In 2025, England will play a Test match against Zimbabwe after 21 years, at Trent Bridge. The last time the two teams had clashed at the venue, Zimbabwe made a bold declaration and almost ran away with the Test match.
Captain Andy Flower was not a happy man after Zimbabwe’s humiliation at Lord’s. England had, after all, needed only 68.5 overs across the two innings to bowl out Zimbabwe for 83 and 123 and win by an innings and 209 runs. Flower felt it had been Zimbabwe’s “worst showing since gaining Test status”.
When the sides had met for the first time in 1996, Zimbabwe had drawn both Tests against England at home. Nick Knight got only two when England had needed three off the last ball at Bulawayo. Despite England coach David Lloyd’s (in)famous statement “we flippin’ murdered them”, the honours were shared.
Zimbabwe then secured a 59-run first-innings lead at Harare and had England at 89-3, but a resilient fourth-wicket stand and a washed-out last day prevented a result.
One cannot blame Zimbabwe for backing themselves on their first ever Test tour of England, in 2000. A year ago, they had made it to the Super Sixes in the World Cup in the same nation. Here, they dominated the first-class games against Hampshire and Essex, and thrashed Kent by an innings.
After the Lord’s “obloquy”, however, a turnaround seemed impossible. They beat Yorkshire, but not before being shot out for 68 in the third innings.
A declaration out of nowhere
Flower rightly opted to field in “damp, swinging conditions” when play began after lunch, but their fast bowlers – Heath Streak, Neil Johnson, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, and the teenage Mluleki Nkala – could not stick to the line they were expected to. Promoted to open, Mark Ramprakash helped Michael Atherton put on 121 for the opening stand. They went to stumps at 203-3.
Rain washed out the second day, and the Zimbabweans bowled much better on the third. Still at college, Nkala had the best figures (3-82), but six different bowlers got wickets. Apart from Atherton, whose 136 lasted nearly eight hours, fifties came from Ramprakash (56) and – in his curious, unorthodox, reverse-sweep-laden style – Chris Schofield (57). England made 374.
Darren Gough stuck immediately to extend Grant Flower’s tour aggregate to 69 runs in 11 first-class innings, but Murray Goodwin was more difficult to dislodge. The English fast bowlers bounced, which posed little difficulty to a man brought up in Perth. He hit 20 fours in his 250, adding 129 with Johnson (51) and another 122 with Andy Flower (42). A “sluggish” Andy Caddick had little answer to them. Neither did Schofield, who “bowled with near-complete disregard for the niceties of line and length”.
Zimbabwe were 285-4 at stumps on fourth day, 89 behind England. Andy Flower had even sent night-watch Brian Murphy in the dying stages – usually an indication of them not going for quick runs on the final morning.
But he declared, just like that. Flower, of course, had seen an occurrence in his – and Zimbabwe’s – first year in Test cricket, in 1992. It had been a bold move for a side new to that level. On that occasion, Dave Houghton had declared 52 behind New Zealand at Harare. It had backfired, but Flower had no reason to not attempt it again.
A shattered dream
One thing went in Zimbabwe’s favour: having missed most of the fourth day with a gastric bug, Atherton was not allowed to open. Knight opened with Ramprakash instead. And now the undergraduate rose to the occasion. After Ramprakash edged one, Nasser Hussain left a ball that turned out to be a “boomeranging break-back”. At the other end, Steak cleaned up Knight with a yorker. England, 12-3, were only 97 ahead.
Johnson joined soon, having Alec Stewart caught-behind. Over the years, Andrew Flintoff would find Mbangwa difficult to play, but now he hit him for six over long-off, but Streak responded with a “superb, remote-controlled over”: after beating the bat four times, he found Flintoff’s edge. Like Schofield, Flintoff too “appeared to lack the nous required at the highest level,” felt the Wisden Almanack – a prediction that did not come true.
Atherton finally emerged at the fall of that wicket, but Johnson took out Graeme Hick, whose 170-minute stay had yielded only 30. Schofield followed soon, and England were 110-7, but time was running out for Zimbabwe.
Not for the first time, Atherton came to England’s rescue, top-scoring with 34. Support finally came from Caddick, whose one-hour vigil decided the draw. Zimbabwe still managed to bowl out England for 147 – Whittall had 3-14 – but they had only five overs to chase 237. It was not to be.
What followed?
The Test rejuvenated Zimbabwe on that tour. They demolished Gloucestershire by 524 runs, and by the time the tri-nation NatWest Series began – the West Indies were the third team – they were ready. They beat the West Indies in all three matches of the triple round-robin league. Another win, against England, ensured they topped the points table and qualified for the final. They could not cross that final hurdle.
Later that year in the Boxing Day Test at Wellington, Streak declared 147 runs behind New Zealand, at that point the third-biggest first-innings deficit with which a side had closed an innings. This one, too, ended in a draw.
