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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The new-ball burst that showed why England rate Sam Cook highly
New red ball thrust into his hand by Ben Stokes, Sam Cook took a moment to steady himself. Breeze blustering at his back from the Radcliffe Road End as he settled at the top of his mark, the seamer inhaled and exhaled, releasing the nerves, readying the seam sinews. A bowler's approach can be a lonely trek at times, forced to plough a lone furrow and till and toil, but this could hardly have been a kinder start to a Test career, four slips and two gullies waiting, a mighty total already on the board. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, and onwards into the gather. Up, down, limbs whirling into work. Down came the delivery to settle the nerves; Cook on the money, as he was always likely to be. Advertisement Around Trent Bridge, glances flashed to the speed gun, eager eyes wondering what the radar had registered. Such had been the discourse around what a seamer of supreme skill couldn't do rather than what he could that much of the focus on his first formative strides in Test cricket was always going to be on the velocity rather than the venom – 81mph was solid enough. Sam Cook (left) took the new ball alongside Gus Atkinson (Getty Images) The Nottingham assembly cooed approvingly as he warmed to his work. Three boundaries in his first over suggested a rude awakening but the drawing of two inside edges promised more, and with his 14th ball, it arrived. Ben Curran propped forward to a ball that wobbled down and seamed away, a friendly peck of the outside edge smooched safely by Harry Brook at second slip. Cook was up and away. This was perhaps a perfect Test for the Essex bowler to prove his worth, a placid pitch but callow opposition making early inroads key. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England's radar love has rivalled that of Golden Earring, a preoccupation with pace borne from a desire to build a seam unit capable of winning in Australia. Cook is an oddity among recent debutants in his mastery of the softer skills; the twin scalpels of swing and seam prodded more gently at the batter but no less damaging. Where others have been picked on potential, the 27-year-old has forced his way in on a weight of wickets and a reputation in the county game as a top-order torturer. Advertisement The speed gun may show one thing but the simple statistics evidence a consistent new-ball threat. Stokes trusted his ability, Cook the first England seamer to take the opening over of an innings on debut since Martin McCague in 1993. His early scalp of Curran was the standout moment of a six-over initial burst that saw him beat both edges of the bat with relative regularity, a few outswingers mixed in alongside the wobble-seam ball used to extract Zimbabwe's opener. Overall figures on the day of 1-76 from 21 overs across two innings perhaps showed, though, that the margin for error is slim at his sort of speed - and his pace did dwindle slightly later in the evening. Sam Cook showcased his skill but England could not make significant inroads (Getty Images) If Cook's debut feels overdue at the age of 27, it is partly due to the stocks that England have now really developed. When James Anderson was told he was surplus to requirements last summer, so began a sort of hot-housing to germinate the seam saplings that McCullum and Stokes hope will grow into match-winners against India and, particularly, Australia. It is a process that has so far worked well, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse sailing relatively smoothly so far, with a fit-again Josh Tongue making his return here, too. An attack of absentees would include Chris Woakes – back playing for Warwickshire – Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Carse, with the likeable Matthew Potts left out, too. Keeping all fit and firing will be key but England hope they finally have the stable of horses required to compete in Australia. Cook could yet come to offer them something different. Woakes is of a similar speed and skill yet has endured a wretched record overseas, loquacious at home with Dukes in hand but struggling to get the Kookaburra ball to talk. By contrast, the Essex man was the standout tourist Down Under with the England Lions in the winter, eschewing franchise offers to press his case in red-ball cricket. Australian surfaces of late have offered more to bowlers of his style than in the past, with the recent success of Scott Boland – a touch quicker and taller but with a similar modus operandi – perhaps giving him his best hope of a prominent Ashes role. There is plenty more to come in this Test and beyond before then but Cook is off to a rock-solid start.
