Nasser Hussain was patient before hooking a Travis Friend loosener. The top-edge flew to Hondo at fine-leg where a good tumbling catch in front of the Warner Stand was taken. It was a good job that either of the two protesters, who made their way peacefully onto the pitch to show their opposition to Robert Mugabe's regime, did not choose this moment to make their feelings known because their entrance may not have been greeted as sympathetically by Hussain as by the MCC stewards who gently escorted them off the field.Friend was the fifth seamer used by Zimbabwe and the decision of England to select just three has to be questioned. It is difficult to see how Ashley Giles will play a significant role in this match. Bad light stopped play: 4.45-5.06pm, 149-2 (Butcher 38, Hussain 16) 47.2 overs 150: 221min, 47.4 overs. Bad light stopped play: 6.00pm.Trescothick 50: 125min, 93 balls, 7 fours.

Butcher 50: 190min, 123 balls, 7 fours.Zimbabwe: D D Ebrahim, M A Vermeulen, S V Carlisle, G W Flower, ? Taibu, S M Ervine, *H H Streak, A M Blignaut, T J Friend, R W Price, D T Hondo.Umpires: S A Bucknor (West Indies) and D L Orchard (SA).TV Replay Umpire: M A Mallender.Match Referee: C H Lloyd (West Indies).. When England's opening batsmen Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick stepped out on to the re-laid outfield on the first day of the first Test here yesterday they found themselves confronted by not one but two XIs. The other was less orthodox: a Security XI, there to guard the square.The decision to allow Zimbabwe's tour of these shores to go ahead - particularly in the light of England's boycott of a World Cup match in Harare earlier this year - had been expected to draw protests from those opposed to Robert Mugabe's regime in the African country.On a rain-interrupted day which saw England reach 184 for 3, the Marylebone Cricket Club increased its security staff by around 50 per cent and they were all on alert from the moment the Grace Gates opened, outside which the bulk of the protesters were to be found. All the stewards were prominent too as they nervously awaited whatever was to befall.In the end, not much did happen, although all the extra security measures taken by the MCC still did not prevent what disruptions to play there were. A handful of members of the Stop The Tour campaign, those who were not in a well-policed, cordoned off area outside the ground did manage to encroach upon the playing area.Not that the interruptions affected the players unduly. A spokesman for the Zimbabweans said: "The players did not feel physically threatened, but they were disappointed that people were still able to gain access to the playing area."They were not the only ones who felt let down. Roger Knight, the MCC secretary and chief executive, said: "I am pleased with the players' ability to get on with the cricket with minimal disruption, but it's disappointing that people still got on the field."Only last summer there was another solo pitch invader when India were playing.

The trespasser, a member of the MCC, gained access to the outfield and was able to walk right up to Sachin Tendulkar at the fall of the India batsman's wicket before any of the security guards grasped what was happening.On that occasion the incident was handled without fuss And that was the case yesterday. Both protesters walked on, displayed their placards, then allowed themselves to be walked off without resistance.. It was fitting that David O'Leary should introduce an anecdote from his other great sporting passion to the niceties of his first day as Aston Villa manager. Some of Doug Ellis's seven previous appointments from his second spell in charge of the club have found dealing with the chairman to be like standing on the 17th tee against Tiger Woods with a three-hole deficit. But O'Leary, a golf lover, has already sampled the pessimism among Villa supporters following their 16th-place Premiership finish."I was at the Benson and Hedges Tournament at The Belfry recently and some Villa fans spoke to me,'' he said. "I don't want to sound arrogant but one said that Martin O'Neill or I were the sort of people they would like as manager, although they knew they couldn't get us."I thought there must be some gloom about the place if they are thinking like that, so I have to try to lift expectations.''Ellis has a growing army of opponents among Villa's support and must even be starting to doubt those he regards as friends.