Bashir takes six to seal England win over Zimbabwe

Trent Bridge, the only test, is the third day of four.

England 565-6 dec (Pope 171, Duckett 140, Crawley 124, Muzarabani 3-143)

Zimbabwe 265 (Bennett 139, Bashir 3-62) &amp, 255 (Williams 88, Bashir 6-81)

England defeated them by 45 runs in an innings.

In the final three days of the one-off Test, Shoaib Bashir’s six-wicket haul overcame Zimbabwe’s feisty opposition and gave England a comfortable victory.

In their second innings of playing for 255, off-spinner Bashir claimed 6-81, one of his best Test results.

The home team’s performance was not particularly impressive as a tune-up for India’s challenge later this summer, particularly their third-day seam bowling.

England, on a lifeless surface, were frequently loose and lacking in penetration, allowing Sean Williams to score 88 from 82 balls.

He and fellow left-hander Ben Curran, who survived two catch attempts and overturned being given lbw in his 37, added 122 for the third wicket.

Both sides of lunch were removed by Bashir. Sikandar Raza scored 60, but England drew the other end.

Wesley Madhevere, Ben Stokes’ third wicket of the match, was unquestionably the highlight when Harry Brook made a spectacular catch at the second slip on his way back from hamstring surgery.

In a major test series against India and Australia, England had its first Test in five months.

There were still advantages for England, despite the fact that this stumbling like a pre-season friendly did.

Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope both needed centuries for England’s 565-5 first innings declaration. In the match, Bashir took a career-best nine wickets, and crucially, Stokes appeared fit enough to play an all-rounder role.

The pace bowlers occasionally struggled, but in pleasant circumstances. Sam Cook’s debut didn’t mean that England should have ignored Gus Atkinson’s unthreatening and strong domestic form for so long. Josh Tongue had a few moments of lively behavior during his first practice of almost two years.

With Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse returning, England can consider their pace options for India. Will it be more important to recall Jacob Bethell and decide who.

With a number of seamers absent, those on display made little progress in advancing their claims in a year where pace bowling will be so important for England’s hopes.

Cook, who has worked for Essex well, had the best chance. After one Test, it would be harsh to criticize someone, and it might be that he chose a bad time for a bad game. His average speed of 77.9 mph was unmatched by his accuracy, making it the slowest England seamer to record since 2006.

Tongue showed glimpses of why England gave him such high marks while Atkinson has credit in the bank with 52 wickets in 2024 and will undoubtedly improve. He is England’s second-fastest bowler behind Mark Wood in his three Test starts.

At least Stokes was able to survive three quick-fire innings of play, including Saturday’s first over bowling. When he returned in the afternoon, he discovered Madhevere’s extra bounce, and Brook clung to his one-hander while it was flying.

Before this Test, Bashir was being loaned from Somerset to Glamorgan because he was unprepared. He increased his bowling to a fuller length and straighter line in favor of his five-wicket haul last year against West Indies at this ground.

Although Curran was fortunate and gave in, Tafadwa Tsiga’s flight, which charged and was bowled, was enjoyable.

With 11 matches in hand this year, Zimbabwe are making an effort to regain their reputation in test cricket. Despite their advancement, this would have been their biggest upset ever.

In their first Test match against England in 22 years, they faced a blatant defeat on the opening day before taking on England. The occasion was cheered up by their supporters, who continued to dance and sing throughout.

Brian Bennett’s 97-ball hundred, which was the fastest by a Zimbabwean in Test cricket, broke Williams’ record on Friday. Williams had a plan to recoup it on Saturday.

The left-hander tucked into a flat England pace attack by pulling his leg and slapping through the opponent. Bashir was swept over and reversed by him. The captain’s steady Curran was thrown down in his follow-through, survived a flying one-hander, and then overturned, being lbw to Bashir.

Williams’ review was not so fortunate. Bashir was attempting to paddle him, but he was given a ball that would have shaved the bails. Curran poked to cover immediately after lunch.

“I felt really, really good today; I felt in a good rhythm.” I wanted to work on something because it seemed to be moving along smoothly.

Another positive week for me to pass, because it gives me more self-assurance than what I had before.

Former England international Phil Tufnell: “Shoaib Bashir has just started to bowl in Tests.”

Ben Stokes, who makes the most of him, is responsible for a lot of that. Why he can’t compete against the county batsman is beyond me. He seems to adore the stage.

He could work on that consistency a little more. This summer, he has bigger fish to fry. He just needs to be able to develop and bowl a spell.

By Soham Sarkhel, a CricViz analyst,

His release points are an interesting change in Shoaib Bashir’s action.

In this Test, he has moved about 5 cm closer to the stumps than he has in other home Tests when he bowls over the wicket. When he bowls almost 8 cm closer to the stumps, this change is even more noticeable.