England’s dominance on the opening day of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge was not just about the scoreboard. It was a day etched in record books, with Joe Root surpassing Jacques Kallis to become the fastest to 13,000 Test runs, and England’s top three – Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope – all scoring centuries in a merciless display of ‘Bazball’ batting.Root, who needed 28 runs to reach the coveted mark, achieved the feat in his 153rd Test, eclipsing Kallis’ previous record of 159 Tests. The 34-year-old reached the milestone with a single off Victor Nyauchi in the 80th over. Though his innings ended shortly after on 34, caught off a short ball from Blessing Muzarabani, Root became only the fifth batter in history to breach 13,000 Test runs. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Root now trails only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and Rahul Dravid (13,288), with Tendulkar’s record within striking distance.Who’s that IPL player?But Root’s achievement was only one highlight in a day overflowing with batting milestones.Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley tormented a young Zimbabwean bowling attack, sharing a 231-run opening stand – England’s highest at home since 1960. Duckett, playing at his home ground, brought up his fifth Test ton with a 134-ball 140, while Crawley ended a lean patch with a fluent 124 – his first hundred in 28 innings.Ollie Pope then continued the onslaught, racing to 169* off 163 balls by stumps. His innings marked his third consecutive century at Trent Bridge and helped England finish on a staggering 498/3 – their highest ever opening-day total at home.
For the first time since Rawalpindi 2022, England’s top three all registered hundreds on the same day, underscoring the firepower of their aggressive Test approach. While Zimbabwe entered the contest buoyed by a recent win over Bangladesh, the gulf in class was evident throughout the day.
