Zimbabwe will be playing a first Test against England in 22 years and overall the seventh, at Trent Bridge in Nottingham from May 22. Zimbabwe have retained most of the squad from the Bangladesh series, apart from conditions-based changes, adding an extra pacer while leaving out the leggie.
Zimbabwe announced their 15-man squad for the one-off Test against England later this month at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Craig Ervine will continue to lead the side while the veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza has returned to the Test fold for the first time since January. Raza, who missed the Ireland series in February and the recently concluded series against Bangladesh due to franchise cricket commitments, will be done with the Pakistan Super League by May 18 and will be part of the Test side.
“In terms of performance, I expect us to play to a standard that can compete with one of the best teams in the world,” Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons said. “I really want to see the guys walking out there believing that they belong, embracing and enjoying the moment.”
Raza was added to the squad in place of Jonathan Campbell, while Clive Madande returned to the side after recovering from an injury as the backup keeper. Left-arm pacer Newman Nyamhuri was picked, keeping the English conditions in mind, in place of leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa, who picked a fifer in Chattogram. The one-off Test takes place from May 22-25, with it being the first one for Zimbabwe against England in 22 years.
England and Zimbabwe have played six Tests against each other, with the former winning three of them while the rest have been drawn. The on-off fixture will mark the start of the new home summer for England, which features a five-match Test series against India, starting June 20, preceded by a white-ball series against the West Indies.
Zimbabwe Test squad for England series: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Nick Welch, Sean Williams