Close: 37.3 overs England (196 for 2, N Knight 82*, M Ramprakash 6*) beat Zimbabwe (195) by eight wickets England took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series with an oh-so-easy win with more than 12 overs to spare. Chasing a mere 196 for victory, they were given a lightning start by a thunderous innings from Marcus Trescothick, before Nick Knight and Nasser Hussain added 112 for the second wicket to settle the issue.

England only needed to score at 3.92 an over, but Trescothick - who had made just 19 runs in his previous four ODI innings - was in one of his meaty moods. In one 14-ball spell, he cut, flicked, tucked and biffed 31 runs to help bring up England's fifty in the ninth over. And by the time he slashed Gary Brent to deep point for a 35-ball 46, England were 72 for 1 and on their way.

And Knight was just starting to accelerate. He pulled and nudged Mluleki Nkala for two fours in one over, cut Heath Streak violently to the point boundary, then drove and pulled two fours in one Guy Whittall over. His second fifty of the series came up with a sumptuous cover-driven boundary off Dirk Viljoen, and he grew in stature as the game drew to a close.

Hussain was no slouch either. He punished successive short balls from Viljoen through the covers, square-drove Streak for four more, and worked the gaps with the sort of assurance he had shown earlier in the field. He too made his second half-century. And he even had an un-Nasser-like stroke of luck when umpire Barbour ruled that his reverse sweep hadn't come off his glove on the way to Andy Flower; replays proved it had. But his luck ran out when he was given out leg before to Streak for 50, even though the ball was heading over the top of off stump (184 for 2).

The Zimbabwe innings was an object lesson in how not to set a target. They laid the foundations pretty well, reaching 83 for 2 in the 21st over. But when Alistair Campbell fell to Ben Hollioake for 49, caught at midwicket after spooning an attempted flick, the roof caved in.

Four successive batsmen perished to do-or-die slogs that resulted in catches in the deep: Stuart Carlisle swept Mark Ramprakash to long leg (128 for 4); Craig Wishart hit Matthew Hoggard's last ball to long-on (152 for 5); Gary Brent mowed Jeremy Snape to cow corner two balls later (152 for 6); and Grant Flower smeared Snape to midwicket (158 for 7). The lesson never quite seemed to sink in.

In the end, Zimbabwe had a last-wicket stand of 24 between Viljoen and Nkala to thank for reaching 195. Hussain's captaincy was imaginative - particularly when it came to changing his bowlers - the fielding was alert, and the bowling tight after a shaky start. Hoggard was the pick, conceding just 23 off his last eight overs while taking three wickets. Tomorrow, England could - and should - win the series. 35.5 overs England 184 for 2 (N Knight 76*) need another 12 to beat Zimbabwe (195)

With England on the brink of a comfortable win Nasser Hussain was given out leg before to Heath Streak for 50. Hussain tried to pull a ball that wasn't quite short enough and was hit high up just in line with off stump. There was certainly some doubt but umpire Barbour thought a while before upholding the appeal. It brought to an end a matchwinning second-wicket stand of 112 between Hussain and Nick Knight.

26 overs England 147 for 1 (N Knight 57*, N Hussain 32*) need another 49 off 24 overs to beat Zimbabwe (195)

England were marching towards an easy win and a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, with Nick Knight and Nasser Hussain at the helm. On Wednesday these two added 98 for the second wicket, and they were in the groove again today, bringing up a 49-ball half-century partnership when a loose delivery from Dirk Viljoen sped away for three wides.

Knight moved to his second fifty in the series when he spanked Viljoen to the cover fence, but Hussain was lucky to survive in the same over. He got a big glove on an attempted reverse sweep and, when the ball ballooned up, Andy Flower ran round from behind the stumps to take an athletic catch. Umpire Barbour was unmoved. It was not Zimbabwe's day. 19 overs England 118 for 1 (N Knight 43*, N Hussain 21*) need another 78 off 31 overs to beat Zimbabwe (195)

The wicket of Marcus Trescothick proved no more than a hiccup as England continued to take big chunks out of Zimbabwe's small total. Nasser Hussain started fluently, pushing Heath Streak through the vacant square leg for four and slashing him through the covers for two.

Nick Knight cut Streak hard for four more and brought up England's hundred in Dirk Viljoen's second over with chips for two and one over wide mid-on. Hussain celebrated by smashing successive balls through the covers in the same over as Viljoen dropped short.

Guy Whittall came on but was treated with just as little respect. Knight worked a full-toss straight for four, then pulled him nonchalantly for another boundary in the same over. It was so easy, it was boring. 11.5 overs England 72 for 1 (N Knight 22*) need another 123 off 38.1 overs to beat Zimbabwe (195)

Marcus Trescothick's whirlwind innings came to an end when he skewed Gary Brent to backward point and was caught for 46. Trescothick had already hit six fours in 34 deliveries before stepping back to hit Brent over the off-side infield, but the contact wasn't clean and Dion Ebrahim took a good catch above his head.

