England coach Brendon McCullum echoed director of cricket Rob Key's sentiment that the English players need to stop talking rubbish in front of the media, which also got a nod of approval from England pacer Mark Wood, who admitted that such statements may come across as 'a bit dumb.' Some of the England players have been too casual, often speaking publicly about playing an aggressive brand of cricket, yet not caring about the outcomes.

"It's not just about what you do on the cricket field. It's how you carry yourself. It's how you interact with the public. It's the messaging that you give. The ability these guys have to be able to play on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights and the pressure that takes is one thing, but also the ability to be humble and show some humility and not feel out of touch with the general population is something I'd like to see us improve on," said McCullum in the pre-match press conference ahead of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Nottingham starting Thursday, May 22, 2025.

"We've just got to be a bit smarter with some of our comments. What we say in that dressing room is often very different to what you expect to come out in a public forum. We've got we just got to be aware of that, smart enough to be able to make sure that we articulate things when we get the opportunity so that we don't lose touch with the English people," he said.

"We want them along for the ride, particularly in the next few series, which could be quite amazing. We want people to look back and say, 'Crikey, that team in the mid-2020s was a hell of a team that we loved following, and we felt as if we were a part of that journey they went on," he remarked.

England start as strong favourites against Zimbabwe in the four-day Test. The match marks a special significance for the Zimbabwe side, led by Craig Ervine, since both teams will face each other for the first time since 2004 in Tests, and 2007 in all formats. England have a big season ahead of them. The four-day Test against Zimbabwe will be followed by a five-match Test series against India starting June 20, 2025, at Headingley, Leeds. England are also scheduled to travel to Australia for the Ashes in November.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Ollie Pope, James Rew, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Samuel James Cook, Josh Tongue

Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (C), Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Brian Bennett, Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Clive Madande, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Richard Ngarava, Trevor Gwandu, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi