In any event, regardless of these comments, there was ample motivation for England’s top order, and Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in particular — the two most vulnerable to Bethell’s return — to take full advantage of the opportunity that presented once Craig Ervine opted to bowl first on a chilly morning at Trent Bridge. A flat pitch, a parched outfield and a friendly attack was a combination too enticing for any self-respecting Test batsman to ignore, under pressure for their place or not.

• Read in full: Opportunity knocks for clinical England as they post best score in 101 years

On scoring his fifth career Test century: “Fantastic feeling to score a Test hundred and a great day for the team. I’m very pleased.

“With Ben [Duckett] playing as well as he did, I didn’t feel pressure, and Popey [Ollie Pope] the same, so I just tried to get singles. I was comfortable just getting down the other end and watching them get fours.

“I always want a big score. I was disappointed when I got out — there were more runs there for the taking. I felt in a good rhythm.

“You know that you’re under pressure and you want to score runs. I just want to play well – the most annoying thing is not playing well. I love batting. It’s nice to find some rhythm. The wickets haven’t been that easy for Kent and I’ve felt in good touch for some months now.”

GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

Zak Crawley, one of England’s centurions, spoke to Sky Sports earlier and revealed some of the tweaks he has been making to his batting technique.

“I was pleased with the amount of singles I got — I found a lot of gaps with my ones,” Crawley said. “I didn’t overhit the ball. My set-up feels really good. I could pounce on bad balls and get some more singles, which felt good. My set-up is huge for me. I’ve been trying to stand taller and have my hands nice and high on my back-lift. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope all hit centuries and Joe Root became only the fifth player to reach 13,000 Test runs. Not a bad day for the hosts.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

England have been very sedate in the last few overs and that means they aren’t going to break the record (their own record) for the most runs on day one of a Test. Harry Brook has been pretty watchful at the start of his innings.

So that is stumps. Just runs, runs and more runs, with hundreds for the top three — an unbeaten one for Ollie Pope, who has finished the day 169*, while Zak Crawley got some much-needed time in the middle and Ben Duckett was his usual swashbuckling self.

Zimbabwe were a bowler down after an injury to Richard Ngarava, who had a back spasm just after lunch and hasn’t been seen again. It’s been tough day for the captain Craig Ervine managing his resources on a flat pitch.

It’s now just a matter of when England declare tomorrow. Ben Stokes might well want a bat for England to press home their dominance — and may hope to only bat once.

Thank you for your company today — I am off to listen to Zak Crawley in the post-day press conference.

Stay tuned for Mike Atherton’s report of the day’s action and some analysis from Simon Wilde and Steve James.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Joe Root is out for 34, giving Blessing Muzarabani his first wicket of the match. Root was trying to pull and got a top edge at deep square leg by Sean Williams, undone by some extra bounce.

Harry Brook is coming to the crease for only his second match of the season.

Looking back to that mad match in Rawalpindi in 2022, four of the top five scored a century and Root was dismissed for 23. The former skipper might feel he’s missed out on some easy runs there by being dismissed for 34 — but in the process he did become only the fifth player to reach 13,000 Test runs.

Muzarabani his completed his 18th over and he’s put in a shift but his figures aren’t pretty at 1 for 105. Not that anyone else’s figures are much better. Sikandar Raza has bowled 24 — 1 for 93

Joe Root has just become the fifth man to reach 13,000 Test runs.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Although this is against a very weak opposition, Ollie Pope is absolutely making the most of it. He moved to 149 with back to back boundaries, the second being an exquisite uppercut, and he then brings up 150 from 142 balls with a three through to deep midwicket.

That also brought up the 100 partnership and he follows up with a six over deep fine leg. England’s vice-captain is having some fun.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The most runs ever scored on day one of a Test match was by England in Rawalpindi in 2022, which was 506 for 4, (the second is 494 by Australia in 1910) — but with half an hour left of play today, they could very well beat that.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The last time the top three in an England Test team each got a hundred was as recently as in Rawalpindi in 2022. Press box discussion has turned to whether it’s ever happened that the top four all scored a hundred — and obviously Joe Root is still 75 away. We think it has never happened, but research is still going on.

