England’s top three smash tons to pummel Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s return to English soil for a Test match after a gap of 22 years proved to be a hard day’s toil as each of England’s top three batters registered tons. While Ben Duckett set the tone with early aggression, Ollie Pope echoed that pace towards the second half of the day sandwiching Zak Crawley’s relatively slower ton. England finished the opening day with a massive 498/3 as a result.

England’s openers showcased their now-trademarked aggression in putting up a 231-run opening stand in one and a half sessions of play. Ben Duckett blazed his way to 140 – his fifth Test ton – to set up the innings. His partner, Zak Crawley was relatively sedate although he too had brought up his half-century inside the first session.

Zimbabwe’s decision to bowl first came undone once Duckett got going. The first seven overs yielded only 26 but without any chances created. Duckett got going with a couple of boundaries in an over from Blessing Muzarabani and three more when Tanaka Chivanga came into the attack. He brought up his fifty off just 47 balls with a thick-edge off Chivanga for another boundary. Meanwhile, Crawley kept chipping away at the other end and brought up his half-century off 76 balls. Together, the duo offered no respite for Zimababwe on a surface that wasn’t offering much either. By Lunch, England were comfortably placed at 130/0.

The onslaught continued with Duckett raising a run-a-ball ton soon after the break. Chivanga bore the brunt of the attack when he came back for a second spell with Duckett pummelling a six and a four to welcome him back. A similar welcome awaited Wesley Madhevere when he was brought in. But against the run of play, the offspinner had Duckett slapping hard to cover to give Zimbabwe a much-needed breakthrough.

However, that joy was short-lived as Ollie Pope continued from where Duckett left-off. He cut the second delivery he faced off Madhevere for a boundary and followed it up with two more off Muzarabani in the following over. In a 50-run stand off 47 balls, Pope had contributed 38. As a result, Crawley continued without a gear shift and moved into the nineties at a healthy speed even if not breakneck.

By the time Crawley got to his fifth ton in Test cricket, Pope was racing behind nearing the seventies. Crawley was eventually out LBW trying to sweep Sikandar Raza. The 137-run stand for the second wicket came off just 141 balls. Pope was relentless in attack, bringing up his ton in 108 balls. It came with a unique record of having scored each of his eight Test tons against a different opponent.

England’s batting plan never abated from attack with Joe Root too starting off with the momentum set previously. England raced past 400 in just the 72nd over of the day and more milestones followed. Pope got to his 4th Test 150 soon after Root became only the fifth player to amass 13000 Test runs. Through their 111-run stand too, Pope was the dominant partner. By the time Root fell out hooking Muzarabani, Pope had raced past the 150-run mark and taking England towards the 500-run mark.

They ended the day two runs short of that mark but as the second-highest in a day’s play in England with Pope unbeaten on a 163-ball 169.

Brief scores: England 498/3 (Ollie Pope 169*, Ben Duckett 140, Zak Crawley 124) vs Zimbabwe