Ali’s report has landed from Trent Bridge which is my cue to get outta here. Many thanks Tim for helming a lengthy first shift before I swooped in late to take the glory. Thanks all for your company and correspondence - the OBO will return for some white ball action next week.

England did what they needed to do, sterner tests lie in wait…

England Captain Ben Stokes speaks:

It’s good to get the summer off to winning ways… Zak and Ben went out there in the way we want, they imposed themselves on the game. Those top two are very hard to bowl to. Every run you get for England is important - Pope was exceptional and he continued the momentum. He’s a massive part of the team and has been incredible.”

Stokes is publicy backing his players after his comments about Jacob Bethell were interpreted to mean the wunderkind would return from the IPL and walk right into a spot in the starting XI for the India series. Stokes meant that Bethell would come into the squad. His quotes did put a bit more hear on Pope and Crawley though and they both responded with centuries.

Stokes pointedly had this to say on selection:

Everyone under the microscope from the outside has done well.”

On his own fitness and form he said:

I’m pleased to get more overs under the belt. Rest for me now is as important as ever. It’ll take time, it’s a big thing for the body to go through (his hamstring operation). I worked hard to get here so it’s a massive confidence boost.”

On Shoaib Bashir:

The way he came out and inserted himself on the game was exceptional. The wicket wasn’t offering that much, so to walk off with nine-for was exceptional. Everything is going upwards for him.”

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine speaks:

Our fans are like no other! The amount of support we receive is brilliant. The occasion was massive for us and the guys stuck to their guns. The first day didn’t go our way but we bounced back – Brian Bennett played an unbelievable innings and then backed up by Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza today.

“We maybe felt a bit of nerves at the start and the guys (bowlers) weren’t as consistent as usual. That little session on day two, we were much better. That’s something we’ll look at going forward… there’s certainly a bright future for Zimbabwe cricket.”

Player of the match is Shoaib Bashir. He looks bashful but very happy as he goes up to speak at the post match presentation, as well he might – he’s just picked up career best figures of 6-81 in the first home Test match of the summer. He’s had a nice time by the sounds of it.

It was nice to bowl at a ground where it’s spinning. Nice to get the win. Nice to bowl and get back in rhythm, it felt really good out there. It was a clinical performance by the boys.

I went on loan to get overs in and it was nice to join up with the group at the training camp at Loughborough. Nice to be out in front of an England crowd, it doesn’ t get better than that. The guys make you feel 10ft tall. When you’re backed you can go out and express yourself.”

A convincing win for England but they were made to work for it in the last day or so by a spirited Zimbabwe side. The visitors will rue a poor bowling performance on day one which saw fifty per cent of their deliveries bowled down the leg side. England’s top order capitalised and the result of the match was sealed by the end of day one.

Shoaib Bashir’s haul of wickets will bring much succour, Ben Stokes and England kept their faith with him (even if his county, Somerset, haven’t…) and he looked more threatening as the game went on.

England’s seamers did look a bit innocuous at times this morning which will be a slight concern, especially as they encounter much stronger batting cards in the months to come.

58th over: Zimbabwe 244-8 (Nyauchi 12, Chivanga 0) Tongue can’t find the coup de grace so Bashir will get the chance to get his ninth scalp of the match.

57th over: Zimbabwe 241-8 (Nyauchi 9, Chivanga 0) Tanaka Chivanga is Zimbabwe’s last batter. He faces out three dots from Bashir to survive the over. A wicket maiden for Bashir.

56th over: Zimbabwe 241-7 (Raza 60, Nyauchi 9) Thanks Tim! England are on the brink but Sikandar Raza is still at the crease and he smokes Josh Tongue away for four through the covers. Zimbabwe’s second innings resistance has been impressive.

That’s me done. Time to leave you in the very lively hands of Jim Wallace. Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on John Edrich.

55th over: Zimbabwe 236-7 (Raza 55, Nyauchi 9) Raza takes four balls of Bashir’s over and entrusts the last two to Nyauchi, who copes admirably.

54th over: Zimbabwe 235-7 (Raza 54, Nyauchi 9) Victor Nyauchi comes to the party with successive boundaries off Stokes, both flying past gully – a convincing flash followed by an unreassuring waft.

53rd over: Zimbabwe 227-7 (Raza 54, Nyauchi 1) When Stokes brings the field in to keep him off strike for the next over, Raza responds with a shrug and a lofted sweep for four. Shoaib Bashir won’t mind: he now has seven wickets in the match, which is four more than anybody else. In this innings, he has 4-69 and fully deserves his chance of another five-for.