Times of Oman
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
England beat Zimbabwe comfortably in four-day Test at Trent Bridge
Nottingham: England started their international summer with a dominant performance, defeating Zimbabwe in just five sessions of play in their four-day Test at Trent Bridge. The match ended with more than a full day to spare as England bowled Zimbabwe out twice, securing a comfortable win, as per ESPNcricinfo. Offspinner Shoaib Bashir was the star on the final day, taking his fourth Test five-wicket haul, the most by any England player before turning 22, and his second five-for at Nottingham. He ended with match figures of 9/143. Despite the heavy loss, the Zimbabwe players and their supporters remained in high spirits. This was Zimbabwe's first Test in England in 22 years, and their enthusiastic fans filled the stadium with noise and colour, even staying back to applaud the team during their lap of appreciation after the match. Zimbabwe showed some fight with the bat, especially through Sean Williams, Ben Curran, Sikandar Raza, and Wessly Madhevere. Williams was the top performer, scoring 88 runs and sharing a 122-run partnership with Curran for the second wicket. Raza also stood out, hitting a half-century and building a solid 65-run stand with Madhevere. Although Zimbabwe didn't manage to force England to bat again, falling 45 runs short, their resilience and moments of quality batting gave fans reasons to be hopeful. The team will now prepare for upcoming home Test matches against South Africa, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. For England, this game served as a warm-up before a busy Test schedule, which includes a five-match home series against India and the Ashes in Australia. There were a few concerns regarding their main fast bowlers, who seemed to lack impact, but Ben Stokes, returning from hamstring surgery, looked sharp and was the most threatening with the ball in short spells. Zimbabwe began the day on 30/2, still trailing by 270 runs. Williams led the fightback with an aggressive innings full of boundaries, while Ben Curran supported him with a slow and steady 37 off 104 balls. Williams brought up his fifty with a stylish straight drive but was later struck on the bottom forearm by Josh Tongue, drawing blood. He continued to bat bravely but eventually fell lbw for 88, just short of a century. Curran also showed determination but was eventually caught by Stokes. After his dismissal, Raza and Madhevere fought hard, taking on the spin attack and short deliveries. There were a few nervy moments, including a lucky deflection off Harry Brook's cap that saved Raza from a catch, and a close lbw call against Madhevere that went his way. Eventually, a brilliant catch from Brook ended Madhevere's innings. Stokes bowled a bouncer that found the edge, and Brook leapt high at second slip to take a stunning one-handed catch. After that, England wrapped up the innings quickly. Bashir dismissed Tafadzwa Tsiga with a ball that turned sharply through the bat-pad gap. Raza brought up his fifty soon after but was caught trying to attack Bashir. The young spinner finished with another five-wicket haul, ending Zimbabwe's resistance by trapping Tanaka Chivanga lbw. Zimbabwe's last man, Richard Ngarava, didn't bat in either innings due to a back injury. England will take confidence from this win, especially the performance of Bashir and the return of Stokes as a bowler. Zimbabwe, despite the loss, showed moments of promise and spirit, earning the respect and admiration of the Trent Bridge crowd.
Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
England vs Zimbabwe Test: live score and updates from day 3
Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Oh we were so close to Ben Curran being dismissed! He was dropped by Ben Stokes at midwicket after his rash shot off Josh Tongue went fast in the air to Stokes's left. The England captain got a hand to it but it went down and Zimbabwe scamper a single. Sean Williams is playing pull shots nicely, rolling his wrists to keep them down playing towards fine leg. Very controlled. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge That's the hundred partnership and it's come from 121 balls. Williams has 72 of them but Ben Curran has been solid enough with some fluency. I've just seen his older brother Tom out of the back of the pavilion with his mates. Sam, the younger one, is playing for Surrey at the Oval, he is 33 not out. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Joe Root is having a bowl from the Stuart Broad End in search of his 72nd Test wicket. His wickets have come at 45 a piece but he has been a partnership breaker on occasions and his fourth ball finds an underedge that only just misses Curran's leg stump. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Ben Stokes is being very sensible. He has only bowled four overs. As much as I suspect he wants to try to be the one to break this partnership, it's far more important that he looks after his body. There is a strong chance he'll play for England Lions in the second of the matches against India A next month. If he does he'll be captained by James Rew and would be a big thing for the young all-rounder skippering his Test captain. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Sean Williams is receiving treatment; he's been hit on the left wrist and there is actual blood. The players are having a drink whilst he gets taped up. Meanwhile Joe Root is talking to the umpire about the ball. His argument is that the ball is out of shape, so they are having a look at it. Regardless, it's been a good first hour for Zimbabwe. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Fifty for Sean Williams off 42 balls — his sixth Test half-century. He's looked very fluent this morning, bringing up his fifty, by drilling Josh Tongue down the ground and then taking him for another boundary the next ball. The partnership is now worth 75 and this is a good sign for the tourists. It's good to see some fight even though they almost certainly know they're on a losing cause. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge I was just asking a few colleagues what they'd made of Jamie Smith's wicketkeeping in this match and the consensus was that they hadn't really noticed it, which I think means he's done a good job. Like goalkeepers, you only really notice when they make a howling mistake. