Chevrons, Ireland build up

THE Ireland Test team was expected to touch down at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport last night ahead of their one-off Test match against Zimbabwe which is scheduled for Queens Sports Club starting on Thursday.

This marks Ireland’s first visit to the City of Kings and Queens since in July 2023 for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.

However, they were last in Zimbabwe in December 2023 were they played a white-ball series against the Chevrons in Harare.

The visitors are expected to host training sessions today, tomorrow and on Wednesday ahead of the series opener starting on Thursday.

Zimbabwe have already hit the ground running as they held their first training session at Queens Sports Club yesterday.

Zimbabwe and Ireland are set to face off in a series that comprises of one Test, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and as many T20Is.

The solitary Test match will be played at Queens Sports Club with the white ball matches taking place in Harare.

The three one-dayers are pencilled in for February 14, 16 and 18 while the 20-over matches will be played on February 22, 23 and 25. Prior to their trip to Zimbabwe, the Ireland Test team — which has former Zimbabwe international Peter Joseph Moor — held a four-day training camp in Dubai and flew into Zimbabwe from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ireland has a better record against the Chevrons across all three formats. The two sides have faced each other once in Tests. The first ever Test meeting between the two nations was in Belfast last year and Ireland won that match by four wickets.

Zimbabwe’s Test squad includes two new faces, the uncapped duo of 27-year-old leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa and 26-year-old top-order batter Nicholas Welch, who have both been rewarded for their impressive performances on the domestic front.

Meanwhile, Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani have been left out of the red-ball set-up.

Veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza will also miss the Test match, as he had already committed to franchise cricket before the tour schedule was confirmed.

A major boost for Zimbabwe comes with confirmation of the availability of seasoned all-rounder Sean Williams, who was struggling with a back injury during the recent Test series against Afghanistan.

For the visitors, Waringstown Cricket Club and Northern Knights’ Morgan Topping, 25, earned a debut call-up to the Test and ODI squads. The right-handed top-order batter, a prolific run-scorer at club level, has established himself in the top order of the Northern Knights in recent seasons.

Pembroke’s Gavin Hoey, after making his international debut in October, retained his place in the ODI squad and is in line for a Test debut – Topping and Hoey the only non-capped players in the Test squad.

In one-day cricket, the two sides have met 22 times, with Ireland winning 10 matches compared to Zimbabwe’s eight, while one match was tied and three yielded no results.

In 15 T20Is, Ireland have registered eight wins compared to Zimbabwe’s seven.

Gate charges for the Test match are pegged at US$3 for the rest of the ground and US$5 for the grandstand.

Ireland Test Squad
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Morgan Topping, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

Zimbabwe Test Squad
Craig Ervine (Captain), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Ben Curran, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Vincent Masekesa, Nyasha Mayavo, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams. – @brandon_malvin