England Set for First Test in Zimbabwe Since 1996
England are set to play a Test match in Zimbabwe for the first time since 1996, according to The Guardian. The match is planned for the future tours programme covering 2027 to 2031, which is the long-range schedule of series that countries agree in advance. A Test is the longest form of the game, played over up to five days.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has agreed in principle to a one-off Test in Zimbabwe during that cycle. The commitment followed talks with Zimbabwe Cricket at the International Cricket Council's quarterly meeting in Bali. No firm date has been agreed yet.
The planned venue is the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls. The ground is due to open next year, and it will also host four matches at the 50-over World Cup, which Zimbabwe and South Africa are co-hosting. Those four matches will mark its first major tournament role.
The road back to Test cricket in Zimbabwe has been bumpy. In 2008 the ECB announced it was suspending all cricket ties with Zimbabwe, and it cancelled Zimbabwe's scheduled 2009 tour of England. Five years earlier, at the 2003 World Cup, England refused to play their group match in Harare over security concerns. The International Cricket Council awarded the game to Zimbabwe. That result helped Zimbabwe move on to the Super Six stage, while England did not progress from the group.
Contact did resume. England played a one-day international series in Zimbabwe in 2004 under Michael Vaughan's captaincy. After that, the two sides did not meet in any format for 21 years, until a one-off Test at Trent Bridge in 2025.
England's last Test in Zimbabwe came in 1996. That two-match series ended drawn. The first Test of that tour, in Bulawayo, also finished as a draw with the scores level, which the Guardian reports is the first time that has happened in Test history. A tied score in a drawn match is rare, and it is one of the more unusual results the format has produced.
Zimbabwe are not expected to take part in the World Test Championship, the two-year league that ranks Test sides. Ireland and Afghanistan are not expected to feature either. The ICC board is expected to confirm that the championship will stay at nine teams until at least 2029.
For fans, the key point is that the Victoria Falls Test is agreed in principle, not yet scheduled. The venue, date and final details still need to be settled.
