daniel chigunwe
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE captain Craig Ervine yesterday said that they will be hoping to learn from the mistakes that they made against Afghanistan last month when they face Ireland in a one-off Test match starting at Queens Sports Club today.
The Chevrons lost a two-match Test series against Afghanistan 1-0 at Queens Sports Club last month and return to the same venue as they seek to register their first-ever Test match win against Ireland.
The two sides have only played red-ball cricket against each other once, with Ireland emerging victorious last year.
For Ervine, the wicket prepared for this match is different from the one used against Afghanistan, but he believes that discipline will be key with the ball and with the bat, they need to work hard and try to convert the 50s to centuries. “Looking at the wicket, it has some grass cover on it. What we will be looking for is a little bit more consistency in terms of pace compared to the wicket that we played on against Afghanistan,’’ Ervine said.
“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.
“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; they batted really patiently.
“They got big partnerships, which put us under pressure,’’ said Ervine.
The Chevrons skipper is hoping for some consistency with the bat.
“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 and 230-odd, those are the scores that really put you in good positions,” said Ervine.
Returning veteran Sean Williams and Ervine are the two most experienced players in the Chevrons side.
Ervine said they would be talking to the younger players and assisting them on how to handle different game situations.
“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 ups and downs in Test cricket, and I 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 giving them a reminder that this is a situation that you have probably been in for 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, in their ranks, have a familiar name in former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper/batter, Peter Moor.
The 34-year-old is the most experienced Test player in the Ireland national team and made his red-ball de-but 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.
Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie said Moor’s experience from the Chevrons national team and Zimbabwe’s domestic leagues will be invaluable.
“I spoke to him yesterday (Tuesday), and I know he made his Test debut here for Zimbabwe against New Zealand.
“He is a great person to have in our squad, particularly when we are playing Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe.
“He has a lot of knowledge on the grounds and the players that we might not be as familiar with from domestic cricket, which is a big difference. He is a good player as well; he played really well in that Test match in Stormont. He set us up for a good start with the bat,” said Balbirnie.
The Irish skipper added that they had been closely following the Chevrons in their recent Tests against Afghanistan.
For them, playing red-ball cricket is a privilege, as they do not get many opportunities.
“They (Zimbabwe) had a two-match series during Christmas and New Year, which we were keeping a close eye on.
“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. “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 that consists of one Test, three One Day Internationals (ODIs), and as many T20Is.
The white-ball matches will be played in Harare.
Online Reporter