There are 11 overs left or 40 minutes. England marching on and the partnership is now worth 72.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The fifty partnership between Ollie Pope and Joe Root has come in 10.2 overs and England are still going along at 5.5 an over, which they have been for most of the day. I’m pretty sure that we won’t get a declaration today, although one never knows with Ben Stokes, he’s got his whites on but you suspect that is in preparation for batting rather than because he thinks they are going to be in the field.

MIKE EGERTON/PA

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

If this match runs until Sunday, Trent Bridge might chuck the gates open for free. Fewer than 1,000 tickets have been sold for day four, so they might well refund them and just make it free for the day — as they did in 2022 against New Zealand. Nottingham Forest are playing against Chelsea at 4pm just over the road at the City Ground and there will be plenty of football fans around who might well fancy coming to the cricket for a few hours to have some beer before trotting over the road for what is a massive game for Forest.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

There it is — hundred for Ollie Pope, a man under pressure for his place. It might not make much difference to his future but he now has eight hundreds against eight different opponents and it won’t have done him any harm to have shown Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes that he shouldn’t necessarily be discarded. England are going to have an issue when Jacob Bethell comes back into the squad for the India Test — but that’s a concern for another day.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Joe Root is 30 runs away from 13,000 Test runs in this, his 153rd Test. Since stepping down as captain in 2022, he is averaging around 58 with over 3,000 runs. Of all England’s batsmen, Root is the most consistent.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

First review of the day — Zak Crawley is given out leg-before to Sikandar Raza but he got a big stride in and it looks at first glance like it might have been outside the line of off stump. Crawley went for a big sweep but was through the shot and hit on the front pad.

And it is out — in line, hitting leg stump. And the Trent Bridge crowd are on their feet for Crawley — very welcome runs for him.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Looking a bit less likely now that England will declare tonight, they’ll probably want as many as possible to have some sort of bat. Harry Brook and Joe Root have only played one match for Yorkshire this season so have had limited time in the middle and Stokes hasn’t played at all and it’s possible England may only bat once in this match if Zimbabwe are bowled out cheaply, so they might just decide to carry on into tomorrow. There are 25 overs left today with play ending at 6.30pm — it’s technically 6pm but when was the last time they bowled their overs by 6pm?

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The 350 comes up for England, the partnership is 119 and there are 28 overs left today.

This is a long day in the dirt for the tourists and I have just remembered that I have been calling the Pavilion End by the wrong name all day — it is now the Stuart Broad end. Although at the moment it’s the “building site” end.

Sikandar Raza has been warned for running on the pitch in the “red zone”.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Zimbabwe haven’t used any of their reviews yet, which is an indication of how few wicket chances there have been. There may have been one leg-before shout — Ollie Pope’s first ball that might have been close — but other than that, nothing worth even thinking about going to the third umpire for.

The Trent Bridge crowd here today are starting to liven up a bit, with a Zimbabwe supporting contingent in the Fox Road stand starting some chanting and clapping. It’s been sedate all day — mind you, it was so cold earlier that I think they were frozen in their seats.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

And there it is. Zak Crawley’s much-needed, confidence-boosting hundred. The Kent opener had a torrid time in New Zealand before Christmas, averaging around 8, and his first-innings scores for Kent this season have been dismal so he really needed a score here and he’s got one. Not the swashbuckling that Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have done and it’s come from 145 balls — but nonetheless it is some much-needed time at the crease.

If this were a tour match, they might retire him out now and let someone else have some time in the middle but I don’t think that’s the done thing in a Test match.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The 55th over goes for 13 runs and Victor Nyauchi, who has perhaps been the pick of the seamers today, looks to be tiring. The partnership has reached 80 and it’s pretty hard to see where a wicket is coming from. The only one to fall today was Ben Duckett’s error rather than bowler skill.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

I’ve just bumped into Richard Ngarava in the corridor behind the press box and he looked in serious discomfort and deeply unhappy, poor chap.

Meanwhile, Ollie Pope has brought up his 16th Test half-century — at less than a run a ball. It’s turned into a pleasant afternoon here in Nottingham — unless you are part of the Zimbabwe team.

Pope brought up his half-century from 48 deliveries

GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Just had a little chat with the Nottinghamshire chairman over a cuppa — he’s entertaining a big Zimbabwean contingent including the Zimbabwe ambassador to London and bigwigs from the Zimbabwe Cricket Board. The UK ambassador based in Harare is also here.

