After Day One of England’s Test Match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, former England captain Michael Vaughan urges “two leagues” to provide a more compelling “narrative.”
MATCH REPORT: Zimbabwe flattens thanks to Pope, Crawley, and Duckett tons.
After Day One of England’s Test Match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, former England captain Michael Vaughan urges “two leagues” to provide a more compelling “narrative.”
MATCH REPORT: Zimbabwe flattens thanks to Pope, Crawley, and Duckett tons.
Trent Bridge, the first of four days, is the only test.
England 498-3: Pope 169*, Duckett 140, Crawley 124
Zimbabwe: yet to bat
Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss.
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley joined Ben Duckett in establishing centuries of total dominance over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge as the two faced mounting pressure on their positions.
If Jacob Bethell makes a comeback for the series against India later in the summer, opener Crawley and number three Pope will be most vulnerable.
However, the selectors had to make a decision as England scored 498-3 on the opening day of the one-off Test, which is the highest total runs scored on a test day in this country.
With Crawley, England’s highest opening partnership in a home test since 1960, Duckett led the way with 140, adding 231 for the first wicket.
Pope completed the triumvirate with a majestic unbeaten score of 169, followed by Crawley with his first Test century in almost two years, 124.
All this after Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss. under a leaden sky. When the clouds parted, England cashed in on a pristine batting surface.
After lunch, Zimbabwe’s opening bowler Richard Ngarava suffered a back injury, but this was a mismatch.
With series matches against India and Australia in hand, England had just begun a pivotal year in test cricket. A sedate and one-sided opening day in Nottingham will be far more challenging and intense than those encounters.
Zimbabwe haven’t played a Test since 1992. With 11 matches in 2025, they are regaining their status as a test nation. Although the name was being tested, there was no contest.
After Bethell impressed in New Zealand over the winter, intrigue surrounded the conundrum at the top of the order in England.
Ben Stokes, England captain on Wednesday, said: “Put two and two together, you probably know what’s going to happen.” The 21-year-old is currently out of action in the Indian Premier League.
Later, it was clarified that Stokes was referring to Bethell returning immediately to the England squad rather than the XI.
Crawley and Pope would have known that their positions were in jeopardy and needed to do more to support their cause.
Zimbabwe made the right choice to add the home team in the heavy sky. Stokes claimed he would have done the same.
However, it was a run-scoring procession after Duckett hit left-armer Ngarava through the covers for four in the opener.
Blessing Muzarabani, a imposing seamer, was unable to exert any pressure on Zimbabwe. England scored well above five overs without breaking a sweat as a result of a slew of loose deliveries.
When the tourists drifted onto his pads, Duckett was the aggressor, whipping into the leg side.
After a terrible tour of New Zealand just before Christmas, Crawley turned his attention to handsome cover drives when Zimbabwe overpitched.
The fifth Test century for left-hander Duckett was the product of exactly 100 deliveries. When he slammed the same bowler to short cover, he had just hoiked off-spinner Wesley Madhevere for his second six.
Pope took his first 20 balls of a Test innings and hit his stride, taking 31 runs, which is the most he has ever taken.
It was Crawley’s first Test century since the all-time great 189 against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test of 2023, when he reached three. Sikandar Raza, lbw sweeping spinner, and Crawley, who had a hip problem, shared the second-wicket partnership’s 137.
Pope frequently used cuts and obscene deflections over the slips along the off-side boundary. His eighth Test hundred was scored against an eighth different opponent. He has only ever managed to score three points against Australia.
When he increased to 33 and then relegated Muzarabani to long leg, Joe Root became the fifth batter to do so. Pope continued to push against the second new ball, with Victor Nyauchi’s outstanding catch over a fine leg for six as the highlight.
There is a gap between the bat and the ball because he plays poorly when he plays out in front of himself. He no longer exerts as much control over his drives as he did today.
Ollie Pope impressed me in part because of reports that Ben Stokes has stated that Jacob Bethell will return. The Pope could read any errors that were made in his or her quote.
One of Pope’s biggest complaints, especially for the first 20 balls, is how skittish he can be. I believed that the attack was what caused him to appear in control.
Trent Bridge, the first of four days, is the only test.
England 498-3: Pope 169*, Duckett 140, Crawley 124
Zimbabwe: yet to bat
Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss.
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley joined Ben Duckett in establishing centuries of total dominance over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge as the two faced mounting pressure on their positions.
If Jacob Bethell makes a comeback for the series against India later in the summer, opener Crawley and number three Pope will be most vulnerable.
However, the selectors had to make a decision as England scored 498-3 on the opening day of the one-off Test, which is the highest total runs scored on a test day in this country.
With Crawley, England’s highest opening partnership in a home test since 1960, Duckett led the way with 140, adding 231 for the first wicket.
