Zimbabwe showed glimpses of promise in a drought-breaking Test match against England, underlining cricket's need to flourish beyond its power countries.

England comprehensively beat Zimbabwe with spinner Shoaib Bashir taking six wickets in the second innings and nine in the match; he became the youngest player to claim 50 Test wickets for his country;

England secured an innings and 45-run victory over Zimbabwe in their one-off test match at Trent Bridge on Saturday, completing the win within three days despite facing strong resistance from the underdogs.

The top three batters hit centuries as England posted a mammoth score of 498-3 on the first day of a one-off test against Zimbabwe.

England were closing in on a crushing victory over Zimbabwe at the close on the second day of the one-off test on Friday, despite opener Brian Bennett scoring the fastest test century for the African side.

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine said there was no better place to "test yourself as a cricketer" as he called for his side to be given more international fixtures in England.

No signs of an England declaration. Brook has only played one championship match this season so needs time in the middle and the last time Stokes batted was in Hamilton in December. Plus, the England captain has been in pretty poor form with the bat for 18 months.