Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Brandon Moyo, [email protected]
ZIMBABWE captain Craig Ervine is hopeful that his team will learn from its mistakes against Afghanistan last month and secure its first-ever Test match win against Ireland, starting today at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
“We will be looking for a little bit more consistency in terms of pace compared to the wicket that we played on against Afghanistan,” Ervine said, assessing the pitch prepared for the match.
“The seamers will obviously play a big part in that role, both sides are evenly balanced. This wicket will still be a good wicket and it will come down to discipline.”
Ervine reflected on the series against Afghanistan, where Zimbabwe lost 1-0.
“Learning from Afghanistan, we are going to take how they batted. They were extremely patient, they didn’t really look to take the game to us, they were just patient, and they batted really patiently. They got big partnerships which put us under pressure.”
He also underlined the importance of converting half-centuries into centuries.
“For us as a batting unit, it’s about working hard to get yourself in and once you do get in, you need to go really big and make sure that counts. In Test cricket, 50s and 60s don’t necessarily put you in good positions but like Afghanistan, getting 172s, 230 odd, those are the scores that really put you in good positions.”
Ervine, along with experienced player Sean Williams, will be guiding the younger players in the team.
“It’s just passing on the knowledge. If you are fortunate enough to be batting with someone, you can talk them through the different situations. There are always ebbs and flows in Test cricket, and myself and Sean have played long enough to understand that.
“The other guys would have experienced that in our domestic structures as well so it’s not something new to them but it’s more of us just reminding them that this is a situation that you have probably been in four-day cricket. We are just there to give them that clarity that they need to sit back and say I have this under control,” he said.
Ireland has a familiar name in its ranks in former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper/batter, Peter Moor.
The 34-year-old is the most experienced Test player in the Ireland team and made his red-ball debut in 2016 for the Chevrons against New Zealand.
It was at Queens Sports Club that Moor made his Test debut and nine years later, is returning to face his former teammates.
We have in our squad, particularly when we are playing Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. He has a lot of knowledge on the grounds, the players that we might not be as familiar with from domestic cricket, which is a big difference.”
Balbirnie expressed his team’s enthusiasm for playing red-ball cricket.
“When we get an opportunity to put the whites on, get out there and play in different parts of the world, it’s a really privileged position that we are in, and we like the challenge.”
He indicated that they had been closely following the Chevrons’ recent Tests against Afghanistan.
“They (Zimbabwe) had a two-match series during Christmas and New Year, which we were keeping a close eye on. We have a rich history with Zimbabwe in white ball cricket in recent years and hopefully, we will start building up in Test match cricket,” he said.
Ireland are in Zimbabwe for a full series consisting of one Test, three one-day internationals (ODIs) and as many T20Is. The white-ball matches will be played in Harare.
The one-off Test match starts at 10am, with gate charges pegged at US$3 for the rest of the ground and US$5 for the grandstand.
Online Reporter