He also tells me that the Trent Bridge shops have sold out of Zimbabwe shirts so they are sourcing some more. The attendance today is around 9,500 but it will be over 12,000 tomorrow.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

This is a slightly curious innings by Zak Crawley, ticking along in other people’s slip stream and not really dominating, but he needs a score. He wants a century and he’s going to get one but without it being the sort of aggressive statement that you might expect against this opposition.

Anyway — it’s time for a brew ladies and gentlemen. England are 295 for one and there are 37 overs left in the day. If I were a betting woman, which I am not because I am hopeless at it, I would say we’ll see Zimbabwe batting for a little bit this evening.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The sun is out in Nottingham and there’s blue sky overhead. Which isn’t going to make things much better for Zimbabwe — although there wasn’t actually much swing despite the clouds.

There’s a fifty partnership up between Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in eight overs — Pope has 38 of that 50. He’s not messing around but he really doesn’t have much to lose here. Runs or no runs wouldn’t make much difference to England’s decisions for the first Test against India so he might as well have some fun.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

England are trucking along at almost six an over and there are 45 overs left today. If they bat for another 35 overs at this rate they’ll have a total of around 480 and could well feel that is plenty and can declare.

Pope is absolutely flying along now — he’s moved to 30 from 18 balls with another boundary. He gets the stepladder out and steers over the top of the slips for four — very safely.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Pope is living a bit dangerously. He just flashed through the slips a cut shot that he didn’t control. Not a chance but a bit of a risky shot. Mind you, he’s raced to 17 off eight balls. I think we know what the plan for England is here. Get plenty, get them quickly, try to declare this evening to have eight or so overs at Zimbabwe.

England really won’t mind if this Test finishes early. Five of them are in the one-day squad that will play against West Indies starting a week today and the squad meets up in Birmingham on Monday night so a three-day finish here means they’ll get a couple of days at home first.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Oh blimey. We have the first ball Ollie Pope has faced and there’s a massive LBW shout. It looked to be a close call but given not out and not reviewed. Either way, England’s vice-captain is off the mark with a defiant boundary.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Oh my goodness – hold on to your hats, we’ve had a wicket at Trent Bridge. Ben Duckett got to 140 with a boundary and then next ball from Wessly Madhevere rocks back on to his back foot and slaps it straight to cover, caught by Ben Curran. That was against the run of play as I believe my football colleagues would say.

So it’s Ollie Pope to the crease. He’s under a bit of pressure, particularly given that Ben Stokes more than hinted that Jacob Bethell would come back into the team come the India series.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

The 200 comes up via a Ben Duckett single. It was a filthy wide ball that he had to reach a long way for in order to cut it for a single. 200 up in 37.5 overs. It’s all very routine this and has, sadly, a bit of an air of one of those University matches that counties play prior to the start of the season. Good for the batting average though if you’re an England batsman.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Almost a wicket…almost but not quite. Ben Duckett miscues Sikandar Raza down the leg side – a big leading edge but it doesn’t carry to mid on and falls safely and they get a single. The luck isn’t at all with the tourists today.

Tanaka Chivanga continues from the Radcliffe Road end. He’s gone for 40 from his first five overs and it’s really causing any issues. No sign of Richard Ngarava returning after going off with what looked like a bad back spasm. This is going to be quite a test of Craig Ervine’s company.

Meanwhile, Richard Thompson has been re-elected as chairman of the ECB for another three years. The constitution allows for a chairperson to serve a maximum of two three-year terms.

We’ve had 27 fours in this match so far but finally we’ve just had our first six! And of course it comes from Ben Duckett. The little man causes a big bang when spanking Raza beyond deep square leg and brings Trent Bridge to its feet. My word, it’s about time we had a six. Just think how far ahead England would be if the two lads at the crease had bothered trying to hit the ball like that this entire time!

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Ben Duckett knows how to fill his boots against the minnows. In 2023, he got 182 against Ireland prior to the Ashes and now has cruised to a run a ball hundred here.

Zimbabwe look a bit dejected. The umpires are having a look at the ball and it’s being changed. Perhaps that might bring a wicket? 178-0.

And there we have it. It’s been coming basically since the first delivery of the day but Ben Duckett now has his ton on his home ground. He had a wild swipe at a delivery a few balls back and immediately sported a wry grin which said, ‘Eek, that could have been messy’. He composes himself and gets the single he needs to ensure that the scoreboard reads: Duckett 100 (100). That’s right, 100 runs from 100 balls. Beautiful to look at. It’s his fifth Test-match hundred in his 33rd match. England are now 169-0.

