Zimbabwe opts to bat in 1st of 2 Tests against Pakistan

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat in the first Test against Pakistan at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

The home team gave three players their Test debuts for the series opener: batsmen Milton Shumba and Roy Kaia and left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava.

Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams is sidelined with injury, as is fellow batsman Craig Ervine. Former captain Brendan Taylor will be standing in as skipper.

Pakistan handed a debut to bowling all-rounder Sajid Khan.

The tourists are aiming to convert strong recent form in limited-overs cricket into the longer format, having already won one-day international and Twenty20 series in South Africa and a T20 series in Zimbabwe on this southern Africa trip.

Zimbabwe drew its last Test series against Afghanistan but hasn’t won a series since 2011. Pakistan comes off a 2-0 home series win over South Africa in February.

Lineups:

Pakistan: Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Noman Ali, Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Zimbabwe: Prince Masvaure, Kevin Kasuza, Tarisai Musakanda, Brendan Taylor (captain), Milton Shumba, Roy Kaia, Regis Chakabva, Donald Tiripano, Tendai Chisoro, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.