite long enough to span the two decades of bilateral silence that ensued. This encompassed Zimbabwe’s self-imposed exile from top-tier cricket, and England’s nose-holding attitude to the late stages of Robert Mugabe’s regime, all wrapped up in a sense that the challenge would no longer be worthy, even if it was entertained.Now at least, that latter aspect has been agreed upon, although the precise worthiness of Zimbabwe’s modern Test team remains to be ascertained, given that last week they lost their only warm-up to a bunch of county fringe players and Under-19 starlets at Grace Road.Nevertheless, they are here as part of a bumper year of Test ambition from Zimbabwe Cricket, who have scheduled a remarkable 11 Tests for 2025 – the joint-most they have ever contested in a calendar year, and more than they had managed in the preceding five.Already they’ve won one of their four to date this year, against Bangladesh in Sylhet last month, in which Blessing Muzarabani made history with his third six-wicket haul in as many matches. The IPL has since come calling for his services, which just goes to show that this ancient art-form remains a shop-window for high performers. Zimbabwe might not need extra motivation to produce their best against such illustrious opponents, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that the world is still invested in their exploits.Bigging up the old format, of course, has been much of the mission for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum throughout their three-year alliance. However, as McCullum admitted in his pre-match comments on Tuesday, there’s been a curious disconnect between the team’s perceived entertainment value and the actual output of a side that, since that first heady year of 2022, has now won 13 and lost 11 of its 25 subsequent contests.In all likelihood, that ratio will have widened by Sunday evening, but nevertheless, the signs are already there that this is the year in which the England team gets serious about winning and losing, having previously insisted (with some initial justification) that the process was all that really mattered when it came to extracting the best from one’s players.Much as was the case when Ireland came to visit in 2023, right on the eve of that summer’s Ashes, the week ahead offers a curious preamble that is unlikely to prove much for the hosts, beyond the smooth running (or otherwise) of the Bazball bandwagon.Certainly, it seems unlikely that individual success or failure will have much bearing on the squad selection for the India series next month. Zak Crawley, in the midst of a horrendous run of form for club and country alike, will surely retain the management’s backing as their likeliest source of momentum in the bigger engagements to come. Ollie Pope – a centurion in his last home Test against Sri Lanka last summer – likewise will remain in the mix come what may, even with the likely return of Jacob Bethell to the squad after the IPL.And on the bowling front, Shoaib Bashir remains England’s first-choice spinner, irrespective of a ghastly loan stint with Glamorgan in which he claimed fewer wickets (two) than he played matches (three). Sam Cook’s long-awaited debut implies a summer-long role is there to be grasped, given the impact that Chris Woakes (set to return to action for England Lions next week) had previously had after taking over from Anderson as the skills-savvy attack leader. Meanwhile, Josh Tongue’s third Test appearance – after two fraught years of injury – reinforces the sense that England have found a good’un with his energetic length-hitting approach.All such minutiae can take a back seat in the short term, however. On Thursday morning, eleven representatives of a nation that might have believed this day would never return will line up for their national anthem in front of the Trent Bridge pavilion. It will be a moment that seems a lifetime removed from the political angst that overshadowed their first coming as a Test nation. And regardless of whether their current Test enthusiasm is a passing fad, or the start of a genuine push to regain the recognition that was first conferred on them more than 30 years ago, it’s a vote of confidence in the old format that a few other Full Member nations would do well to replicate.Related
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Zimbabwe LWLLDIn the spotlight: Ben Stokes and Blessing MuzarabaniSam Cook may feel he has the most to prove on Thursday, when he takes the field for a Test debut that sometimes never seemed likely to come to pass. But those who’ve seen him in action for Essex can second-guess what he’s going to bring to the occasion – namely, zippy, stump-threatening new-ball energy, with an intelligent command of seam and swing, and the nous to adapt his methods when the shine comes off the ball.Quite what version of Ben Stokes turns up is another matter, however. By all accounts, he’s fighting fit and ready to play a full and committed role with bat and ball – he’s looking noticeably lean, having not touched alcohol since January 2. However, this will also be his first competitive outing since tearing his hamstring in December, which means all bets are off as to how his form stacks up. For what it’s worth, he’s averaged 28.66 with the bat since the start of 2024, and hasn’t made a Test century since his Lord’s onslaught in the Ashes. As for his bowling, it looked handy enough in New Zealand, where he claimed seven wickets in the final two Tests. But the effort that entailed was precisely what set him back.Blessing Muzarabani is enjoying his moment in the sun. At a towering 6’8″, he has natural attributes aplenty, and when allied to a whippy action that is reminiscent of Kagiso Rabada, he can be a match for any batter … as shown in his surge to 51 Test wickets at 21.84 in just 12 Tests. If he can resist the temptation to bang the ball down too short, and attack the splice with the natural lift that his beanpole frame can generate, he could be the ideal weapon to halt one or two Bazballers in their tracks. Crawley, whose dreadful winter was epitomized by his six consecutive dismissals to New Zealand’s tall seamer Matt Henry will make for an obvious first target.England’s squad assembles for the pre-match photo•Getty Images
Team news: Cook, Tongue confirmed, Zimbabwe waitSam Cook’s England debut was earmarked from the moment he was rested by Essex for their County Championship match with Worcestershire in April, and sure enough he will be the newest recruit to a notably inexperienced seam attack led by the one-season veteran Gus Atkinson (11 caps). Josh Tongue impressed in two Lord’s Tests against Ireland and Australia in 2023 before a series of injuries, but his early-season form for Nottinghamshire has been ominously good. Ollie Pope returns to No.3 after his middle-order / wicketkeeping flirtations in New Zealand, with Jamie Smith restored to the gloves after missing that tour on paternity leave.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Sam Cook, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib BashirZimbabwe have chosen to name their XI on the morning of the match, but the spine of the side is likely to be provided by the team that took on, and lost to, a County Select XI in Leicester last week. Sikandar Raza missed that warm-up match because he was on duty for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL.Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Nick Welch, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Craig Ervine (capt), 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Clive Madande, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing MuzarabaniZimbabwe’s squad are all smiles ahead of the Trent Bridge Test•Getty Images
Pitch and conditions: A typical Trent Bridge wicket is anticipated across the four days: dry, flat, with good carry and plenty of runs, not least on the invariably short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground. The weather could yet be a factor. After an improbably glorious month, there is rain threatening for the weekend.Stats and trivia This will be the seventh Test between England and Zimbabwe, and the first in almost 22 years. England have won three of those games, all by an innings, with three further draws. Joe Root needs 28 runs to become only the fifth batter – behind Tendulkar, Ponting, Kallis and Dravid – to reach 13,000 in Tests. Shoaib Bashir is one short of 50 Test wickets. This will be his 17th match for England. Sean Williams, who made his ODI debut for Zimbabwe in February 2005, has passed 20 years as an international cricketerQuotes”You want to test yourself against the best. And England’s right up there with the best. So to have this opportunity, you really want to put Zimbabwe on the map. You want to come in with the right mindset that you’re coming in to win. You’re not just coming to fulfil a fixture. I think you want to turn up here and hopefully cause an upset.”
Zimbabwe’s captain, Craig Ervine is confident of a good showing from his team.“We have Zimbabwe coming up tomorrow. That’s our sole focus at the moment. We know what we have coming up, but we will deal with the challenge of Zimbabwe then, as we get closer to India starting, turn our focus to that.”