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Zimbabwe have survived the first half hour without any alarm, taking the partnership past fifty, but both Ben Stokes and Sam Cook are beating the bat and getting some bounce and movement. Nevertheless the touring side haven't crumbled in a heap…yet…which is what some people were predicting. Every run is being cheered loudly by quite a big Zimbabwe-supporting contingent in the ground. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Ben Stokes is coming round the wicket to the left handed Curran and starts with a great delivery that is so hard for a left hander; angles in, extra bounce and there was a bit of a grimace on Curran's face as it flew past him Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Zimbabwe have a 50 partnership between Sean Williams and Ben Curran, and the latter is looking much more assured today than yesterday. He is offering good balance and keeping his head still. Sam Cook is getting a bit of nip off the pitch from the Stuart Broad End. Brian Bennett spoke of how much the loud Zimbabwe fans in the Trent Bridge crowd had spurred him on to his great total. 'To get that reception from a packed crowd was unbelievable,' he said. 'Before that I could hear them singing the war cries that we always hear at home and it gave me goosebumps. The crowds have been amazing the last two days.' Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge And Ben Stokes is going to kick off the morning with the ball. He bowled 3.2 overs yesterday taking two wickets for 11 and came through them fine, although didn't bring himself back on but he will be very, very carefully managing himself. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge The Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett's second Test century was inspired by seeing the names of the England centurions from the first day go up on to the Trent Bridge honours board. The 21-year-old said it was an 'emotional day' as he led a Zimbabwe fightback for much of the day. 'I saw Zak Crawley's name go up on the honours board this morning and thought it would be very nice to see my name up there too,' Bennett said. He became the second Zimbabwe player to go on the board after Murray Goodwin. Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge Good morning from Trent Bridge where it is very cloudy, pretty chilly but it is dry. The cover is off, the players have warmed up and we'll start on time. Richard Ngarava is injured and we aren't sure if he will bat – he didn't yesterday. So England may only need to take seven wickets. Steve James, at Trent Bridge And then there was the curious case of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who had a spectacularly fruitless spell on loan at Glamorgan earlier this season, taking just two wickets in three matches, and here he was taking three wickets, and he could have had five had he taken two return catches. There were moments of horrible inconsistency but two of the wickets came from absolute beauties, with left-hander Craig Ervine caught at slip and right-hander Tafadzwa Tsiga bowled through the gate. The height of the ceiling has become a cliché but you could see here why England reckon his to be quite so high. Simon Wilde, at Trent Bridge Shubman Gill has been named captain of an 18-man India Test squad to tour England this summer in a five-match series that starts at Headingley on June 20. Gill will be leading the side for the first time, following the recent departure of Rohit Sharma, and at 25 will be the youngest man to captain India since Sachin Tendulkar in 1997. Jasprit Bumrah captained in Sharma's absence twice in Australia last winter but as a fast bowler whose fitness needs managing following recent injuries he has been spared a formal leadership role. It is possible Bumrah will not play all five Tests given that they span less than seven weeks. Steve James, at Trent Bridge Both Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue initially looked a little short of a gallop, but their extra pace was telling later on, as it was from the skipper when earlier bowling a mesmerising few overs, taking two wickets and moving the ball so much more in the air than the others that it was as if he had sneaked his own ball on to use. Steve James, at Trent Bridge Some observations here: firstly that a chap called James Anderson also made his Test debut against Zimbabwe, the last time they were here playing a Test, in 2003, and he conceded 17 from his first over as Dion Ebrahim took three fours. He went on to do rather decently. He actually took five for 73 in that first innings on debut, but the crucial difference, of course, is that he was 20 years old then, and Cook is 27 now. Cook has been banging vainly on the selectors' doors for a long time, and it took a fine performance for England Lions in Australia this year for them finally to convince themselves that Cook needed this opportunity at the highest level. An added factor ahead of this winter's Ashes was the change seen recently in Australian Test pitches, where much more live, green grass has been spied and the Kookaburra balls have been appropriately roused, and as a result Scott Boland, who operates at only a touch above 80mph, has positively thrived. Steve James, at Trent Bridge Eyes immediately turned to the speed gun. Sam Cook had just bowled his first ball in Test cricket, indeed the first ball of Zimbabwe's first innings, and attention turned to how quickly he had bowled it. Why? Simply because lack of pace has long been the reason for Cook's absence from the England Test team, despite having been the outstanding seam bowler in county cricket for many years. The radar's answer was promising. It read 81mph. That is not quick, of course, not in Test cricket anyway, but it is not as slow as some had feared. Indeed for the first spell of six overs he bowled, Cook managed to keep the speedometer above 80mph. ● Read in full: Sam Cook finds that, at his pace, there's no margin for error Mike Atherton, at Trent Bridge Ben Stokes had come on to replace Shoaib Bashir halfway through the 37th over, after the spinner `had split a finger dropping a return catch, and on an afternoon when the other seamers toiled, Stokes immediately looked like he was bowling with a different ball and