Zimbabwe have made a decent start to the afternoon session after two overs. Zimb has switched things up and are now focusing on a bit of spin, which nearly brings them joy through Victor Nyauchi. His first delivery receives screams of appeal from his team-mates against Duckett, although Nyauchi is less bothered and it amounts to nothing. It comes after Sikandar Raza had a decent over, which yielded only three runs.

However, Ben Duckett has had enough and since plonked two boundaries to move within five runs of his ton.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Richard Ngarava seems to have done something to his back and is having to go off the pitch on a groundsman’s buggy. He looks in a lot of pain so Zimbabwe are a bowler down already.

Ngarava was in immense pain and could not continue

AFP

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

And we’re back and we’re starting with a first sight of Sikanda Raza from the Pavilion end. The 39-year-old all-rounder bowls both off spin and leg spin and has 38 Test wickets although they’ve come at 40 a piece. His first over is tidy enough going for three runs. For those interested, these are the details of the building work on the Trent Bridge pavilion and how it will look when it’s finished. Changing into a six storey facility with new dressing-rooms and bars and all that jazz.

The players are back out and ready to play having had their lunch, which is weird because, whenever I went on holiday when I was younger, my parents said I had to wait an hour for my “food to go down” before engaging in physical activity. Either I’ve been lied to my entire life, or these cricketers are just psychotic. Anyway, cricket’s back on.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

James Rew has been released from the England squad to go back to play for Somerset tomorrow in the County Championship and Somerset have just announced that his younger brother Thomas, 17, has signed a short-term pro contract that means he is available for selection for the first team. The younger Rew scored a century against Zimbabwe in the County combined XI tour match last week.

Steve James, at Trent Bridge

I am reliably informed that Zimbabwe’s media officer for this week’s Test against England at Trent Bridge is a chap called Darlington Majonga, and I am certain that he will do a much better job than the media officer for Zimbabwe’s inaugural Test against India at Harare Sports Club in 1992. That’s because that person, bizarrely, was me.

Talk about utterly clueless. It was my third season playing club cricket in Zimbabwe and news of my part-time scribbling had clearly spread, but quite how that might have translated into any sort of suitability for this role was a mystery.

● Read in full: How Steve James played his part in Zimbabwe history

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

That’s lunchtime folks. The press are having cajun chicken and potatoes – the players get a choice though of ultra healthy and a bit less healthy.

It’s going to be a long day for Zimbabwe based on this morning. England have cruised 130-0 to without any real issues. There’s not actually much swing despite the overhead conditions, a little bit of movement off the pitch but not much. It’s a very good batting track, the outfield is rapid and it’s not really very clear what we’re going to learn from this Test match.

Nevertheless, this is a good opportunity for Zak Crawley to spend some time at the crease which he hasn’t done for months. And it’s a chance for England to spend some time together as a group and play some low-pressure cricket before what is going to be a tough series against India.

It is fair to say that cricket’s answer to Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe (I’ll let you figure out which one is which) are going pretty good. They, from the sounds of it, have a blast on and off the field, which is just as well because they are forced to spend a lot of time together.

And there is the other one. It is a welcome half-century for Zak Crawley, who has been coming up short in recent games for England. It took him 76 balls and is his 17th Test Fifty. Lunch is coming up very soon, but Crawley and Duckett won’t be eating – there are stuff from all these runs.

Weirdly, we have not had a six yet.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

It’s all looking very easy for England here as they bring up the 100 – the last time England had an opening partnership of more than 100 since the Ireland Test in 2023.

Zimbabwe are leaking a boundary an over and it’s quite straightforward for Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, although they are approaching things a bit differently. Duckett is going at a run per ball while Crawley is 49 from 73 balls.

Change of bowling at the Radcliffe Road end – Victor Nyauchi coming on – this is his 11th Test – 23 wickets at 37. He’s taken 262 first-class wickets though – bustling run up, slightly whippy action speeds of around mid-70s mph so far from express.

And there we are, England have hit a ton. It has only taken them until the 20th over on the first day, and it is Zak Crawley who did the honours, slapping one to third man for two runs. He is now on 46 runs, closing in on his half-century, while Ben Duckett is on 53 runs from 53 balls. 101-0.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Ben Duckett brings up his fifty, flashing through the slips – it was a wide ball that deserved some treatment. That is Duckett’s 14th Test half-century, it came from 47 balls – never one to take his time is Ben. He has hit nine fours already today.

