Shoaib Bashir finally breaks through after frustrating morning for England
Zimbabwe were 141 for three at the break, still 159 behind.
Shoaib Bashir ended a morning of Zimbabwean resistance with a belated breakthrough as England pushed for victory on day three of the Trent Bridge Test.
A near sell-out crowd arrived in Nottingham with the hosts 270 ahead and chasing eight more wickets after enforcing the follow-on on Friday evening.
But the tourists defied expectations of a quick conclusion as Sean Williams (88) and Ben Curran (36no) blunted the English attack for almost two hours.
Williams raced along at better than a run-a-ball and looked on course for his side’s second century of the match before Bashir had him lbw on the sweep with the lunch break in sight.
That left Zimbabwe 141 for three at the break, still 159 behind but having showed some admirable fight in a game that has exposed the limitations of a side who last visited this country in 2003.
Captain Ben Stokes opted to open the bowling himself, looking to build on an encouraging two-wicket burst in the first innings, but a tough return catch from the middle of Curran’s bat was as close as he came.
Debutant Sam Cook began from the Stuart Broad Pavilion End but could not generate any real pressure despite cloud cover overhead.
While Curran largely settled for dogged defence, Williams was more expansive as he reeled off some fine strokes off a rotating cast of seamers. Cook, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue all tried to force the issue but were safely nullified.
Tongue settled in for a spell of short-pitch bowling in a bid to change the tone, hitting Williams on the forearm and creating a half-chance for Stokes at mid-wicket as Curran backed away and shovelled the ball to leg.
Bashir varied his pace from the Radcliffe Road End and searched for a solution and came close to getting Curran for 30, winning an lbw decision only to see it overturned on DRS with the batter seemingly ready to walk.
Williams did not escape when he lost balance on the sweep, with another review narrowly settling the matter in Bashir’s favour.
