Agency:
Zimbabwe Captain Craig Ervine said there was no better place to “test yourself as a cricketer” as he called for his side to be given more international fixtures in England.
The African nation’s first Test in England for 22 years ended with Zimbabwe suffering an innings and 45-run thrashing at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
This match had only been scheduled for a maximum of four days, rather than the standard five for a Test, yet England still wrapped up victory before tea on the third.
Zimbabwe’s hopes of an upset, after just one warm-up match against a youthful county select side, were undermined on Thursday when England made 498 –the fourth-highest total scored in a day by one team in 148 years of Test history.
England eventually compiled a commanding total of 565-6 declared, with their top three of Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140) and Ollie Pope (171) all scoring hundreds against a Zimbabwe attack a man down after Richard Ngarava bowled just nine overs before suffering a back injury.
From then on, the tourists faced an uphill struggle but their first-innings 265 did see Brian Bennett set a new record for the fastest Test century by a Zimbabwe batsman, the 21-year-old opener reaching the landmark in just 97 balls. Zimbabwe, however, were forced to follow-on and were dismissed for 255 second time around as England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir took a Test-best 6-81.
But the way Sean Williams (88) and Sikandar Raza (60) scored freely against England’s attack on Saturday provided further encouragement for Zimbabwe.
“The guys really stuck to their guns pretty well,” Ervine told reporters after Saturday’s close. “The first day didn’t go our way but the guys bounced back after that.
“Brian Bennett played an unbelievable innings and Sean Williams today and Sikandar Raza, the guys can be pretty proud of themselves.”
Asked what it would mean to Zimbabwe to join the increasingly select group of teams featuring in a five-Test series in England, veteran batsman Ervine replied: “It would be outstanding to have that…There’s no better place, I think, to come and test yourself as a cricketer.”
After playing their first Test in 1992, Zimbabwe took a sabbatical from the format which eventually lasted six years, amid economic and political chaos in 2005.
