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England Cricket Team vs Zimbabwe National Cricket Team Match Scorecard: England are on the verge of a decisive victory against Zimbabwe in their one-off Test match at Trent Bridge, despite a valiant effort from Zimbabwe's opener Brian Bennett, who recorded the fastest Test century for his side. At the close of play on Friday, the second day, the touring team was 30 for 2 in their second innings, having been forced to follow on, and still trailed England by a substantial 270 runs.

Brian Bennett, a 21-year-old, was dismissed for just one run in the second innings, a stark contrast to his impressive first-innings knock of 139 from 143 balls, which was pivotal in Zimbabwe's total of 265. His century came off just 97 balls, making it the fastest ever by a Zimbabwean in Test cricket, surpassing Sean Williams' previous record.

Earlier in the day, England had declared their first innings at a commanding 565 for 6, having dominated Zimbabwe's bowling attack. Centuries from Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140), and Ollie Pope (171), along with a brisk 58 from Harry Brook, had set the stage for England's dominance.

Zimbabwe, playing their first Test in England in 22 years, initially showed promise in their first innings, reaching 73-1 at lunch, largely due to Bennett's aggressive approach. Captain Craig Ervine contributed 42, and Sean Williams made 25. However, the innings collapsed after that, with the last six wickets falling for just over 100 runs. Zimbabwe was also hampered by the absence of seamer Richard Ngarava, who was unable to bat due to a back injury sustained on the opening day. This injury had already forced him off the field after bowling just nine overs, further weakening Zimbabwe's bowling resources.

England's bowlers, including a returning Ben Stokes who picked up two crucial wickets for no runs in his first spell since hamstring surgery, put Zimbabwe under immense pressure. Spinner Shoaib Bashir (3-62) and home captain Ben Stokes, bowling in a match for the first time in five months, shone in England's attack with debutant Sam Cook toiling for his solitary wicket.

Stokes found movement on a dry pitch as he swung the ball both ways and took 2-11, also having Bennett dropped at first slip by Joe Root when he was on 89.

Brian Bennett's Hundred

Bennett wasted no time in racing to his century with three successive boundaries bringing up the milestone off 97 balls.

He had a brief rest before coming back out for the last 45 minutes in Zimbabwe's second innings and was trapped lbw by Gus Atkinson, followed soon by Ervine for two when Zimbabwe's skipper was snagged at short leg by Ollie Pope off Josh Tongue.

Ben Curran (4) and Williams (22) were unbeaten at stumps with Zimbabwe facing a daunting task to save the match.

Rain is forecast on Saturday, which will give the English bowlers a sense of urgency as they seek to wrap up victory in the four-day match.

Inputs from Reuters