Harare, Zimbabwe: The Ireland Men will play a six-match multi-format white-ball series against the African side in Zimbabwe to close off the year in a manner reminiscent of how it began.
The trip essentially serves as Ireland official lead-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, which will take place in the Caribbean and the United States in June. Despite missing out on the current 50-over Cricket World Cup, the Irish team performed admirably in the 2022 T20 World Cup, progressing to the Super 12 stage and defeating eventual winners England in the process.
The hosts won the One Day International (ODI) series 2-1 in January of this year, but the Ireland Men and their Zimbabwean counterparts drew 1-1 in a three-match T20 International (T20I) series in Harare.
ADVANCED SERIES
Three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals will be played at the Harare Sports Club during this tour.
The first-ever day/night match to be played at the stadium following the installation of floodlights is set to take place on December 7, making it a historic occasion for the hosts of the T20I series.
On paper, the two teams are evenly balanced in both white-ball forms. In 12 T20I encounters, they have shared six victories and six losses. In 19 ODIs, they have also faced off, with Ireland winning eight of the meetings and drawing one.
After being officially named Ireland’s permanent white-ball captain last month, this will be Paul Stirling debut series in that capacity.
Zimbabwe, the hosts of the series, enters it reeling from their defeat at last month’s African Qualifier in Windhoek, where they were unable to qualify for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. Ireland, on the other hand, is looking for a win to close out the year and get their T20 World Cup preparations underway.
On the eve of the series, Ireland captain Paul Stirling gave a speech.
Concerning the competition:
Yes, it has consistently been fairly even. I don’t believe that the two teams play each other in too many series in Zimbabwe where the outcome isn’t either 2-1 or a 1-1 tie with a little rain. We want to get back to our winning ways, therefore I think this series is incredibly essential. As always, every game matters and we aim to start with our first series victory on these shores. Indeed, it’s a significant series for us.
About Ireland’s present location:
We missed out and didn’t have the best time the last time we were in Zimbabwe for the qualifications, which was quite some time ago. In my opinion, both formats represent a bit of a fresh start for our players and a stage of growth for us. A T20 World Cup will shortly take place in the USA and the Caribbean. That, then, is the beginning of our T20 procedure; the one-day things will commence after that. I am aware that the 50-over World Cup is a very long way off, but preparations for it are already underway. And that process probably starts with Zimbabwe’s first one-day international.
Regarding the Zimbabwean side:
“My thoughts about Zimbabwe cricket haven’t altered, in my opinion, despite the recent qualifier defeat. We are aware that the team is a formidable one. The truth is that, given the past outcomes, we cannot afford to sit back and take it easy. I don’t think there’s any justification to underestimate Zimbabwe or believe that we can’t give it our all in order to win games because we have never won a series there. We have to be at the very top. While we are aware of Zimbabwe’s recent struggles, we also know that their players are talented, so we must be prepared for them to give it their all when they play.
Regarding the newly discovered Irish talent:
It is, in my opinion, crucial for the shift. That transition time doesn’t take as long and you’re back in the swing of things if you have good young people coming in, especially with seasoned heads. We haven’t had a year or two of stagnation where things haven’t gone our way, and when we bring in ten kids at once, things may get challenging. I think this has really benefited us.
It’s been handled really effectively, in my opinion, and even though the players are still just 24 or 25 years old, you can already see them developing into senior players. We are thrilled with how they have progressed, and in a short while, they will emerge as our future stars. After what’s been a rather strong start, I’m genuinely curious to see how they continue.
RECENT HEAD-TO-HEAD FORM
T20Is:
- Zimbabwe won 2-1 in January 2023, in Harare.
- Zimbabwe won by 31 runs in the T20 World Cup match in Hobart, Australia, in October 2022.
- Ireland won 3-2 in Dublin/Bread in September 2021 (Paul Stirling had an unbeaten 115 in the 3rd T20I, while Mark Adair took 4-23 in the 4th T20I, both in Bready).
ODIs:
- Drew 1-1 in Zimbabwe in January 2023 (unbeaten centuries for both Andrew Balbirnie (121), and Harry Tector (101), while Josh Little took 4-38 in the first ODI).
- Drew 1-1 in Belfast in September 2021
- Ireland won 3-0 in Belfast in July 2019 (century for Andrew Balbirnie (101) in the first match, and Tim Murtagh took 5-21 in the second match).
VENUE
Harare Sports Ground
- Situated in the heart of the city, the Harare Sports Ground hosted Zimbabwe’s first Test match in October 1992, when they hosted India, and has been the country’s major Test and One-Day venue ever since. The venue is short ten-minute walk from the city centre. The capacity of the ground is around 10,000 and can be increased using temporary stands if required. The ground is home to the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.
India