Trescothick, though, had given England a great start. The postmortem will be long and grim if they lose it from here.

11 overs England 66 for 0 (M Trescothick 41*, N Knight 21*) need another 130 runs off 39 overs to beat Zimbabwe (195)

Marcus Trescothick (out of form? Pah!) was leading England's cavalry charge in style. After taking seven off Gary Brent's third over, he flicked Heath Streak over square leg for four, and biffed him over mid-on two balls later. Trescothick then cover-drove Brent gloriously on the up for four more, before creaming Mluleki Nkala's first ball through extra cover. A single to third man brought up England's 50 in just 53 deliveries.

Trescothick's purple patch brought him 31 in only 14 balls, and Nick Knight was mostly content to push the singles and give him the strike. But when Nkala dropped short, Knight launched him over midwicket for four, before helping him to the vacant fine-leg boundary in the same over.

Traffic has rarely been so one-way for England.

6 overs England 27 for 0 (M Trescothick 15*, N Knight 8*) need another 169 runs off 44 overs to beat Zimbabwe (195)

England made a tidy start in pursuit of the 196 they need to go 2-0 up in this five-match series. They were helped on their way by a loose opening over from Heath Streak, returning to action after a back injury. After two off-side wides, his first legitimate delivery was on Marcus Trescothick's pads and was tucked through square leg for three.

Nick Knight began with a brace of twos off Gary Brent - pulled and tickled - before Trescothick drove Streak on the up through the covers for three. Trescothick bettered that with a cover force to the boundary off Brent and tucked the next one through midwicket for three. So far, so easy.

49.1 overs Zimbabwe 195 all out (M Nkala 6*)

A batting display of ever-increasing ineptitude from Zimbabwe left England needing to score at just 3.92 an over to take a 2-0 lead in the series. From 83 for 2, Zimbabwe collapsed in a heap. At one point they lost four consecutive wickets to catches in the deep, and five went down for 19 in seven overs. The pick of England's bowlers was Matthew Hoggard, who finished with 3 for 37 and recovered well after conceding 14 in his first two overs.

Zimbabwe had been given a flying start by Alistair Campbell, who flicked three fours behind square in Hoggard's first two overs, before working James Kirtley through midwicket. But Hoggard struck in the next over, when Guy Whittall, dropped on 0 by James Foster off Kirtley, dragged a nipbacker on to his stumps for 7 (27 for 1).

That was a good delivery, but the one that got Andy Flower four overs later was the ball of the innings, a perfect inswinging yorker that whistled into leg stump and sent Flower back for just 6 (40 for 2).

Campbell slashed Kirtley through the covers, but Zimbabwe had to wait nine overs for their next boundary, when Stuart Carlisle lashed a Ben Hollioake half-volley in a similar direction. Zimbabwe's relief was short-lived: in the same over Campbell top-edged an attempted flick over square leg and was caught by Nasser Hussain at midwicket for 49 (83 for 3).

Carlisle and Craig Wishart responded well. Carlisle pulled and swept Jeremy Snape for four, and in between Wishart pushed Hollioake straight for another boundary. It proved to be the not-so-high high-point of the innings. Hussain began to juggle his attack imaginatively, and eventually forced an error out of a frustrated Carlisle. He had moved to 40 when he top-edged a sweep off Mark Ramprakash and unerringly picked out Marcus Trescothick at long leg (128 for 4).

Wishart, now accompanied by No. 11 Gary Brent, late-cut Ramprakash to the third-man fence, but shortly afterwards, he lifted Hoggard's final delivery to Graham Thorpe at long-on for 34 (152 for 5).

That was sloppy, and it triggered a procession. Two balls later Brent (11) swung Snape to deep midwicket, where Kirtley ran round from long-on to take a well-judged catch (152 for 6). And in Snape's next over Grant Flower heaved straight to Nick Knight at deep midwicket for 1 (158 for 7). It was brainless stuff.

Hollioake bowled the first maiden of his one-day international career (it had taken him 70 overs, and he later added a second) and celebrated with the wicket of Heath Streak, bowled off an inside edge for 3 (165 for 8). And it was 171 for 9 when Dion Ebrahim (10) tickled Andy Flintoff to James Foster, who held his first catch in international cricket to add to two drops and two stumpings.

Dirk Viljoen and Mluleki Nkala added 24 valuable runs for the tenth wicket, but with the first ball of the final over, Viljoen dragged Kirtley a slower ball on to his stumps to fall for 18. England went to lunch as hot favourites.

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