ENG vs ZIM, 2025: England vs Zimbabwe, One-off Test Match Preview
This will be the first Test match between England and Zimbabwe since 2003.
England are set to commence the red-ball season with a one-off four-day Test against Zimbabwe. The fixture is set to take place from May 22 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Notably, this will be the first meeting between the two sides in international cricket in 18 years, as they last met in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. Their last face off in the longest format dates even further back as Zimbabwe will be playing a red-ball contest against England for the first time since 2003.
There will be a fresh face in the England team as Essex seamer Sam Cook is in line to make his Test debut while Josh Tongue is returning to the fold for the first time since the 2023 Ashes. There will be some familiar faces missing as well, with both James Anderson and Stuart Broad having retired. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook form the batting lineup in addition to the all-round skills of skipper Ben Stokes.
England's performance in the last World Test Championship (WTC) cycle was not the best as they won 11 and lost 10 Tests out of the 22 they played. Though the upcoming one-off affair will not be a part of the WTC cycle, the hosts will want to give their best against the Chevrons keeping in mind the upcoming crucial five-match Test series against India.
As for Zimbabwe, it is not a team England would want to take lightly as they possess some promising players within their squad. The Craig Ervine-led side will enter the game on the back of a thrilling Test series against Bangladesh which ended 1-1. The Chevrons have given some surprising performances and they will be hoping for a similar show against the ‘Three Lions’ with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Match Details
| Match | England vs Zimbabwe, Only Test |
| Date & Time (IST) | Thursday, May 22-25, 2025; 3:30 PM |
| Venue | Trent Bridge, Nottingham |
| Live Streaming & Broadcast | Sony Sports Network (app & website / India only) |
Pitch Report
The surface at Trent Bridge should provide some assistance to the pacers early on, but the venue has mostly been a batting-friendly one. Despite the early assistance to bowlers, the ideal choice will be to bat first.
Head-to-Head Record
| Matches Played | 06 |
| England Won | 03 |
| Zimbabwe Won | 00 |
| Drawn | 03 |
| No Results | 00 |
| First-ever fixture | 18-22 Dec 1996 |
| Most-recent fixture | 5-7 Jun 2003 |
Playing XI
England
England have named their XI for the one-off encounter.
Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Sam Cook, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe will be boosted by the return of experienced Sikandar Raza, who missed the abovementioned series due to franchise commitments.
Probable XI: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Sean Williams, Craig Ervine (c), Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Clive Madande, Wessley Madhevere, Richard Ngarava
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