Pope completed the triumvirate with a majestic unbeaten score of 169, followed by Crawley with his first Test century in almost two years, 124.
All this after Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss. under a leaden sky. When the clouds parted, England cashed in on a pristine batting surface.
After lunch, Zimbabwe’s opening bowler Richard Ngarava suffered a back injury, but this was a mismatch.
With series matches against India and Australia in hand, England had just begun a pivotal year in test cricket. A sedate and one-sided opening day in Nottingham will be far more challenging and intense than those encounters.
Zimbabwe haven’t played a Test since 1992. With 11 matches in 2025, they are regaining their status as a test nation. Although the name was being tested, there was no contest.
After Bethell impressed in New Zealand over the winter, intrigue surrounded the conundrum at the top of the order in England.
Ben Stokes, England captain on Wednesday, said: “Put two and two together, you probably know what’s going to happen.” The 21-year-old is currently out of action in the Indian Premier League.
Later, it was clarified that Stokes was referring to Bethell returning immediately to the England squad rather than the XI.
Crawley and Pope would have known that their positions were in jeopardy and needed to do more to support their cause.
Zimbabwe made the right choice to add the home team in the heavy sky. Stokes claimed he would have done the same.
However, it was a run-scoring procession after Duckett hit left-armer Ngarava through the covers for four in the opener.
Blessing Muzarabani, a imposing seamer, was unable to exert any pressure on Zimbabwe. England scored well above five overs without breaking a sweat as a result of a slew of loose deliveries.
When the tourists drifted onto his pads, Duckett was the aggressor, whipping into the leg side.
After a terrible tour of New Zealand just before Christmas, Crawley turned his attention to handsome cover drives when Zimbabwe overpitched.
The fifth Test century for left-hander Duckett was the product of exactly 100 deliveries. When he slammed the same bowler to short cover, he had just hoiked off-spinner Wesley Madhevere for his second six.
Pope took his first 20 balls of a Test innings and hit his stride, taking 31 runs, which is the most he has ever taken.
It was Crawley’s first Test century since the all-time great 189 against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test of 2023, when he reached three. Sikandar Raza, lbw sweeping spinner, and Crawley, who had a hip problem, shared the second-wicket partnership’s 137.
Pope frequently used cuts and obscene deflections over the slips along the off-side boundary. His eighth Test hundred was scored against an eighth different opponent. He has only ever managed to score three points against Australia.
When he increased to 33 and then relegated Muzarabani to long leg, Joe Root became the fifth batter to do so. Pope continued to push against the second new ball, with Victor Nyauchi’s outstanding catch over a fine leg for six as the highlight.
There is a gap between the bat and the ball because he plays poorly when he plays out in front of himself. He no longer exerts as much control over his drives as he did today.
Ollie Pope impressed me in part because of reports that Ben Stokes has stated that Jacob Bethell will return. The Pope could read any errors that were made in his or her quote.
One of Pope’s biggest complaints, especially for the first 20 balls, is how skittish he can be. I believed that the attack was what caused him to appear in control.
The Premier League’s final game will start at 16:00 BST, with all 10 matches beginning at 12:00 PM.
You can follow updates on all the games from 17:00 BST on BBC Two, which begins with an hour-long Football Focus episode on Sunday at 12:00 BST, and from there, BBC One begins the day’s coverage.
On Sunday night at 22:30 BST, BBC One’s Match of the Day will feature highlights from all the games.
With commentary from Ian Dennis and former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, BBC Radio 5 Live will cover Nottingham Forest’s match against Chelsea.
On BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock and Arne Slot’s champions face FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
Sohail Sahi and former Wolves striker Matt Jarvis will also cover the Molineux side’s home match against Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3.
As the goals come in, BBC Radio 5 Live will have updates from all three commentaries, as well as BBC Sounds and the BBC website and app.
All Sunday 22 May, 16: 00 BST:
Right, what do you need from your Fantasy Premier League team on the final day?
If you’re in a close title race in your mini-league – especially if you are chasing a rival – then this is the dream scenario.
There’s no clear-cut captain and that means taking a punt on someone other than Mohamed Salah could be massively rewarded.
There are normally plenty of goals on the final day so if you’ve got nothing much to play for, why not slap the armband on a big differential choice – such as Leandro Trossard or Evanilson in this week’s team – and just have a bit of fun?
This team of the week should give you some final-day ideas, but it could be a week to go with your gut, take a flyer on your captain and then sit back and hope for the best.
Jamie Vardy, on maybe his final FPL appearance, Jarrod Bowen and double Everton defence were the heroes.
Boy, did the double Manchester City clean sheet wipeout in the 96th minute hurt!
A total of 53 points, not awful and not great.
David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £5.5m – Southampton (a)
Worst attack in the league? Haven’t scored in three games? Nothing to play for? Arsenal defence is an easy pick this week for clean sheet against bottom-placed Southampton.
