TAKASHINGA Cricket Club and Zimbabwe international fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani stood tall in the recently concluded one-off Test match against England at Trent Bridge.

The encounter, happening only for the first time in over two decades left many a fan calling for me. It was astonishing to see the love given to the locals by both Zimbabwean natives in the UK and neutrals including the host fans.

It was a re-engagement opportunity and a moment of realisation that indeed the political tiff between the former Colonial master Britain and the colony then Zimbabwe did not help any matters. In any case, Zimbabwe’s regression could have been halted long back by having these bilateral engagements often.

One good thing was that the Zimbabweans let their performance speak on their behalf making the series worth the while. It was not a question of making up numbers for the Chevrons, they went there and fought their hearts out earning nothing but applause from the host nation.

Leading the charge as usual was the ever-rising Muzarabani whose pace, speed and agility asked a lot of questions each time he had the ball held firmly within his magic fingers.

The 28-year-old bagged the priceless wickets of former England Test captain Joe Root, half-centurion Harry Brooke and captain Ben Stokes.

Muzarabani had Root caught by Sean Williams, and clean bowled Brook before completing his first innings wicket haul by getting Stokes caught by Ben Curran. He finished the innings with three wickets for 143 runs from 24.3 overs after England was powered by three centurions; Zak Crawley 124 (171), Ben Duckett 140 (134) and Ollie Pope 171(166) declared on 565/6d. Brook weighed in with 58 off 50 deliveries. Fellow Takashinga bowlers Tanaka Chivanga and Sikandar Raza together with Gladiators’ Wessly Madhevere picked a wicket each on the English soil.

It felt good to be part of the England Test. It’s the greatest feeling ever that you can feel as a cricketer playing in England, big crowds in Test cricket,” Muzarabani shared of his feelings.

“The experience was nice, was good. We took a lot of things, we took a lot of positives in there, even if the game was tough. But it was a game we needed to play, so we know where we’re supposed to be and what we’re supposed to do to make sure we progress to be one of the top teams in the world.”

What England could do at opening batting Zimbabwe could also do if not better. Brian Bennett, the onsong youthful opener bludgeoned 139 off 143 balls, beating English opener Crawley’s tally and falling just one run shy of England number two Duckett. A huge find of the tour and with continued engagements with quality opposition such as England, Zimbabwe’s graph can only keep rising. Skipper Craig Ervine scored 42 before Zimbabwe fell for 265 runs in the first innings. England enforced the follow-on and this time Williams and Sikandar Raza scored 88 and 60 runs respectively but we’re not enough to carry the visitors through to the fourth and final day losing the match by an innings and 45 runs.

Muzarabani made another historic moment after being snapped up by Indian Premier League (IPL) SIDE Royal Challengers Bengaluru while turning out for Zimbabwe in the lone Test against England.

“Takashinga is the backbone of my success because that’s the first club that gave me the opportunity to start playing cricket and to practise and yeah, they built me to be the cricketer I am today. To be in the IPL, featuring in the IPL is the greatest feeling as a cricketer,” added Muzarabani.

“You know, it’s just a dream come true. So my key to success has just been hard work, and doing things behind the scenes. Yeah, and just staying professional, doing things I have to do, like working hard behind the scenes and just being disciplined and being a professional.

I think it has brought me success, especially hard work in everything I do. Even though I think I’m not yet there, there’s a lot of things I have to do, but it’s been good.”

While the majority of Chevron’s squad returned home upon the completion of the historic tour, Takashinga star, Muzarabani, made the long trip to India while Raza went to Pakistan, where he helped Lahore Qalandars win the Pakistan Super League title, contributing 22 runs with the bat from seven balls.