Ervine urges Zimbabwe to play the game not the occasion against England

LONDON: Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine wants his side to focus on the task at hand rather than the sense of occasion when they face England in a Test for the first time in over 20 years.

This week’s four-day match at Trent Bridge marks the first Test between the two nations since 2003, a series that featured James Anderson’s debut and Nasser Hussain’s final victory as England skipper.

But while Ervine acknowledges the significance of the match, he knows thinking about it too much won’t help his side. “As a group it’s an honour and a privilege to get the opportunity,” Ervine told a pre-match press conference at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. “Some of us have been playing a long time and have never had the chance to come and play England.

“The group is really excited and everyone is taking it in. It’s probably not going to sink in until quite a while after the Test so we’re just trying to enjoy every moment of it. “But a lot of the chat has been about trying to stay focused on the basics, not worrying too much about the outside noise, the crowd, the occasion.”

Ervine’s side are being mentored this week by Zimbabwe-born Gary Ballance, who played 23 Tests for England before returning to his homeland for a brief second crack at international cricket before retiring in 2023.

A former Yorkshire captain and housemate of Joe Root, Ballance left Headingley in the aftermath of the racism scandal that engulfed the club. He admitted using racist language towards Azeem Rafiq, but said the spinner had been his “best mate in cricket”.

“Gary is fairly down to earth, he just gets on with it,” said Ervine. “What he brings to this group is a lot of clarity in these conditions. He’s got a lot of knowledge of this ground and did exceptionally well when he played here. He’s been really good.”