Jakub Kiwior, Arsenal, £4.9m – Southampton (a)
See Raya above!
Nikola Milenkovic, Nottingham Forest, £5.2m – Chelsea (h)
If you’re going for broke on the final day you want a defender with a goal in their locker.
Ezri Konsa and Marc Cucurella owners got that luck in gameweek 37.
Milenkovic has more goals than any other defender and Chelsea have only scored once in their past four games on the road.
In a must-win match, I’d rather back Forest defence than Chelsea attack.
Dan Burn, Newcastle, £4.5m – Everton (h)
Another Milenkovic-style pick. Burn has two double-digit hauls in four games and Newcastle have kept three home clean sheets in a row.
Milos Kerkez, Bournemouth, £5.2m – Leicester (h)
Six assists this season for Kerkez – who has been linked with a move to Liverpool – and he is in the top 10 for final-third touches and crosses among defenders.
Bryan Mbeumo (captain), Brentford, £8.2m – Wolves (a)
Mbeumo has six returns in his past five games and would have hauled more if not for a rare penalty miss last week.
He takes on a Wolves side who have conceded seven goals in the previous three games.
At this point, Mbeumo might be the most obvious FPL pick. He’s been involved in 43% of his side’s goals, so feels about as nailed on as you can be for at least some sort of return on Sunday.
Jarrod Bowen (vice captain), West Ham, £7.9m – Ipswich (a)
Bowen has 53 points in the past seven gameweeks – only Eberechi Eze has more with 57 – so you’ve got to roll with that kind of form and he’s a solid shout for captain this week.
Jacob Murphy, Newcastle, £5.2m – Everton (h)
Since gameweek 14, Murphy has started every game for Newcastle and in that time only Mohamed Salah (77) has more points than his 76 at home.
Murphy has five goals and six assists in that spell and, in a must-win game against Everton, you would hope he will be back on the right wing in a 4-4-2.
That’s where he has been most productive – and even more so if Alexander Isak is fit.
Leandro Trossard, Arsenal, £6.7m – Southampton (a)
Some sort of attacking Arsenal asset feels like a must against woeful Southampton.
But predicting how the Gunners approach the game, with second place effectively wrapped up, is tough.
Trossard has been Arsenal’s top-scoring attacking asset this season and he has started the past seven games, with five returns.
Evanilson, Bournemouth, £5.8m – Leicester (h)
The Brazilian has been unlucky this season – 66 shots in the box, 22 big chances, just 10 goals.
His expected goals (xG) is 12.18. By contrast, Chris Wood has 12.61 xG and 20 goals!
What I’m saying here is that Evanilson could have ended a decent season with even more points if he’d put away a few more of those big chances – such as when he hit the post at Manchester City on Tuesday.
He has a juicy match-up against a poor defence on the final day and could easily get double digits.
Erling Haaland, Manchester City, £14.9m – Fulham (a)
Call me foolish for going back to Haaland, who has been very quiet since returning from injury, but Manchester City still need a point on Sunday to secure Champions League football.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bournemouth, keeper, £4.6m – Leicester (h)
Jorgen Strand Larsen, Wolves, striker, £5.2m – Brentford (h)
Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest, £6.5m – Chelsea (h)
Conor Bradley, Liverpool, defender, £4.7m – Crystal Palace (h)
Total team cost: £95m
Olav Kooij won a close-fought sprint on stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia as Isaac del Toro retained the pink jersey in Viadana.
Dutchman Kooij benefited from Visma-Lease A Bike team-mate Wout van Aert’s superb lead-out in the final kilometre.
Casper van Uden finished second with Britain’s Ben Turner of Ineos Grenadiers third.
“Only he [Wout] can do it, so to have him as support here is extraordinary,” said Kooij.
“I really need to thank him and also the rest of the team, they did a fantastic job.
“You don’t want to be too far [back] in that last corner, that’s maybe why we had to go a bit earlier than we wanted but I could jump on the wheel of Casper and pass him.”
Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates-XRG stayed out of the hectic fight for position in the closing stages to finish safely in the bunch and maintain his hold on the pink jersey.
A sprint for two bonus seconds at the Red Bull kilometre in Brescello means the 21-year-old heads into stage 13 with a 33-second lead over team-mate Juan Ayuso in the race overall.
1. Olav Kooij (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike) 3hr 55min 40sec
2. Casper van Uden (Ned/PicnicPostNL) Same time
3. Ben Turner (GB/Ineos Grenadiers)
4. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek)
5. Kaden Groves (Aus/Alpecin-Deceuninck)
6. Milan Fretin (Bel/Cofidis)
7. Max Kanter (Ger/XDS Astana)
8. Paul Magnier (Fra/Soudal Quick-Step)
9. Matevz Govekar (Slo/Bahrain-Victorious)