Zimbabwe win toss, put England into bat in one-off Test
'Hopefully, we can utilise the conditions,' he said at the toss.
The one-off Test, the first for Zimbabwe in England in more than 20 years, represents a rare opportunity for the southern Africans to Test themselves as the hosts prepare for a five-Test series against India before the Ashes in Australia.
Pakistan-Bangladesh T20I series to begin from May 28
England handed a debut to seamer Sam Cook and there is a return to the Test arena after a two-year injury-enforced absence for fellow quick Josh Tongue.
Zimbabwe welcome back key all-rounder Sikandar Raza after he missed their home Test loss to Ireland in February and the two-Test series in Bangladesh, which ended 1-1 last month.
Tanaka Chivanga also starts after recovering from injury.
England: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Sam Cook, Shoaib Bashir.
Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (captain), Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Wessly Madhevere, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wicketkeeper), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga, Victor Nyauchi.
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