ENG vs ZIM | Bashir runs through Zimbabwe on Day 3 to hand England innings victory at Trent Bridge

‌Brief score: ENG 506 defeat ZIM 256 & 255 [Williams 88, Raza 60; Bashir 18-1-81-6] by an innings and 45 runs in the one-off Test

Sean Williams and Ben Curran resumed Zimbabwe's attempt at salvaging the encounter on the morning of Day 3 with confidence and resilience to frustrate the hosts. Williams, having struck four boundaries in the 12 balls he faced the previous evening, continued with the same template as he dispatched Ben Stokes for consecutive fours early on, in the same over that the England skipper let a return catch of Curran slip. Their mix of counter-attack and stout defence worked well to blunt the pacers even as the ball hooped around in the air under overcast skies, as Williams brought up his fifty nearly an hour into the day's play. When neither a bouncer barrage or absurd in-out fields worked, Stokes turned to spin with Shoaib Bashir to turn around proceedings. It instantly brought about a change in tempo as Curran survived two close calls in consecutive overs -- first, another drop by Stokes and then, an LBW decision overturned -- but Williams did not have the same luck as he was struck LBW by Bashir 12 short of a ton at the stroke of Lunch.

The visitors began again at 141/3, still 159 runs away from surpassing England first-innings total, but survived just seven balls without damage before Curran chipped a wide half-volley straight to short cover. Nevertheless, Sikander Raza and Wesley Madhavere sought to seize momentum again with a spree of boundaries as their nearly run-a-ball stand grew to 65 in the blink of an eye. Yet, just when Zimbabwe's stocks were rising, Harry Brook flew at slip to take an overhead stunner and end Madhavere's cameo of 31. There was no looking back thereafter for the English, as Bashir crashed through Tafadzwa Tsiga's gate three overs later, dispatched Blessing Muzarabani for a duck two deliveries later, and then practically sealed matters by having Raza hole out for an aggressive 60. The Chevrons collapsed from 207/4 to 255 all-out, as Bashir fittingly took the final scalp to end with six scalps in the second innings.