Trent Bridge was set ablaze by Brian Bennett’s scorching century, the fastest in Zimbabwe’s Test history, as he single-handedly resisted England’s charge on the second day of their historic Test match with a strong 139 off just 143 balls.
Although Zimbabwe was forced to follow on, trailing by a massive 300 runs, Bennett’s fearless strokeplay was a rare hope for the Chevrons on an otherwise difficult day.
By stumps, they had reached 30 for two in their second innings, with Sean Williams’ unbeaten 22* offering a glimmer of resistance.
The day began with England resuming on 498 for three, with Ollie Pope on 169 and Harry Brook on nine. Pope added two runs before edging Tanaka Chivanga to depart for a fluent 171, featuring 24 fours and two sixes.
Brook combined with captain Ben Stokes in a brisk partnership, capitalising on short-pitched bowling. However, Blessing Muzarabani responded with a sharp short ball that had Stokes caught at fine leg for nine.
Brook raced to his fifty but was bowled by Muzarabani, dragging one onto his stumps after making 58 off 50 balls with three sixes and six fours. Stokes immediately declared at 565 for six, with England adding 67 runs in just 67 overs in the morning.
Muzarabani ended with respectable figures of three for 143 from 24.3 overs, while Chivanga went for 117 in his 16 overs.
Zimbabwe began their reply with intent, with Bennett signalling his aggression early, striking three consecutive boundaries off debutant Sam Cook to set the tone.
After Ben Curran fell for six, Bennett and Craig Ervine batted confidently to take Zimbabwe to 73 for one at lunch, with Bennett on 36 and Ervine on 30.
The pair resumed positively after the interval until Shoaib Bashir’s sharp off-spin accounted for Ervine for 42.
Unfazed, Bennett brought up his fifty off just 56 balls with a crisp cover drive and, with Sean Williams at the other end, continued to dominate.
They added 60 valuable runs before Bashir bowled Williams for 25.
Sikandar Raza then joined Bennett, and though cautious, the pair survived a nervous moment when both were dropped in the same over from Stokes.
Bennett took full advantage, crashing three consecutive fours off Gus Atkinson to reach his second Test century, a powerful 97-ball effort that broke Neil Johnson’s 103-ball record set in 1998 against Pakistan in Peshawar.
Raza departed soon after, edging Stokes to the keeper for seven, and Wessly Madhevere followed for a duck, undone by a sharp in-ducker from Stokes.
Still, Bennett remained undeterred, lacing two more boundaries off Stokes before tea, with Zimbabwe on 210 for five and Bennett unbeaten on 122.
After the interval, Bennett and Tsiga pushed the score to 246 before Bennett’s sublime innings came to an end. Reprieved earlier by a no-ball, he was finally dismissed by a short ball from Josh Tongue, caught at short leg for a magnificent 139 off 143 balls, featuring 26 boundaries.
His was a masterclass in counterattacking batting a blend of elegance to pull his side back from the brink and keep spirits high.
Tsiga followed for 22, bowled by a turning delivery from Bashir. The tail folded quickly, with Atkinson removing Muzarabani (12) and Chivanga (2) in quick succession, and, with the injured Richard Ngarava unable to bat, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 265 and had to follow on.
Only Bennett and Ervine had crossed 25 in the first innings, but both were removed cheaply in the second dig.
Atkinson trapped Bennett lbw for one with a delivery that jagged back sharply, while Ervine fell for two, prodding a rising ball from Tongue to short leg.
Despite the early setbacks, Williams showed some late defiance, racing to 22 not out off just 11 balls including four boundaries while Curran ended unbeaten on four.