England will start to up the pace now and you’d think they might try to get a high-enough total that they can declare an hour before stumps in order to have a crack at Zimbabwe late in the day.

Steve James, at Trent Bridge

There is an argument that England probably should not take this match into consideration if they are dropping Zak Crawley or Ollie Pope for Jacob Bethell, but it is always difficult to drop anyone after a big score.

Ben Duckett’s place is not in doubt, and he has been merciless off his legs. It was no surprise that Zimbabwe inserted England, but they could be in for a long day here, even if change bowler Tanaka Chivanga has been able to create some movement in the air.

Returning from drinks, the beefcake Tanaka Chivanga goes juicy with a full-length delivery, but Zak Crawley is onto him. He is braced early and slogs it through the line clean through the covers. Ben Duckett repeats this feat in the following over. And then another four from Crawley. This is, genuinely, a bit like batting practice for the boys. 84-0.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Drinks time and England have got through the first hour without any alarm. They aren’t cracking along at the usual Bazball pace but instead being smart about seeing off the new ball and the opening bowlers.

It will get easier with a change of bowling and when the shine goes off the Dukes ball but this is a nice start for the home side. In particular for Zak Crawley, who has had a torrid time in first innings in county cricket this summer and his last Test series was just a total working over by Matt Henry, where he averaged just eight for the series.

But in reality England and the selectors aren’t going to really take a lot of notice of what happens in this match – they’ve already got their plans in place for the India series which will only be derailed by injury probably.

Steve James, at Trent Bridge

The big worry for Zimbabwe will be that England, by their standards, have actually been quite cautious. There were 11 consecutive dot balls at one stage, but Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have both looked in fine touch on a flat pitch.

Both of Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava are tall men and the bounce they achieved has helped Crawley, who can be such a leg-before candidate on slow county pitches that do not bounce.

He played one exquisite extra-cover drive for four off Muzarabani and will be looking for the sort of score that makes him impossible to drop once Jacob Bethell comes in for the next Test against India, as Ben Stokes has said he will.

After ten overs, England stand on 47-0 and it looks as if it is going to be a very tough day for Zimbabwe. Zak Crawley, 22 runs from 32 balls, and Ben Duckett, 25 from 28, are hitting ODI numbers. Maybe even T20. Shortly into the next over and Duckett spanks another four, and England are fifty up. Oh, another four from Duckett with the next ball. Easy pickings.

We spoke about our man Blessing earlier, well his team-mate Tanaka Chivanga is a tank. You wouldn’t fit him. He has muscles in places where most mere mortals don’t even have places. With a lovely thick beard and a great tapered fade, it’s now his turn to a have a go at Crawley and Duckett. Oh, he’s got a lovely smile, too.

Ben Duckett is having fun early on here. The 30-year-old smokes Muzarabani twice for four in that past over, once through cover and the next towards the Larwood & Voce. He is just short (not a dig at him being 5ft 7in) of a third boundary in the same over after slapping the ball towards the leg side. Amidst that over, he was teased by Muzarabani with a short beauty. Duckett was tempted to go for it but pulled out at the last second. He has 20 runs from 25 deliveries at the end of the over.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

It is absolutely freezing at Trent Bridge. I have just nipped down to the merchandise shop where they’ve had to bring out extra stock of hoodies and fleeces because they are doing a roaring trade as half the crowd have seriously underclubbed on their clothing. The temperature in Nottingham is about ten degrees colder than yesterday.

Meanwhile on the pitch, England are going along at a steady pace, both openers being mindful of the extra bounce from Muzarabani and there’s a bit of lateral movement from both ends. Duckett has just hit another four to move England to 30-0.

Blessing Muzarabani – a sensational name, quite frankly – is an absolute giant, standing at 6ft 8in. Good thing there is no roof at Trent Bridge as he’d be constantly hunched over. He is the size of a surfboard and hopes to ride the wave of momentum he has going to some more wickets today. Andy Farrell could do with him for the British & Irish Lions this summer. Maro Itoje is only 6ft 5in. He wears 40 on his back, which is presumably the number of Ben Duckett’s you would have to line up in order to match Blessing’s height.

