Stokes goes full tilt through brave Zimbabwe resistance

Tourists trail by 270 after following on and losing two wickets

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE T

It was just gone 3 o’clock and a sleepy Friday of Test cricket was threatening to grow soporific. There are certain times when a day of red-ball cricket sprawls wearily across a settee in a sort of slumber, unspooling gently and without haste; this was one of them, with a flat deck, clear skies and Zimbabwe's impressive application combining to bring peace to proceedings after England's opening day gluttony.

But the alarm was soon to sound to stir all from their stupor.

Clutching for a catch off his own bowling, a flick of Shoaib Bashir's finger drew blood; off went the off-spinner, on came England's energiser, Ben Stokes back bowling at full tilt and turning the occasion his side's way as he has so many times before. One wondered what sort of shape the skipper was in when 36 overs came and went without sight of him in earnest.

Who knows how soon he would have been seen had Bashir not suffered his misfortune but his introduction proved timely.

It took just 3.2 overs for the drowsiness to lift. Stokes should have had Brian Bennett, who produced a sparkling century, pouched by Joe Root at first slip with his first legitimate delivery but soon accounted for Sikandar Raza for seven, before rearranging Wessly Madhevere's furniture for a duck with a vicious in-ducker. Come the close, having made a decent fist of things for a long while, Zimbabwe were following on and still 270 behind, with England well on their way to wrapping up a victory likely to come with a day to spare.