NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — England ousted Zimbabwe cricketers at a rate on Friday that suggested their four-day test will be over with a day to spare at Trent Bridge.
Despite an acclaimed fightback by Zimbabwe for much of the second day, the visitor was out for 265 and forced to follow on. At stumps, Zimbabwe was 30-2, still 270 runs away from making England bat again.
A magnificent maiden test century by opener Brian Bennett kept Zimbabwe's spirit aflame, but his exit for 139 after tea sparked a collapse of six wickets for 26 runs, including Bennett in the second innings for 1.
Rain won't appear to save Zimbabwe on Saturday, when clouds will return, giving England's battery ideal conditions to wrap up a big win in the first test matchup between the teams in 22 years.
Centuries on Thursday by Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope staked England to an intimidating 498-3 overnight on a flat pitch. The innings was declared at 565-6 after nine more overs on Friday morning.
Pope added two runs to his overnight 169 until he drove at Tanaka Chavinga and nicked behind, ending the third highest of his eight hundreds.
Captain Ben Stokes was bounced out, and declared when Harry Brook chopped on for 58 off 50 balls.
Sam Cook, the first England debutant to bowl the first over in 32 years, was welcomed to test cricket by Bennett hitting three successive boundaries.
But Cook got his maiden wicket in just his third over when Ben Curran edged to Brook at second slip. That was the only Zimbabwe wicket to fall by lunch, taken at 73-1 with Bennett and Craig Ervine cruising.
Ervine, on 42, was also caught by Brook, and was the 50th test wicket for off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. He's England's youngest to the milestone at 21.
Bashir also claimed Sean Williams. But soon after, Bashir left the field with a bloodied pinkie finger when he tried a caught-and-bowled against Sikandar Raza.
Stokes finished bowling the over and another chance was mishandled when Joe Root at first slip dropped a sitter off Bennett on 89.
An unfazed Bennett rushed to his century in the next over after hitting three straight boundaries against pacer Gus Atkinson.
Trent Bridge stood to applaud Bennett's maiden ton and the fastest test century by a Zimbabwean, in 97 balls.
But Zimbabwe hopes of sighting the follow-on target of 416 were ruined by a double strike by Stokes in his first bowling stint in six months.
He got Raza to nick behind and bowled Wessly Madhevere to have 2-3 off 2.2 overs.
By tea, Zimbabwe was 210-5 and Bennett was steaming at 122 off 112 balls but running out of partners with teammate Richard Ngavara unavailable after suffering a back spasm on Thursday.
Bennett was undone when he popped a Josh Tongue delivery to Pope at short leg. Bennett's 139 off 143 balls included 104 runs in boundaries. He received another standing ovation.
Bashir returned to help wrap up the extra-short tail and took 3-62.
Forced to follow on with 10 overs left in the day, Zimbabwe's first-innings leaders were both removed for the second time in the day; Bennett by Atkinson leg before on 1 and Ervine caught at short leg on 2.
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The Associated Press