Anyway, cricket, England are 13-0 after four overs, with Crawley getting his first boundary of the day, spinning to meet a bouncer and hitting it to deep square leg..

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Blessing Muzarabani from the Radcliffe Road end – the 6ft 8in seamer is Zimbabwe’s best bowler although this is only his 13th Test – he’s taken 51 wickets at 21.84. He’s off to the IPL straight after this Test match whereas the rest of the team are staying in the UK to play a tour match against South Africa at Arundel in a warm-up match for the World Test Championship.

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Anthems done and we’re underway. It’s really very cold, all the Zimbabwe players have their hands in their pockets and their flannels are flapping in the wind.

Richard Ngarava starting from the Pavilion End – left-arm 27-year-old – this is only his tenth Test – has taken 20 wickets @42.85. There are runs to be had today, and Duckett gets off the mark by hitting his second ball of the day – a short and wide delivery – for four.

The coin has been tossed, the players are out, the anthems have been sung; the summer is officially here! That beautiful English summer where the sky is grey and miserable pulling up the curtain on a summer of Test cricket and England’s first match in the format for five months. A reminder that Zimbabwe chose to bowl, so Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have whacked their helmets on and are heading into battle. The fans will be battling the chill this morning, although some of the Zimbabwe merch is beautiful. One Zimb fan is sporting a lovely burgundy hoodie, with green sleeves and then topping it off with a yellow bucket hat. You look great, chap. Richard Ngarava will start us off from the Stuart Broad end.

Despite what the cricket world thinks of Zimbabwe’s change, their captain, Craig Ervine, has no doubt that his boys will put in a good showing.

“You want to test yourself against the best,” he said. “And England’s right up there with the best.

“So to have this opportunity, you really want to put Zimbabwe on the map. You want to come in with the right mindset that you’re coming in to win. You’re not just coming to fulfil a fixture. I think you want to turn up here and hopefully cause an upset.”

We’ll be hearing from our very own Mike Atherton later on, but he is out and about at Trent Bridge this morning. Lovely light suit with an open collar in May, nothing says English cricket more than that. Go on, Athers.

The face you make when waiting to receive The Times’ verdict on your work attire

PA

The face you make when receiving a fashion compliment from The Times

PA

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Stuart Broad has presented Sam Cook with his England cap – number 719 – with his mum, dad and siblings in the huddle on the pitch while Harry Brook was given a memento to mark his 25th Test.

Around 11,000 tickets have been sold for today – so around 75 per cent capacity. There are a bit more tomorrow, with just over 12,000.

Broad spoke to the England players before the game

PA

First blood goes to the tourists — they have at least won more than Manchester United this week. Perhaps after having a look at the lovely English clouds, Craig Ervine decides that Zimbabwe will have a go with the ball first.

“Due to the overhead conditions, hopefully we can utilise the first session and get a little bit out of the ball. We’ve got one spinner in Sikandar Raza and we’re going with four seamers,” he says. “It’s a special occasion today. The guys are really excited to get going and be part of this Test match. The Test in 2003, my brother was involved, and he’s watching today. It’s a momentous occasion for all of us and it will only sink in later down the line.”

Mike Atherton, at Trent Bridge

Winning should be a formality against Zimbabwe. It was concerning to watch them being given the runaround by a bunch of kids in their four-day warm-up match at Grace Road, Leicestershire, where they went down by 138 runs. It was only a warm-up, but it was played competitively and the First-Class Counties XI won the match on merit after conceding a first-innings lead. Put bluntly, that puts into context the scale of the challenge for Craig Ervine’s team.

Mike Atherton, at Trent Bridge

What a curious relationship English cricket has had with Zimbabwe. It is a country that has provided England with two fine batsmen — Gary Ballance and Graeme Hick; two exceptional coaches — Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower; and gave one England captain, Nasser Hussain, the most anxious moments of his career in the World Cup of 2003, the year since which the two countries have been estranged from each other in Test cricket, a gap of 22 years.

You have to go back to Jimmy Anderson’s debut series, and an England team that included the managing director, Rob Key, and other leading present coaching lights of the county game, Richard Johnson and Anthony McGrath, for when Zimbabwe last played Test cricket here. Hussain was in charge and six England captains and six prime ministers have come and gone since then.