on a different pitch. In three eye-catching overs before tea, Stokes took two wickets, bounding in like a man who had never been away instead of someone having his first bowl in a competitive match for five months. After an initial no-ball, his rhythm looked excellent and he dismissed Sikandar Raza with a snorter that moved late and bounced, and then set up Wes Madhevere with a collection of outswingers, before bringing one back the other way. Such is his importance to the balance of England's attack this cameo spell was the highlight of England's performance with the ball, and it made up for his brief appearance with the bat in the morning. Stokes opted to prolong England's innings first thing, but Ollie Pope added only two to his overnight total, before edging a drive from Tanaka Chivanga, after which Stokes got in a tangle and top-edged a hook off Blessing Muzarabani. Mike Atherton, at Trent Bridge Cricketers rarely need reminding of the game's capricious nature and its ability to induce delight one minute and disappointment the next. Brian Bennett, Zimbabwe's 21-year-old opener, had one of those tumultuous days, scoring a brilliant hundred before being dismissed cheaply second time around, after Zimbabwe were asked to follow on. England now have designs on a three-day victory to get their summer off to a winning start. But what a hundred it was first of all, and what a moment for him and his family. On a bright, warm Nottingham afternoon, Bennett back-cut Gus Atkinson for a third consecutive boundary, his 20th, and ran to the non-striker's end emitting a roar of delight, raising a clenched fist to the skies and acknowledging the generous applause by planting a kiss on the badge of his helmet, much as West Indies' Kavem Hodge had done at this ground 12 months before. ● Read in full: Ben Stokes finds rhythm on return as Brian Bennett earns Zimbabwe respect In case you still need a reminder, here the two squadrons having at it today. 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 Bashir Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Craig Ervine (capt), 4 Sean Williams, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Richard Ngarava, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Tanaka Chivanga, 11 Victor Nyauchi Hello and welcome to The Times' coverage of the third day of the one-off Test match between England and Zimbabwe. It's one-way traffic, as you would expect, in Nottingham and there is every chance that the match gets wrapped up today. However, the weather is not as nice today as it has been. Will that help Zimbabwe? We'll have updates.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
England v Zimbabwe: men's cricket Test, day three
Update: Date: 2025-05-24T09:07:52.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Morning everyone and welcome to the third day of the men's international summer. Anybody old enough to remember when Test cricket was a slow process? This match is moving fast even by modern standards. The first day was all about runs, as England piled up 498, including 200 after tea. The second day was all about wickets, 14 of them spread across three innings. Even Brian Bennett, who bagged the headlines with his fearless hundred, found time to get out twice. The upshot is that Zimbabwe need another 270 runs to make England bat again. And England need another seven wickets to wrap up an innings victory. It could be all over by lunchtime, as long as the rain holds off. Even in a Test mismatch there are plenty of sub-plots. Can Ben Curran, already the only member of his talented family with an international century, make one in a Test? Can Sam Cook use the grey skies to show that medium-fast bowling can still make an impact? Can Shoaib Bashir keep taking just enough Test wickets to stay in the team, or is he just keeping a place warm for Jacob Bethell? Can Sean Williams continue to rattle along at two runs a ball? We shall see. Play starts at 11am BST, weather permitting.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Zimbabwe reach 73-1 at lunch after England declare first innings on 565-6
NOTTINGHAM, England, May 23 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe made a positive start as they began their reply to England's imposing first-innings score, reaching 73 for one wicket at lunch on the second day of the one-off test at Trent Bridge on Friday. The 21-year-old Brian Bennett was unbeaten on 36 off 38 balls alongside captain Craig Ervine (30 not out) at the end of the morning session, trailing by 492 runs after England had declared their first innings on 565-6. Bennett hit three boundaries in the first over off debutant Sam Cook and was aggressive as the visitors looked to put behind them an attritional opening day for their bowlers on Thursday. But Cook did get a first test wicket as he squared up Ben Curran, who got a thick edge to steer the ball to Harry Brook at second slip in the fifth over of the Zimbabwe innings. Curran, whose two brothers have played test cricket for England, made six runs. Zimbabwe had been pummelled on the opening day as their poor bowling was sent to all corners by a rampant English batting line-up, who amassed 498-3 with Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope all scoring centuries. England batted for a further 45 minutes on the second day, losing three wickets in the 8.3 overs they faced on Friday morning before declaring. Pope, eyeing a double century after being 169 not out overnight, added only two runs to his total before a faint edge off Tanaka Chivanga to wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga saw him depart nine balls into the new day's play. Captain Ben Stokes, in his first knock since the December test against New Zealand, was bounced out by the tall seamer Blessing Muzarabani for nine, falling to a good catch at fine leg by Curran squinting into the sun. Brook was dropped on the ropes by substitute fielder Wellington Masakadza off Chivanga before rushing to his half century off 48 balls. But when he played on to Muzarabani two balls later and was out for 58, England declared with Jamie Smith unbeaten on four at the other end after being dropped by Tsiga off Chivanga in the previous over. Muzarabani was the best of the Zimbabwe bowlers with 3-143 off 24.3 overs. The four-day test is the first for Zimbabwe in England in more than 20 years.
