Harry Brook has urged England not to take it easy against the underdogs of Zimbabwe, insisting “we can’t take our eyes off the ball”.

The international season gets under way at Trent Bridge on Thursday, with England’s first Test against the southern Africans in 22 years.

Expectations of a possible mismatch were only increased over the weekend as the tourists suffered a morale-busting 138-run defeat to an inexperienced county select XI at Grace Road.

Seventeen-year-old Thomas Rew, younger brother of new England call-up James, hit an unbeaten century in Leicester and 19-year-old Eddie Jack took five wickets as Zimbabwe crumbled against two youngsters who have yet to make their first-class debuts.

England will be backed to pull off a resounding win of their own but Brook is on guard against complacency.

“We can’t take our eyes off the ball but we want to go out there and win well, like we want to go and do in every game we play,” he told the PA news agency.

“I’m sure they are going to come out all guns blazing. They beat Bangladesh recently (a first Test victory in four years) and they’ll be feeling good about that so I’m guessing they are going to come hard at us.

“Hopefully our skills are better than theirs and we get the win. We want a good surface, to spend some good time in the middle as batters and then let the bowlers do what they do and grab some wickets.”

Despite Brook’s caution, fans appear confident in England’s ability to finish things off in rapid fashion. Already slated as a four-day Test, fans have been reluctant to buy in advance for Sunday’s final day.

As of Monday morning nearly 10,500 seats were still available in the 17,500-capacity stadium, despite most adult tickets costing a modest £25. Sales for the first three days have been stronger, with around 2,700 still on sale for day one, 1,200 for day two and around 1,000 for Saturday’s action.

The match sees Zimbabwe return to English soil for the first time since 2003, a series that marked the debut of a fresh-faced James Anderson. He spent the next two decades collecting a historic haul of 704 Test scalps, retiring last summer before getting the chance to bookend his career against the same opponents.

“I know we haven’t played them since Jimmy’s first series, he’s told us all about it,” said Brook. “They must have been waiting for Jimmy to retire to come back…I don’t blame them.”

For Brook, the match is a final appearance before the start of his tenure as white-ball captain. He begins his reign against the West Indies at the end of this month having succeeded Jos Buttler and has already been giving some thought to the need for a deputy.

As a first-choice player in all three formats, and with huge Test assignments against India and Australia coming up, Brook is likely to need an able lieutenant who can not only assist him but take over should he need to miss certain series.

“I think there will be a vice-captain in place soon. We haven’t come to a conclusion on who that will be yet. There’s a few names in the hat,” he said.

“I’ll have a few conversations with Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) and see what he thinks. There’s so many experienced people who can help already, the likes of Joe Root and Jos, but so much young talent coming in too that can lead from the front. There’s so many to pick from.

“The captaincy is going to be a challenge for me but it’s something I’ve got to take in my stride. I’ll need to come up with a plan but I’m okay with that, I like challenges.”