England prepares for India with its first test against Zimbabwe in 22 years
FILE - England's Steve Harmison, center, celebrates his dismissal of Zimbabwe's Douglas Hondo, with teammates Robert Key, left, and Michael Vaughan, to give England a victory of an innings and 69 runs, in the second cricket Test between England and Zimbabwe at Chester-le-Street, England, Saturday, June 7, 2003.
England is set to face Zimbabwe in a test match at Trent Bridge. This marks their first international encounter in 18 years. For England, it is a warm-up for tougher series against India and the Ashes. Zimbabwe views this as a crucial step in their return to test cricket after years of challenges. Sam Cook will debut for England.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Debut for Cook
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
For England, it's little more than a warm-up match ahead of much sterner examinations to come. For Zimbabwe, it means everything.Trent Bridge in Nottingham will host a four-day test match - something of a rarity for the usual five-day format but perhaps a sign of the future - from Thursday when England and Zimbabwe meet for the first time at international level in 18 years since a Twenty20 World Cup match in Cape Town.You need to go back four more years - to Chester-le-Street in 2003 when Jimmy Anderson, a 20-year-old with highlights in his hair, was playing in his first series - for the last test match between the teams.Zimbabwe's return to English soil continues the African nation's gradual reintegration to test cricket after two decades of political interference, poor governance and sanctions that resulted in the team being exiled from test cricket for around six years.The Zimbabweans didn't play a test from 2005-11. From 2022-24, they played just four tests. But between December last year and August this year, they'll have played in 10 tests, with two-match series against South Africa and New Zealand to come this summer.Zimbabwe still isn't part of the World Test Championship but, in the bigger picture, progress is being made. Zimbabwe Cricket will receive a touring fee from the England and Wales Cricket Board for being the first test opponent of the summer, ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed last year while speaking about the "huge responsibility" to maintain the strength of bilateral cricket.Zimbabwe isn't expected to offer much resistance to England, having slumped to a 138-run defeat to a Professional County Club Select XI in Leicester last week. Before that, however, it did earn a first test victory since 2021 - beating in Bangladesh on the way to sharing the series 1-1.While Zimbabwe's view is very much about the present, England's sights will be on the future.Ahead this summer is a five-test series against India and then an Ashes tour Down Under. For England, it doesn't get much bigger than that, so the match against Zimbabwe will be important preparation, especially for a bowling department at the start of a new era following the test retirements of Stuart Broad (in 2023) and Anderson (last year).For the Zimbabwe test, England will give a debut to Sam Cook, fellow pacer Josh Tongue is returning to the team after a two-year absence, and Gus Atkinson is about to start his second summer of test cricket. There are as many question marks about the only specialist spinner in the team, Shoaib Bashir, and the fitness of allrounder Ben Stokes, returning after a hamstring tear to regain the captaincy.Then there's the batting lineup where opener Zak Crawley and No. 3 Ollie Pope have been retained despite continued speculation about their worthiness in the team. There's the welcome sight of a return for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after missing the tour of New Zealand in November and December while on paternity leave.England is No. 2 in the test rankings but coach Brendon McCullum said "there's a lot of meat on the bone for us" in the next stage of the so-called " Bazball " era."When we took on a project like this, it was not about necessarily settling on good,'" McCullum said. "I think now's the time, working from a strong base, to be able to shoot for the stars and say, Where can we take this team? What can we achieve?'"The scheduling of a four-day test might be a blow to test purists but England home matches have rarely reached Day 5 under the leadership of McCullum and Stokes since 2022.As for the Zimbabweans, they'll take whatever top-flight games they can on the long road back to cricket relevancy. (AP) AM AM AM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
Who is Yash Vagadia? Yorkshire cricketer substituting Ben Stokes despite not being in England squad in 1st Test vs India
The third day of the ongoing India vs England first Test at Headingly in Leeds saw an unknown face on the field when Yash Vagadia came on as a substitute fielder for home captain Ben Stokes on Sunday. Notably, the 21-year-old Vagadia is not a part of the England squad announced for the first Test against India. The incident occurred early during India's second innings when Stokes went out of the ground after the completion of the seventh over. However, Stokes returned shortly. India were 22/1 in 7.1 overs when Vagadia was caught on camera. Vagadia is a Indian-origin English cricketer who plays club cricket for Yorkshire. A right-handed batter and right-arm medium pacer, Vagadia made his One-Day Cup debut for Yorkshire against Warwickshire in 2024. He first played for Yorkshire at Under-14 level. Thereafter, Vagadia went on to lead Yorkshire's academy and U-18 teams and also signed his first rookie pro contract with Yorkshire in 2022. The same over, he was also named as Yorkshire Academy Player of the Year. Ahead of the first Test, Vagadia along with his Yorkshire teammates Jawad Akhtar and Noah Kelly were named for 12th man duties for the first Test between India and England. Notably, the troika of Akhtar, Kelly and Vagadia aren't a part of England's 14-man squad that was announced for the first Test. "Great to see Yorkshire's own Jawad Akhtar, Noah Kelly & Yash Vagadia sharing 12th man duties for the #ENGvIND Test here at Headingley," Yorkshire County Cricket Club wrote on X on June 20. The sole purpose of adding the rookie cricketers into the England dressing room is to give them an idea on how an international cricket is being played, what are the preparations needed and also allows them to rub shoulders of their seniors and pick their brains.