52nd over: Zimbabwe 222-6 (Raza 50, Muzarabani 0) Raza, facing Stokes, plays a Caribbean-style back-foot drive for four to go to his 11th Test fifty off 57 balls. He has now been joined by Blessing Muzarabani, who is about twice his height. They make Crawley and Duckett look like a pair of twins.

50th over: Zimbabwe 215-5 (Raza 45, Tsiga 2) Stokes continues, finding bounce and bite. He beats the outside edge of Tafadzwa Tsiga, who looks back towards his opposite number, Jamie Smith, in a way that makes you wonder if he got the faintest of nicks.

Sky have dug out a few England catches that were in the same class as Brook’s just now. There’s Paul Collingwood flying through the air at backward point in a one-day game and then there’s Stokes, diving to his right at gully off Stuart Broad in an Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. Broad says it’s the best catch he ever saw live. “He even looks surprised himself,” says Eoin Morgan. “And young,” says Broad.

48th over: Zimbabwe 207-5 (Raza 37, Tsiga 0) The catch is now being replayed from every angle, and rightly so. Brook took an instinctive decision to go with his right hand, even though the ball was flying above his left shoulder. Stokes did what Stuart Broad did when Stokes himself took a catch that was that good – putting both hands on his head and turning his face into a great big emoji of delight.

47th over: Zimbabwe 203-4 (Raza 37, Madhevere 30) The batters keep attacking Bashir, but only have a few singles to show for it.

Meanwhile Sam Curran’s counter-attack at the Oval has come to an end. He rescued Surry with 70 off 83 balls, in sharp contrast to his brother Ben, who made 37 off 104 here. Different strokes for different bros.

46th over: Zimbabwe 200-4 (Raza 35, Madhevere 29) Cook goes a touch short and a touch wide to Madhevere, who cashes in with a handsome cut. The Zimbabweans couldn’t have batted much better today, and they’re still in danger of an innings defeat. As the 200 comes up, and their fans have another dance, they still trail by 100.

45th over: Zimbabwe 193-4 (Raza 34, Madhevere 24) No boundaries off Bashir, but after a couple of singles Raza square-drives for two to bring up the fifty partnership, 51 off 50 balls. It’s been highly entertaining.

44th over: Zimbabwe 189-4 (Raza 31, Madhevere 23) Cook suddenly goes back to being expensive. Madhevere straight-drives him for a two that could have been three, and then Raza takes him on, dancing like a fan and lofting him back over his head for four. Cook, rattled, drops short to Madhevere, who plays a lordly pull for four more. That’s 12 off the over.

43rd over: Zimbabwe 177-4 (Raza 26, Madhevere 16) Bashhir continues for his tenth over of the innings – and best. He finds flight and dip and as the commentators say, Raza doesn’t know whether to look out for his inside edge (to the turning ball) or the outside one (to the arm ball). Raza ends up having a desperate swing and getting away with it as a top edge flies over Jamie Smith’s shoulder.

42nd over: Zimbabwe 171-4 (Raza 22, Madhevere 16) Cook goes up for LBW against Madhevere and, when the finger fails to go up too, Stokes reviews. You can see why because it’s a booming inswinger, but HawkEye eventually rules that it’s doing too much. Cook has to settle for a maiden: after going for 72 off 17 overs in the first innings, he now has 12-3-28-0, so he’s reached his century with just one wicket to show for it.

41st over: Zimbabwe 171-4 (Raza 22, Madhevere 16) Raza, facing Bashir, seems to be taking guard outside off stump. And it works as he plays a late on-drive for four and a big slog-sweep for four more. He does play and miss at one ball, which takes the edge of Jamie Smith’s glove and smacks Harry Brook, at slip, full in the face. It looks nasty but Brook soon has a broad smile and Joe Root is roaring with laughter, the way the players do when one of their mates is hit in an even more delicate area.

40th over: Zimbabwe 163-4 (Raza 14, Madhevere 16) Madhevere continues to treat a tricky situation like a picnic in the park. He eases Cook through the covers for two, clips past square leg for two more, glances to fine leg for yet another two, and then goes up a gear to pull for four and get the Zimbabwe fans dancing with delight.

39th over: Zimbabwe 153-4 (Raza 14, Madhevere 6) Sikandar Raza finds the boundary off Bashir, but it’s a false shot – a miscued pull that ends up popping off the glove and dribbling away to long-stop.

38th over: Zimbabwe 149-4 (Raza 10, Madhevere 6) A maiden from Cook to Madhevere.

