England captain Ben Stokes was thrilled with his side's return to Test cricket following their dominant victory over Zimbabwe.

The one-off Test at Trent Bridge marked England's first red-ball match since their tour of New Zealand in December.

Shoib Bashir starred as England wrapped up a comfortable innings and 45-run win, taking six wickets in the second innings to bowl Zimbabwe out for 255 after England enforced the follow-on.

Bashir added to his three-wicket haul from the first innings to finish with career-best match figures of 9-143.

Stokes, too, enjoyed a good outing with the ball following some recent injury issues that have prevented him from bowling at full tilt.

The England skipper ended the match with figures of 3-52.

England’s top-order also enjoyed a lovely return to form, with all three of Zak Crawley (124), Ben Duckett (140) and Ollie Pope (171) scoring centuries.

Speaking to Test Match Special, Stokes was particularly pleased with his side’s performance with the ball.

“I thought we took our time to get into the Test match with the ball, but we ended the day really nicely yesterday,” he said.

“Zimbabwe have some quality players, with the first-innings hundred [by Bennett] and Williams.

“We stuck at the task, we had to try a few different things, and I was pretty pleased with how we ended up finishing.

“It's been a long time since we've played Test cricket,” he said. “It was obvious yesterday there's a change of intensity required for Test cricket, but we got into the swing of things.”

Back with a bang! 

England secure their first win of the summer by an innings and 45 runs  pic.twitter.com/YUBpgfudyK

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 24, 2025

 

Reflecting on his own display, Stokes added: “I felt really good today, felt I was in a good rhythm, it's another good week to get through.”

Bashir, who picked up the Player of the Match award for his nine-wicket haul, knows consistency is key to his development.

“There's always room to improve,” the 21-year-old said. “I want to work on my consistency, especially when you come up against right-hand/left-hand. It takes me a while to ease into my spells.”

He enjoyed a fantastic outing, becoming the youngest England bowler to take 50 Test wickets during the first innings.

With his six-for in the second innings, he became only the fourth player to have taken three five-wicket hauls before turning 22.

England will next host the West Indies for a white-ball series before facing India in a marquee Test series.