England Win Test Over Zimbabwe as Bashir Takes Six Wickets

England secured a commanding victory over Zimbabwe by an innings and 45 runs inside three days at Trent Bridge, highlighting the emergence of young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who took a career-best six wickets for 81 runs in the second innings, bringing his match tally to nine wickets. Bashir became the youngest England bowler to 50 Test wickets and demonstrated confidence and skill, vindicating his selection despite a challenging season in county cricket. Ben Stokes returned to bowling effectively after a hamstring injury, taking key wickets and contributing to the enforcement of the follow-on. The match featured notable performances from England's batsmen, including centuries from Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, and a spectacular catch by Harry Brook at second slip. Zimbabwe showed moments of resistance, particularly from Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, but ultimately could not withstand England's dominant bowling attack. While the pace bowlers struggled somewhat in benign conditions, England's overall performance provided a promising warm-up ahead of upcoming high-profile series against India and Australia.