England vs Zimbabwe 1st Test Day 3 Live Match | ENG vs ZIM Only Test Live Scores & Commentary
The third day of a Test is often known as the moving day but from the way this game is positioned the third day could well be the last one. Following on and still trailing by 270 runs Zimbabwe are delicately placed at 30/2. While they proved yesterday that they are no pushovers the gulf between themselves and England was quite evident. Conditions were good for batting yesterday it was bright and sunny and the pitch relatively flat too but things might be a little different today. There was some variable bounce for the seamers and quite a lot of grip and turn for Shoaib Bashir. Zimbabwe with just 7 wickets in hand presuming Ngarava won't be able to bat this time around as well have their task cut out for them. While there was some forecast for rain today the good news is that it is overcast but dry at Trent Bridge. The openers took little time at the start and then pounced on anything loose. They scored quickly got their tons elan. Pope came in and just continued the same. He dominated the bowling and became the third one to score a 100. Zimbabwean bowlers looked hapless and even Root seemed set a long haul. But second new ball brought some respite. Time for England Men's Test summer to unfurl as the Ben Stokes-led side takes on Zimbabwe in the only Test match at the iconic Trent Bridge Nottingham starting on Thursday (May 22). This won't be a five-day Test and instead it will be a four-day contest. England have already announced their playing XI. There are no massive changes in the batting department but there are some new names on the bowling front. Iqbal Sports Live. Iqbal Sports. Km Punk Live. Ben Stokes is back after a long injury break and will lead England's red-ball outfit. He had a bad hamstring injury in New Zealand in December 2024 and was out of action for a few months. He will bat at number 6 and is expected to fulfil the fourth seamer's duty in the line-up. As usual it's Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett to open. With Ollie Pope not having to don the gloves is back at number three. Yorkshiremen and run machines - Joe Root and Harry Brook will bat at their usual positions ahead of Stokes. Wicketkeeper batter Jamie Smith is back in the set-up after he missed England's previous tour to New Zealand due to paternity leave. Km Punk. Since Smith has returned England haven't selected Jacob Bethell who had an impressive tour to New Zealand and is now in India playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL. Gus Atkinson Josh Tongue who is back for the first time since the Ashes 2023 as he has now fully recovered from a series of injuries and Sam Cook who will make his Test debut in Nottingham are the three pacers in the bowling unit alongside the off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. Matthew Potts didn't make the cut for England's first XI of the summer. Cook plays for Essex in the County set-up and has picked up 321 First-Class wickets in 89 matches. Apart from Cook Jordan Cox also received a call-up but he was unfortunately ruled out of the Test match due to an abdominal muscle injury. Crictalks Live. Somerset's James Rew was named as Cox's replacement but he has to wait for his turn in the playing XI. This one-off Test is a good indication of where England's Test side is at home with a five-match long series coming up against India in June. Joe Root needs just 28 runs to become only the fifth batter after Sachin Tendulkar Ricky Ponting Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid to reach 13000 in Tests. Although Zimbabwe don't find themselves in the World Test Championship. They have many more Tests lined up than they were playing in the last few years. Zimbabwe are fresh from a famous Test win versus Bangladesh although not being able to win the series with the two teams sharing the two-match series. The Chevrons will also play Tests against South Africa and New Zealand later this year. The last time Zimbabwe played a Test in England was in 2003 and that was when James Anderson began his journey in English whites. Decades have rolled over and Anderson is still playing red-ball cricket for Lancashire despite hanging up his boots in the international arena. There are four changes made to Zimbabwe's squad that toured Bangladesh. Star all-rounder Sikandar Raza returns to the side replacing Johnathan Campbell while Clive Madande is back from injury to take over from Nyasha Mayavo as the back-up wicketkeeper. Pacer Newman Nyamhuri is back in place of leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa. with the team opting for an extra fast bowler in light of expected seam-friendly conditions in England. Gwandu been ruled out with a left groin strain and Tanaka Chivanga has been named in as a replacement. Zimbabwe will depend on Craig Ervine Sean Williams and Brian Bennett for the runs while Muzarabani Ngarava Masakadza will be key operators with the ball. There are a few youngsters and inexperienced players in the set-up who have shone decently recent times.
