Zimbabwe’s welcome return sets the table for England’s banquet of Test cricket

A feast of Test cricket will soon be served for England, a banquet of 10 regime-defining matches to come later this year, but first comes the imbibing of something small yet sweet to whet the appetite. Zimbabwe’s return after a 22-year exile is a most intriguing and tasty aperitivo to settle the stomach and warm the heart before the meatier stuff to come.

The twin challenges that India and the Ashes will provide no doubt already occupy much of the minds of the England brains trust but the start of their summer is reason for celebration, too. The two decades and two years since Zimbabwe’s last visit have been pockmarked by cricketing and cultural upheaval within a complex nation, multiple periods of suspension from the Test game and a talent drain to more prosperous lands causing further fluctuations of fortune. To illustrate the passage of time, the last time England took on Zimbabwe in a Test a certain JM Anderson was still a skittish colt far from the refined thoroughbred he would become and managing director Rob Key a soon-to-be-dropped middle order batter; Shoaib Bashir, England’s lead spinner, was yet to be born.

But the shifting tides of Test cricket have brought Zimbabwe back to these shores. They are an oddity in the red-ball game, locked out of the World Test Championship yet still finding a way, their 11 Tests scheduled in 2025 matched only by Australia. Their most recent international engagement was a 1-1 series draw in Bangladesh that ebbed and flowed and showed a developing depth of skillset – this is another crucial opportunity to press for more regular opportunities.

“It’s massive for Zimbabwe cricket,” head coach Justin Sammons conceded. “It’s such a privilege for us to be here. I don’t think I can answer why the gap was so long, that’s beyond my pay grade, but playing stronger opposition more regularly is hugely important.

“We want to be challenged against the best and see where we stand. It’s the arena where your skills are tested, which is massive in terms of us growing and developing. We’ve got to bring our best game and our skills are going to be challenged. But I feel we can compete - and as we all know in the game of cricket, anything can happen.

A four-day Test feels about right for this sort of encounter, but the temporary tourists are an intriguing bunch with the capacity to prey on England’s vulnerabilities. Ben Curran – brother of England internationals Tom and Sam and son of the much-missed Kevin – is a useful addition at the top of the order while the wily Sikandar Raza’s flicking of mysterious magic from his right arm and canny hitting have made him a coveted cricketer in T20 franchise leagues. An attack boasting real variety is headlined by the brilliant Blessing Muzarabani, an electric beanpole of a bowler now beyond 50 Test wickets and with the capacity to take many more. He could yet end the year with only the late, great Heath Streak having taken more Test wickets for Zimbabwe.

English cricket of the last 30 years has been intertwined with a Zimbabwean thread, Murray Goodwin at Sussex and Sean Ervine at Hampshire just two to enrich counties with enduring excellence. It is coincidence, perhaps, that the Test team has also risen to its greatest heights under a pair of east Africans – the Ashes high of 2005 under Duncan Fletcher followed by Andy Flower taking England to No 1 in the world in 2011.

They are achievements that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are surely aiming to emulate. There has been a pronounced shift in the language used by the England camp over the last couple of months, perhaps reflecting a recognition that a side capable of glorious highs are yet to find the consistency for which every great Test team must strive. While certain accusations have clearly been misplaced, the admission that some of their comments during and after Tests had left them open to criticism was welcome from a squad oft hoisted by their own petard.

"It's not just about what you do on the cricket field,” head coach McCullum explained this week. “It's how you carry yourself. It's how you interact with the public. It's the messaging that you give.

"The ability these guys have to be able to play on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights and the pressure that takes is one thing, but also the ability to be humble and show some humility and not feel out of touch with the general population is something I'd like to see us improve on.

"We've just got to be a bit smarter with some of our comments. What we say in that dressing room is often very different to what you expect to come out in a public forum. We've got to be aware of that, smart enough to be able to make sure that we articulate things when we get the opportunity so that we don't we don't lose touch with the English people.”

There is still plenty to sort between now and the India series that headlines the summer – and, of course, the Ashes beyond. Jacob Bethell’s Indian Premier League (IPL) deal has perhaps prevented an immediate top-order headache, but a score of note at Nottingham this week would be welcome for Ollie Pope and, particularly, Zak Crawley. The runs can flow quickly at Trent Bridge; England’s two Tests here since the start of the Stokes/McCullum movement have brought totals of 539, 416, 425 and that scintillating chase of 299/5 against New Zealand.

It is a new-look seam attack in some ways, Gus Atkinson an unlikely senior head after a remarkable breakthrough year in international cricket. The Surrey seamer is joined by Sam Cook on debut as well as a returning Josh Tongue on what is now his home ground, with their skipper also able to offer support after recovering from a hamstring injury. There will be understandable scrutiny on the fortunes of Bashir with a barren spring following a harsh winter – though one fancies he will be backed to twirl into the India series at least.

It was at Trent Bridge in 1983 that Zimbabwe enjoyed one of their greatest days, an upset World Cup win over an Australian side containing Border, Lillee, Thomson et al. secured by a team of debutants led by Fletcher. A similarly unexpected success feels unlikely but would leave England chewing over a bitter taste.