ENG vs ZIM: Day 1 Recap – Key performances and major Highlights from One-Off Test

After 22 years, Zimbabwe is up against England (England vs Zimbabwe)in England for a one-off Test match. The match at the Trent Bridge, Nottingham, perhaps has some historical significance but was too hard for Zimbabwe bowlers. England batters were on top of their game, with three centuries on the board already after the end of day 1. Unlike a regular 5-day Test match, a one-off Test contains only 4 days. 

Summary of Day 1

Session 1

The match started under an overcast condition with lots of bounce in the wicket and Zimbabwe with 6'8" Blessing. Muzaraban I started the things off in a promising way. Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine used all of their pace bowlers in the very first session of the day. Except for a few close shouts from the bowling side, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were scoring runs flawlessly. Without losing any wicket in the session, England reached the 130 mark.

Session 2

Ervine chose to shake things up with a fresh strategy by introducing Sikandar Raza, a spinner. Surprisingly, despite a pace-friendly condition in Trent Bridge, spinners started to get some help, mostly with the extra bounce on the surface. Zimbabwe fast bowlers were struggling to maintain line and length, often going outside off, which helped the England opening pair to score more easily. Duckett departed after 140; Wesley Madhevere took the wicket. England was on 295 for 1 with Crawley and Ollie Pope on the crease. 

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Season 3

The session started off with the ton of Crawley and aggressive batting approach from Pope. After a 137-run partnership between these two batters, Crawley lost his wicket for 124 after an LBW shout from Raza. Joe Root, in his 34-run innings, escaped a run-out and then completed his 13,000 runs in Test cricket. He tried to pull the ball for a big hit but was caught just before the boundary line; Muzarabani got his first Test wicket. The day ended with 498/3 on the scoreboard. Pope, with 169*, and Harry Brook, with 9*, will start day 2 for England.