England will get their summer of red-ball cricket underway with a historic four-day Test match against Zimbabwe, which will start on May 22 at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge. It may be a truncated format, but the match has significant meaning as it will establish the tone for what is shaping up to be a busy home season for the hosts.
This game also has special significance for England captain Ben Stokes, as he comes back to international cricket after a gap of December 2024 following the recovery from an injury. The all-rounder will be watched closely by everyone as he takes a strong English team into this unusual game against Zimbabwe.
England have mustered a strong XI for the encounter. The pace force of Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, and Josh Tongue is likely to cause serious problems for the Zimbabwean batsmen – particularly in the conditions best suited to seam bowling at Trent Bridge.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
England have confirmed their XI for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge 🏴 pic.twitter.com/ZFjpEktyuu---Advertisement---— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) May 20, 2025
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, enter the match having lost their warm-up fixture against a Professional County Club Select XI. They will be looking to get back to winning ways immediately and assert themselves in this unusual Test chance.
Match Details
| Match | Date | Time (IST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| England vs Zimbabwe (One-Off Test) | May 22 – May 25 | 3:30 PM | Trent Bridge, Nottingham |
Where To Watch In OTTs
| Country | TV Broadcast / OTT Platforms |
|---|---|
| India | TV: Sony Sports TEN NetworkStreaming: Sony LIV, FanCode |
| Pakistan | Ten Sports, Tapmad |
| UK | Sky Sports Cricket |
| Australia | FOX Cricket |
| USA & Canada | Willow TV |
| Sri Lanka | Ten Cricket |
Venue
The one-off Test match between England and Zimbabwe will be played from May 22 to May 25 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Squads
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith, Ollie Pope, James Rew, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Samuel James Cook, Josh Tongue
Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (C), Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Brian Bennett, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Clive Madande, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi
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