Realistically, this was always likely to be a week of few answers for England.
No matter the runs scored by Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, or the wickets taken by Shoaib Bashir, they come with the caveat of the opposition. That is not meant to be disrespectful to Zimbabwe, but the tourists simply do not compare to the challenges of India and Australia.
And while England will feel they are ticking the boxes at Trent Bridge: runs for the top order, overs for Bashir, a return for Josh Tongue and a look at Sam Cook, by far the most important fact-finding surrounded Ben Stokes and his surgically repaired hamstring.
As the Test meandered on a sunny Friday afternoon in Nottingham, Bashir’s bashed finger meant Stokes had to spring into action. The rest was exhilarating.
The captain, playing for the first time this year, may not have employed himself. As Bashir entered the 13th over of his spell, it looked like Stokes stubbornness to bowl the off-spinner into rhythm.
A dropped catch off his own bowling left Bashir with a gash on his left hand and the need to temporarily to leave the field. An over to complete, Stokes removed his cap and proceeded to give England 20 deliveries of hope for the year ahead.
Even when he is out of the game, Stokes is English cricket’s biggest draw. As he went through his rehab, there was the ‘will he-won’t he’ over the white-ball captaincy. Eventually, it was decided Superman needs time off wearing the cape.
The build-up to this Test was dominated by Stokes, first by the revelation he has been teetotal since the beginning of the year, which may or may not have something to do with his investment in a non-alcoholic drinks company.
Then, on Wednesday, came his “put two and two together” answer to a question about Jacob Bethell. It seemed unusually honest for Stokes to make such a strong hint that Bethell would make an immediate return to the Test team, but everyone in the room took that to be what the captain meant.
Later in the evening came clarification from England Stokes was actually referring to Bethell’s place in the squad. At a time when Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have asked their team to be careful about the messages they give in public, it was the captain who put his foot in it.
