πππππ :βββ England vs Zimbabweβ
ππππ : May 22,Thursdayβ
ππππ : 15:30 PM ISTββ
πππππ :β Trent Bridge, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
ππππππππππ :β 1st Test 2025β
After a wait of 22 years, England and Zimbabwe meet in Test cricket once again!
- England won the last two Tests against Zimbabwe by an innings.
- Zimbabwe lost their last Test match against Bangladesh by an innings.
- England were beaten by 423 runs by New Zealand in their last Test.
Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
ENG vs ZIM Match Prediction & Analysis
Although this is the start of the England Menβs international summer, there will be a slight retro feel to the match as the hosts take on Zimbabwe in Test cricket for the first time since 2003!
However, plenty has changed since that series that England easily won 2-0, not least the make-up of their bowling attack after Jimmy Anderson debuted at Lordβs 22 years ago.
In fact, this Test will be only the second time in the last 18 years that England have played a home game without any of Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad or Anderson!
For Zimbabwe, their fans will be delighted to see them playing in this four-day game at Trent Bridge. Itβs their fifth Test of 2025 although they will be looking to improve on their record this year of three defeats and only one victory.
TEAMS PREVIEW
England Preview
It has been five months since England last played Test cricket and the early months of this year brought nearly no joy for cricket fans in the country due to some terrible white ball performances.
They were under head coach Brendan McCullum who resumes his Test role for this one-off four-day game and he will be determined to see England back to winning ways.
With a home Test series against India, and an away series in Australia to come, this represents a very important year in the Bazball story!
Englandβs batting will have bigger tests in 2025 but Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope are desperate for runs at this level whereas Joe Root will look to continue where he left off from a brilliant 2024.
Zimbabwe Preview
It has been a while since Zimbabwe took on one of the leading cricket nations in Test cricket and this game in Nottingham will certainly be a challenge for the tourists!
However, they have plenty of experienced players to turn to with Northamptonshireβs Ben Curran, brother of England internationals Sam and Tom, set to play his sixth Test at the top of the order, with captain Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams well heeled in this format.
Williams will be key, with a Test average of 44+ and with half centuries in his last three red ball appearances, if he can blunt Englandβs inexperienced attack then Zimbabwe could start to dream of an upset.
With the ball, Raza will be the main spin option with the pace duo of Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava having the skills to cause Englandβs batters problems at a venue where the ball will move laterally.
Weather Conditions
The temperature will be no higher than 14 degrees in Nottingham on Thursday before getting up into the high teens on Friday and Saturday then dropping to 17 on Sunday. There could also be some rain about on Sunday.
ENG vs ZIM Pitch Report
This is an excellent Test match venue where the new ball often moves around a lot under cloudy skies. However, itβs also a very consistent and true batting surface and a par score will be 300-330 in the first innings.
Toss: To Bowl
It is set to be chilly on Thursday with plenty of cloud cover so we predict that both captains will not be able to resist the temptation to insert the opposition and try to take early wickets!