Chronicle Editor
After two intriguing Group A fixtures in Harare, attention moves to Bulawayo where we see the first blows in Group B.
At the Queens Sports Club Sri Lanka begin their campaign against United Arab Emirates, while over at the Bulawayo Athletic Club, Ireland take on Oman.
Match 3: Sri Lanka v UAE, Queens Sports Club
UAE have won the toss and elected to bowl, with the match the first men’s ODI between the teams in almost 15 years.
The Emiratis have left out Junaid Siddique, opting for Zahoor Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah and the extra pace option of revelation Ali Nasser. Sri Lanka on the other side have not served up any surprises, though miss Dushmantha Chameera with a pectoral issue. The team welcome Dimuth Karunaratne back into the ODI batting line-up.
Put in to bat first, the returning Karunaratne showed why Sri Lanka decided to bring him back into the ODI setup after a two-year gap ahead of the Qualifier. In conditions that had a bit of movement on offer for the pacers, Karunaratne’s solid technique came in handy as he gathered boundaries – a total of six in the Powerplay – at ease.
On the other hand, Pathum Nissanka struggled to get runs flowing from his bat. However, the initial grind paid off after Nissanka struck back-to-back boundaries off Muhammad Jawadullah in the fifth over to get his innings going.
The openers kept the scoreboard ticking and in the process, Karunaratne brought up his third consecutive fifty but fell in the very next over. The opening pair added 95 runs for the first wicket.
Joining hands with Kusal Mendis to build on the foundation, Nissanka too reached the 50-run landmark as Sri Lanka were coasting at 133/1 at the halfway stage of their innings.
Sri Lanka come into the match as hot favourites, though the tournament is unchartered territory for the team, having been automatic qualifiers for the Men’s ICC Cricket World Cup since the 1983 edition. The 1979 ICC Trophy was the last time the side had advance to the World Cup proper via a qualifying tournament.
By contrast, UAE are almost part of the Qualifier furniture, and the ICC Trophy which preceded it. They’ve competed at every Qualifying tournament since 1994, and look to progress to the main field in 2023 like they did for the 2015 tournament in Australia.Play
Mute
Match 4: Ireland v Oman, Bulawayo Athletic Club
Oman won the toss and elected to bowl over at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Andrew Balbirnie confirmed at the toss that Andy McBrine will open the batting with Paul Stirling having experimented with the idea during the warm-up encounters. Ben White has also been named as an extra spinner, in the team, and the side welcome back Josh Little who sat out their Test match with England. Oman have largely stuck with a side that got them through the League 2 campaign.
Batting first, Andy McBrine and Paul Stirling took the attack to the Oman bowlers to set the tone early. The openers struck a boundary each in the second over that set the ball rolling for Ireland and found the boundaries with ease for most of the Powerplay.
Just when the duo looked set for a big opening partnership having just completed a 50-run stand, the short-ball ploy bright their downfall in consecutive deliveries. Stirling holed out in the deep to a pull shot while McBrine mistimed his attempt to clear the ring straight into the hands of mid-off.
The consecutive wickets halted Ireland’s momentum and put the brakes on their scoring, eventually leading to the wicket of captain Andy Balbirnie whose drive only managed the outside edge into the safe hands of Naseem Khushi.
Harry Tector, the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for May 2023, got going with two crisp drives. Lorcan Tucker too joined hands as the pair added quick runs in the middle overs to make up for the lull. Tucker smashed Ayaan Khan for consecutive boundaries but it was the left-arm spinner who had the last laugh with a ripper to dismiss the wicketkeeper-batter for an 18-ball 26.
With Oman using left-arm spin to keep Ireland quiet, George Dockrell decided to upset their rhythm with two boundaries off Ayaan Khan, taking Ireland to 125/4 after 25 overs.
Ireland come into the tournament having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification via Cricket World Cup Super League, curtailed by rain and defeats to Bangladesh to scupper their late run in the competition. Oman finished third in League 2 to secure their spot in Zimbabwe, though their last fixture in the tournament was back in June 2022, and had to shake off rust at the recent ACC Premier Cup in Nepal.
While it is the first ODI between the sides, the two teams do have history at Qualifier, having last met in 2009. A century from Kevin O’Brien lifted Ireland to 285/4, before Oman were bundled out for 169.
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