LONDON: After a gap of more than two decades, England will play a men’s Test match against Zimbabwe next year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday.

The one-off match, England’s first against Zimbabwe since 2003, will take place at Trent Bridge in Nottingham starting on May 22.

“To be welcoming Zimbabwe back for a men’s Test Match will be a historic moment, more than 20 years since their last visit,” said ECB chief executive Richard Gould after the international fixtures for England’s 2025 home season were published.

“Test cricket is so beloved in this country, and we know that we have an important role to play in supporting developing Test cricketing nations so that this format of the game thrives long into the future.”

The Zimbabwe match will be followed by five Tests against India starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.

The fifth Test against India, scheduled to end on August 4, is the last Test England will play before they bid to regain the Ashes in a 2025-26 series in Australia.

The ECB also announced Lord’s will stage its first women’s Test in 2026 when England face India.

That match will take place 50 years since the late Rachael Heyhoe Flint first led out an England women’s team at the London ground, the headquarters of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

“I played 15 Tests for England during my career but none of those were at Lord’s,” said England women’s great Claire Taylor, the chair of MCC’s cricket committee.

“So I’m delighted at this news and most importantly for the players who’ll make history playing in this fixture in 2026.

“Young girls playing up and down the country can now aspire to play Test match cricket at the Home of Cricket. It is a clear demonstration that cricket is a game for all.”

But the 2025 season will see the England women’s side go without a home Test for the second successive year.

Both West Indies’ men’s and women’s sides will visit for white-ball series between May and June, with three Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals for each series.

England men’s white-ball sides will host South Africa in September, before travelling to Ireland at the end of the month.

England men’s Tests in 2025:

May 22-25: England vs Zimbabwe, Trent Bridge, Nottingham

England vs India series:

Jun 20-24: First Test, Headingley, Leeds
July 2-6: Second Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
July 10-14: Third Test, Lord’s, London
July 23-27: Fourth Test, Old Trafford, Manchester
July 31-Aug 4: Fifth Test, The Oval, London.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024