“Did you ever see John Edrich bat?” asks Bill Bell, picking up on my remark from 13:05. “I saw him hammer 164 in a day once and he smashed New Zealand for 310. Perhaps you meant GeoffBoycottBall?” Ha. I did see Edrich bat, in his latter days in 1975 and ’76, when he was more sedate. But I take your point. Didn’t go for Boycott as I needed a left-hander, so perhaps we can agree on AlastairCookball?

37th over: Zimbabwe 149-4 (Raza 10, Madhevere 6) Another feather in the cap of Shoaib Bashir, who may have got just enough turn, the commentators are saying, to induce that loose shot. Curran faced 104 balls and hit precisely one of them for four. Wessly Madhevere matches that instantly by belting Bashir over mid-on. Different strokes for different folks.

36th over: Zimbabwe 142-3 (Curran 37, Raza 9) Tongue gives way to Sam Cook, who bowls to Ben Curran with the sort of field Jimmy Anderson used to have on flat slow tracks – a catcher at short mid-off. Five dots and a single.

34th over: Zimbabwe 139-3 (Curran 36, Raza 7) Sikandar Raza is not playing for lunch. He takes the mantle from Williams, cutting Tongue for four and then easing him for three in the same direction. The crowd are having a ball now, cheering and singing.

33rd over: Zimbabwe 131-3 (Curran 34, Raza 0) Well done Bashir, still a better bowler in Tests than he has ever been in county cricket. One reason for that is Ben Stokes’ creative captaincy. Stokes played his part in this dismissal by leaving a big space behind square to tempt the batters into the sweep, not that Williams needed much encouragement.

32nd over: Zimbabwe 128-2 (Curran 33, Williams 88) Tongue keeps banging them in and the batters keep calm and carry on picking up singles.

Ben Curran’s mum – and Tom’s, and Sam’s – is called Sarah. Apologies for not saying that right away. Like Martha Grace, she is the mother of three Test cricketers, though the resemblance may end there: I can’t quite picture Mrs Grace with dark glasses and blonde highlights.

30th over: Zimbabwe 123-2 (Curran 30, Williams 86) Curran is dropped by Stokes, again! Like the caught-and-bowled chance early on, it was only a half-chance. Curran, facing Tongue’s bouncer barrage, played a checked pull. Stokes, at midwicket, flung himself to his left but couldn’t hold onto the ball. Williams, for a change, picks up a couple of singles, as the camera finds Brian Bennett wondering if his record for the fastest Test century by a Zimbabwean is going to last less than a day. He got there in 97 balls; Williams has faced only 76.

29th over: Zimbabwe 120-2 (Curran 29, Williams 84) Bashir continues and so does Williams’ urge to bash him. The first three balls go for four, two, four – a commanding reverse-sweep, a slog-sweep that turns into a jammy top edge, and a dismissive clip through midwicket. Bashir did well to deceive him with the second ball, but the third was a full toss. It remains quite difficult to see Bashir giving the Aussies any grief in the winter.

28th over: Zimbabwe 109-2 (Curran 29, Williams 73) Now we know why Root had that over: just to give Tongue a change of ends. It’s a change of tactics too, as Stokes dismisses the slips and sends men out for the hook, with only a deepish short leg (Pope) anywhere near the bat. Tongue duly bangs it in. Curran ducks and smiles. Meanwhile his little brother is batting for Surrey at the Oval and seems to be taking the role of the boy stood on the burning deck.

26th over: Zimbabwe 101-2 (Curran 27, Williams 67) Stokes decides it’s time for some spin, as any captain might after a fruitless hour or more of seam and swing. But not many would go with a part-timer rather than a specialist. Joe Root repays his faith by starting with a maiden.

25th over: Zimbabwe 101-2 (Curran 27, Williams 67) Williams, facing Tongue, lives a little more dangerously in this over. A play-and-miss brings an appeal for caught behind for Jamie Smith, an uppish drive goes too close to the bowler for comfort, and then there’s another of those inside edges as he nicks a pull into his own midriff. But the drive brings two and now he’s two-thirds of the way to that record.

24th over: Zimbabwe 97-2 (Curran 26, Williams 65) Williams is OK to resume, though he pushes tentatively at the last ball of Tongue’s over and connects only with thin air. When Atkinson continues from the other end, both batters are right on brand – Curran with a nudge for a single, Williams with a cracking cover drive.

“How’s the weather, Tim?” asks Andrew Goudie. “And the crowd?” The weather is grey, chilly and thoroughly English, but – as far as I can tell from north London – it doesn’t feel as if rain is on the way. The crowd, understandably, have been less exuberant than they were when the sun was shining. The biggest excitement in the stands today came when a cameraman found a man in an anorak using his teeth to try and open a monumental multi-pack of salted snacks.