● Read in full: England enter huge era in good health and looking to reconnect with fans

Elizabeth Ammon, at Trent Bridge

Good morning from Trent Bridge. I am in my position in the corner of the press box which, for this Test match, is right next to the players’ dressing-rooms because the Pavilion is being rebuilt. So the Radcliffe Road end of the ground is where they are changing and eating for this match. It means that on the television you’ll see the players taking a slightly odd route to the crease, coming down some stairs at the end of the Radcliffe Road stand.

It also means that my usual window I can look out of at the spectators has been blocked off by the Trent Bridge authorities so we can’t see along the row of hospitality boxes where the players will be sitting. Seems a bit over the top to me!

It’s overcast and chilly in Nottingham today and the forecast for the weekend is a bit grim. Players are out in the middle warming up and the pitch looks straw coloured and should be a good one but the cloud will please the seamers.

England’s plans for the return of Jofra Archer to the Test team have been dealt a blow after the fast bowler was ruled out of the one-day international series against West Indies — which starts next week — with ligament damage to his right thumb. He will be reassessed over the next fortnight but there is no set date for his return to action. The injury could rule him out of playing for England Lions against India A in mid-June, which had been part of the plan for the 30-year-old to begin his return to red-ball cricket for the first time since February 2021.

England had planned to try to get Archer back into the Test arena in Australia and they were hoping he would play a part at the end of the India series in July, but the latest injury makes that less likely. There are limited opportunities for Archer to play first-class cricket for Sussex because the County Championship takes a break next week for the T20 Blast, although he could still feature for them in September if England decide they would prefer him to play in the County Championship rather than the limited-overs series against South Africa.

Simon Wilde, at Trent Bridge

It is chilly, the sun is straining to come out from behind the clouds and Ollie Pope is currently the only England batsman on the Trent Bridge square having a net. This feels like a big game for Pope after Ben Stokes’ pre-match comments about Jacob Bethell being lined up to play against India. But will any amount of runs against a very modestly resourced Zimbabwe team actually make any difference? Frankly it is hard to think when England last faced weaker Test opposition than this – even the early Sri Lanka Test XIs of the 1980s and the Pakistan sides of the 1950s possessed some exceptional cricketers and were capable of giving England a game. Ireland in 2019 and 2023 were stronger. Let’s be honest, Zimbabwe are here because the ECB has a broadcasting contract to stage six Tests this summer and, given that we are still in the IPL window, who else was available to put out a team?

Ben Stokes confirmed that he is back to full fitness after surgery on his left hamstring in January. Having not played a match this year, however, Stokes will carefully manage how much he bowls in the four-day Test against Zimbabwe.

“I’ve obviously been training a lot over the past two months. I’ve got myself back as close as I possibly can to match intensity but understandably this will be my first game in a while,” Stokes said. “There is a big gap in intensity between training and matches. Getting back out into the battle of playing and that kind of stuff is something I have to be mindful of.

“I’ve done everything I can to bowl overs, but I’ve got to be mindful of where I am and build myself back up to proper match workload for later on in the summer.”

Jacob Bethell will regain his place in the Test team when England play India starting next month, Ben Stokes has confirmed.

The Warwickshire all-rounder will miss the one-off Test against Zimbabwe having been given permission by England to play in the IPL instead. But after making a strong start to his Test career during the series against New Zealand last December, he will come straight back into the side, meaning one of the present top order is likely to lose their place.

● Read in full: Jacob Bethell will regain England spot for India Tests after IPL stint

Sam Cook will make his England Test debut against Zimbabwe, hoping to add more batsmen to the little black book of scalps he has kept since early in his career.

Cook, 27, has been named in England’s team for the four-day Test match at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday — a debut he has had to wait a long time for despite his 227 County Championship wickets being the most of any seamer in the past five years, with his 321 first-class wickets for Essex coming at an average of only 19.85. He is joined in the pace attack by Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, who will play his first Test since the 2023 Ashes.

● Read in full: Sam Cook: My black book of scalps will be in my bag for England debut

Good morning and welcome to The Times’ coverage of the first and final Test between England and Zimbabwe. This one-off clash between the two is at Trent Bridge and should be a bunch of fun. Here is a reminder of the team:

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Sam Cook, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib Bashir

Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Nick Welch, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Craig Ervine (capt), 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Clive Madande, 9 Wellington Masakadza, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing Muzarabani.