Cliff Notes – England vs Zimbabwe Only Test 2025
- Brian Bennett scored Zimbabwe’s fastest Test century, reaching 122 not out off 112 balls, marking only the third century by a Zimbabwean against England.
- England declared their first innings at 565 for 6, maintaining a commanding lead of 355 runs, despite Bennett’s impressive innings.
- Ben Stokes took two wickets in quick succession, including that of Wessly Madhevere, as England’s bowlers continued to dominate the Zimbabwean batting line-up.
England vs Zimbabwe Only Test 2025
Tea Zimbabwe 210 for 5 (Bennett 122*, Tsiga 0*) trail England 565 for 6 dec (Pope 171, Duckett 140, Crawley 124, Brook 58) by 355 runs
Brian Bennett notched Zimbabwe’s fastest Test hundred, off 97 deliveries, becoming only his country’s third centurion against England, leading the tourists off to rapturous applause at the tea interval on day two of this one-off Test match at Trent Bridge.
Bennett’s 122 not out from just 112 deliveries came as a welcome (and necessary) response to England’s dominance over the first three-and-a-half sessions, as they eventually declared their first innings on 565 for 6. However, the five wickets England have taken so far has kept them in command of the contest, with Zimbabwe still trailing by 355 at the break.
The wicket tally was bolstered by a Ben Stokes brace at the end of the session. England’s captain had replaced Shoaib Bashir – 2 for 49 – mid-over after the off-spinner damaged his left ring finger attempting to take a tough caught-and-bowled chance of Sikandar Raza.
It was an unfortunate moment for Bashir, who had earlier become the youngest England bowler to 50 Test dismissals when a pearler from around the wicket drifted onto middle and spun sharply to take the edge of left-hander Craig Ervine’s bat. Harry Brook completed the dismissal low at first slip, ending a productive 65-run stand for the second wicket. Bashir’s second of the innings – Sean Williams playing on, undone by an arm-ball with a touch more bounce than anticipated – saw him double his first-class tally this season, having taken as many across three matches for Glamorgan, at an average of 152.00.
Bennett contributed 22 to that partnership with Ervine, but was otherwise the dominator throughout his innings. Sam Cook, having been given the honour of becoming the first England debutant to bowl the first ball in his maiden innings since Martin McCague did so here in 1993 against Australia, was struck for three fours in his first over by Bennett. Cook then notched his maiden dismissal in his third over, squaring up Ben Curran for a catch at second slip.
That was the only Zimbabwe wicket to fall going into the lunch break, though only Bennett was able to emerge from the interval retaining his attacking verve, having not scored a run off his final 14 deliveries of the morning session.
His 10th boundary – an imperious drive through the covers off Josh Tongue – took him to a fourth fifty-plus score in 12 innings from just 56 deliveries. And he completed his second century with three successive fours off Gus Atkinson. Numbers 18 (a square drive) and 19 (a crisp punch down the ground) moved him to 99, before Atkinson offered enough width for a back-cut that was steered expertly through deep third.
An impassioned celebration was matched in the stands, as pockets of Zimbabwe support erupted with glee, in amongst a strong ovation from locals at the 21-year-old’s feat.
Ben Stokes bowled Wessly Madhevere for his second wicket PA Photos/Getty Images
Liberated by the jaunt to three figures, boundary striking came even easier for Bennett. He picked off Atkinson and Stokes down the ground, and then had the former flinging his cap in disgust after closing out the session with another perfectly timed drive for his 24th four.
An inspired replacement for the injured Bashir
Alas, Stokes’ late interjection, as a replacement for the injured Bashir, ensured Bennett’s fun has not been too much of an imposition on England. In fact, Stokes should have accounted for Bennett with his first legal delivery upon subbing in with two deliveries remaining of the 37th over, only for Joe Root to shell a simple catch to his right at first slip. That life on 89 was Bennett’s fourth moment of good fortune, after an edge through the cordon (on 16), past his stumps off Cook (32) and a nick through a vacant third slip earlier in the piece.
Nevertheless, a pearler from Stokes squared up Raza, who then outfoxed Wessly Madhevere with a surprise inswinger after a diet of outswingers, forcing him to play on. It was an encouraging start for the Test skipper in his first competitive outing of 2025, following hamstring surgery at the start of the year.
His batting effort earlier in the day hadn’t proved much, as he was bumped out by Blessing Muzarabani for nine. It was a largely irrelevant endeavour, with Brook’s 58 providing the bulk of the 67 runs that England added to their overnight total of 498 for 3, all of which came in 8.3 overs.
Pope, resuming on 169, was only able to add a couple before edging Tanaka Chivanga behind while attempting to shift up a gear. England’s vice-captain opted to send it upstairs on a whim, and did not seem all that bothered that he burned a review when a clear spike came up on the big screen.
Brook took matters into his own hands at this point, turning a subdued start into a one-man boundary fest. Chivanga bore the brunt of Brook’s assault from the Radcliffe Road End, as he was smoked through backward point and then lifted on the charge over mid-off for consecutive fours. A further succession of boundaries followed from the other end when Muzarabani – the most threatening of the visiting attack – was flipped over to the leg side (backward square leg first, then finer) for two sixes in a row.
Wellington Masakadza had the opportunity to stem the flow, but shelled a catch at deep third after a Chivanga bumper had enticed a lazy guide from Brook, on 34. The ball ended up bouncing before the sponge and – yep, you guessed it – that boundary was followed by another as Brook lashed a cut.
An outlandish lassoed pull over square leg – a third six off Muzarabani – took Brook to 54 from 48 deliveries, capping off a well-calculated acceleration from 10 off 28. Eventually, an attempt to dab behind third brought about a ricochet onto his own stumps, ending whatever ambitions he had at becoming the fourth batter to notch three figures in this innings.
That dismissal, which brought about the declaration, was Muzarabani’s third, and no less than he deserved, finishing with 3 for 143. Chivanga’s efforts were only rewarded with a single dismissal – that of Pope – and two drops, as Brook’s reprieve was followed by a life for Jamie Smith, put down by wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga diving to his right, in front of first slip.