22nd over: Zimbabwe 89-2 (Curran 22, Williams 61) If Williams has a weakness, it’s the inside edge. He perished to one yesterday, playing on to Shoaib Bashir, and he almost dies the same death today as he gets away with a Harrow drive off Atkinson. But he bounces back with yet another classy drive, caressed past cover point’s left hand. He’s into the 60s already and now needs only 39 runs off 45 balls to pinch Bennett’s record.

20th over: Zimbabwe 73-2 (Curran 21, Williams 46) It’s a double change as Cook hands over to Gus Atkinson. He runs in with the wind ruffling his shirt and quite a defensive field by Stokes’ standards – just two slips and a gully. That doesn’t stop Williams piercing the ring with another of his crisp drives.

19th over: Zimbabwe 68-2 (Curran 20, Williams 42) Stokes takes himself off and turns to Josh Tongue, whose extra pace proved too much for Craig Ervine last night. He persuades Williams to waft outside off with no foot movement. “I like him as a bowler,” says Stuart Broad. “Good pace … adaptability, he can bowl full or go short … he can take wickets in clumps.” Takes one to know one.

18th over: Zimbabwe 66-2 (Curran 19, Williams 41) Stokes has been insulted by his figures (4-0-23-0), Cook rather flattered by his (7-1-12-0 before this over). He gets some good shape now, jagging one ball away off the seam, forcing Williams to pull out of his stroke at the last second. But then Williams sees a fuller length and drives on the up, wide of mid-off. That’s his eighth four in only 33 balls faced.

17th over: Zimbabwe 61-2 (Curran 19, Williams 36) That four from Williams brought up the fifty partnership off only 8.1 overs. Stokes, bowling to Curran, pushes the plus in for four deliveries before going for an easy single, tucked off the pads, and then bowling a wide as he falls over in his delivery stride in the manner of Mark Wood. As with the damaged finger, Stokes seems to be OK.

16th over: Zimbabwe 58-2 (Curran 18, Williams 35) After conceding only five runs in six overs, Cook goes for a few as both batters make a bid to be in the next Zimbabwean coaching manual. Curran plays a studious on-drive for three; Williams puts it in the shade with a rippling off-drive for four.

15th over: Zimbabwe 51-2 (Curran 15, Williams 31) Stokes draws another thick edge out of Curran, but it doesn’t go to hand and it’s a no-ball anyway. After demonstrating an immaculate forward-defence, Curran plays an uncertain pull and comes close to spooning it to square leg. The camera shows a close-up of Curran smiling that may remind Tom van der Gucht of Curran’s younger brother, Sam.

14th over: Zimbabwe 47-2 (Curran 12, Williams 31) As if he’s read that last sentence, Curran suddenly goes down the track to Cook – although when he gets there, he decides that discretion is the better part of valour and plays a defensive shot.

“I like the look of Sam Cook,” says Tom van der Gucht, “quite literally as he has a similar appearance to one of my all-time favourite X-Factor contestants, Olly Murs, from the glory days of watching it whilst following Stuart Heritage’s Guardian live blog.” There speaks a true OBOer.

13th over: Zimbabwe 46-2 (Curran 11, Williams 31) Curran is dropped! By Stokes himself, getting his hands to a loose drive but unable to cling on. For a nasty moment it looks as if Stokes may have broken a finger, but he only winces for a moment.

When Curran nudges a single, Sean Williams smacks two fours – a cut and a pull. Stokes tries a yorker but Williams spots it and plays a dead bat. He has 31 off 21 balls, while his team-mates have 14 off 57 between them.

12th over: Zimbabwe 37-2 (Curran 10, Williams 23) At the other end it’s Sam Cook, England’s Steady Eddie. A caption reveals that his average speed in the match has been 78mph. He starts with a maiden, keeping Williams quiet.

11th over: Zimbabwe 37-2 (Curran 10, Williams 23) Stokes starts with a loosener on the pads and Sean Williams nudges it for a single. Then he slots straight into top gear, sending a spicy lifter through to Jamie Smith. The next ball takes a thick edge as Ben Curran plays a hurried shovel. It’s close enough to gully to have Stokes leaping in the air, but it goes away for four – Curran’s first boundary in the 39 balls he has faced in the match. When Stokes swings the ball back in, Curran picks up two off the other edge. They all count.

And Stokes decides that the bowling will be opened by … himself.

Ben Stokes leads England out as Jerusalem rings out around Trent Bridge. The stands look about half-full.