NDTV
35 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Did A Lot Of Gymnastics...": Ex-Cricketers React To Rishabh Pant's Viral Somersault Celebration
Swashbuckling India batter Rishabh Pant's perfect somersault after smashing a breathtaking century in the first Test against England has caught the fancy of his legion of fans, while former players felt the acrobatic act that has since gone viral was a statement of his "unique" ways. Pant hit an entertaining 178-ball 134, his seventh Test ton, as India amassed 471 against England under new skipper Shubman Gill on Day 2 of the opening Test here on Saturday. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said Pant probably had been doing gymnastics from a very young age. "Nothing wrong in that. That's him. Let him be. You know, he's different. At a very young age, he did a lot of gymnastics," said the cricketer-turned-commentator. "Even if I might have tried it, I think I might have... (but) it would have been to go into the pool," Shastri joked in a video posted by BCCI. Pant was involved in a horrific car accident in 2022, which left him grievously injured and his return to professional cricket is one of the most heartwarming stories in sport. To perform a somersault like that after undergoing several surgeries is indeed awe-inspiring. "Rishabh being Rishabh, he does something unique. He does it really well. I think it was unique. No one expected him to do that. I've never tried it. I'll need a lot of practice because that is something if you haven't tried, you can't do it," said India batter Cheteshwar Pujara. Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik said he was in awe of Pant, as the wicketkeeper-batter was made of a different stuff. "Neither could I do the somersault like him, nor can I bat like him. I think on both fronts (keeping and batting) he has exceeded expectations. It's quite an effort to do that, actually. And he does it consistently," said Karthik, himself a wicketkeeper-batter. "When I was very young, my parents did make me participate in gymnastics and I did try and I was an utter failure at that. So, let's just leave it there because he (Pant) is doing it so much nicer when he celebrates it," added Karthik. "I think I've never seen anything like that in my life. With pads on as well. Amazing," said an English fan.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Barmy Army Honour David Lawrence At Headingley With Musical Tribute
Last Updated: The Barmy Army honoured David "Syd" Lawrence during the first Test between India and England. Lawrence, the first British-born Black cricketer for England, died at 61. English fan group 'The Barmy Army' paid tribute to David 'Syd" Lawrence during day three of the first Test of the five-match series between India and England at Headingley in Leeds on Sunday. The former England fast bowler passed away at the age of 61 after a year-long battle with motor neurone disease (MND). WATCH: Lawrence, the first British-born Black cricketer to represent England, was diagnosed with MND last year. This degenerative condition causes muscle wastage and affects the brain and nerves. 'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dave Lawrence MBE (King's Birthday Honours) following his brave battle with Motor Neurone Disease," his family said. 'Syd was an inspirational figure on and off the cricket field. A proud Gloucestershire man, Syd faced every challenge with all his might, and his final contest with MND was no different. Lawrence, who earned five Test caps for England, made 280 appearances for Gloucestershire and took 625 wickets for the county. He made his Test debut at Lord's against Sri Lanka in 1988, with his career highlight being a five-wicket haul against the West Indies at the Oval in 1991. In 2022, Lawrence became Gloucestershire County Cricket Club's first Black president and was named one of the inaugural Honorary Life Vice-Presidents of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this year. ECB chairman Richard Thompson described Lawrence as 'a true trailblazer of English cricket and a man of immense courage, character, and compassion." 'His impact on the game extended far beyond the boundary ropes," Thompson added. 'As a fast bowler, he thrilled crowds with his pace and passion. As a leader and advocate, he broke barriers and inspired change, becoming a powerful voice for inclusion and representation in our sport." Ahead of the start of play, India and England players wore black armbands to pay their respects.
