Cricket - International Test Match Series - England v Zimbabwe - Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Britain - May 23, 2025 Zimbabwe's Craig Ervine in action Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) -Opener Brian Bennett scored an unbeaten century to help Zimbabwe reduce the deficit to 355 runs as they reached 210 for five wickets at tea on the second day of the one-off test on Friday in reply to England’s imposing first-innings score.
But the return to the England bowling line-up of captain Ben Stokes brought immediate reward as he took a couple of wickets before the end of the second session at Trent Bridge to expose the Zimbabwe tail and keep his side firmly in control of the contest.
Bennett scored the fastest test century by a Zimbabwean, achieved in 97 balls, in an impressive display of aggressive batting but he was helped by a dollop of good fortune when he was dropped on 89.
The 21-year-old floated up a ball from Stokes to first slip where the usually reliable Joe Root let it slip through his hands.
Bennett then bludgeoned three successive boundaries in the next over to reach three figures and will return after tea on 122 along with Tafadzwa Tsiga, who has yet to score.
The young Zimbabwean opener 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 (6), whose thick edge steered the ball to Harry Brook at second slip to be the first Zimbabwean wicket to fall before lunch.
Another sharp catch from Brook, this time off spinner Shoaib Bashir, saw captain Craig Ervine dismissed for 42 in the second session, followed by Sean Williams, who got a thick inside edge to an around-the-wicket delivery from Bashir to depart for 25.
Stokes, bowling in a match for the first time in five months, then produced a snarling delivery to snag Sikandar Raza for seven as he was caught behind by Jamie Smith.
As tea approached, a Stokes inswinger then bowled Wessly Madhevere for a duck.
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 while Stokes, in his first knock since the December test against New Zealand, was bounced out by the tall seamer Blessing Muzarabani for nine. After Brook played on to Muzarabani for 58, England declared.
The four-day test is the first for Zimbabwe in England in more than 20 years.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
