Crawley, Duckett and Pope centuries see England dominate Zimbabwe

England made a blistering start to their one-off Test against Zimbabwe, with Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope all hitting centuries on day one.

Ben Stokes' side rounded out Thursday in record-breaking fashion as they reached 498-3 at Trent Bridge, the most runs scored on the opening day of a Test in England.

Zimbabwe opted to bowl but may have regretted that choice after Crawley and Duckett put together an opening partnership of 231.

Duckett (140) fell first, having hit a 100-ball century, to Wessly Madhevere, but that only opened the door for Pope to join Crawley at the crease.

Zimbabwe, who lost Richard Ngarava to injury early on in the second session, gave up another 137 runs for the second wicket before Crawley (124) was trapped lbw by Sikandar Raza.

Pope continued to shine as he plundered an unbeaten 169, although Joe Root could not match his team-mates' early efforts as he was caught for 34.

Harry Brook (nine) will start alongside Pope on day two of the four-day Test, with England in total control of their first red-ball assignment of the year.

THREE centurionsAlmost FIVE hundred runsA BIG batting dayFull Day One Highlights
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 22, 2025

Data Debrief: England's triple threat

Crawley and Pope's places are under pressure if Jacob Bethell returns to the England team for the India series, but they responded in perfect fashion.

Crawley racked up his first Test century in almost two years, as well as helping England register a century partnership for the first wicket in a men's Test for the first time since 2023 (v Ireland at Lord's), ending a run of 42 innings without one.

The 231 runs between he and Duckett, who scored his first Test century at his home ground, also marks England's highest opening partnership in a home Test since the 1960s.

And while Root did not have quite the same impact, he did hit the 13,000-run landmark (13,006), becoming the first England batter to reach that tally.