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All you need to know – Ireland Men’s tour of Zimbabwe

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The Ireland Men’s team are in Harare for a six-match, multi-format series against Zimbabwe. Here’s how you can watch, follow, or attend the games.
The two sides will play three T20 Internationals along with three One-Day internationals in the space of 12 days.

Paul Stirling, Josh Little and Lorcan Tucker have been given permission to miss the T20Is due to their participation in franchise T20 tournaments in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. Tyrone Kane has been recalled to the senior squad for the first time since 2019, while Ross Adair and Stephen Doheny are in line to make their international debuts. Should Ross and Mark Adair be selected to play together, it will be the first time brothers will play together for Ireland since the T20I series against Afghanistan in 2018 (Niall and Kevin O’Brien).

Zimbabwe have included former England allrounder Gary Ballance in their T20 squad. Balance, 33, who was born in Harare last played for England in a Test match in Nottingham against South Africa in 2017.

Previous meetings between the sides

One-Day Internationals:

Ireland and Zimbabwe have met on 16 occasions, winning seven, losing seven, one tie and one no result. The most recent meeting was in September of 2021, with Ireland claiming a 2-1 victory, in a rain-affected series. That series saw William Porterfield and Harry Tector score back-to-back half centuries – Porterfield top scoring with 75. Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza scored half-centuries for Zimbabwe in the opening ODI.

T20 Internationals:

Ireland and Zimbabwe have only met nine times in T20I’s, with Ireland just edging it with five wins to four. The sides last played a T20I series in 2021, with Ireland claiming a 3-2 victory. That series took place in Dublin and Bready. A notable milestone in that series was a century from Paul Stirling in the third game. The most recent meeting between the sides was in the T20 World Cup in Australia last October, when Zimbabwe won by 31 runs. Josh Little taking 3-24 in that game.

Squads

Ireland Men’s T20I squad is:
Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Tyrone Kane, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Ben White.

Ireland Men’s ODI squad is:
Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Graham Hume, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker.

Zimbabwe’s T20I squad is:
Craig Ervine (captain), Gary Ballance, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakazda, Tony Munyonga, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams.

Fixtures

The Zimbabwe tour will feature three T20 Internationals, followed by three one-day internationals. All matches will be played at Harare Sports Club. The fixture details are as follows;

T20I series

• 12 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 1st T20I (Harare Sports Club; start 1pm local time)
• 14 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 2nd T20I (Harare Sports Club; start 1pm local time)
• 15 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 3rd T20I (Harare Sports Club; start 1pm local time)

ODI Series

• 18 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 1st ODI (Harare Sports Club; start 9.15am local time)
• 21 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 2nd ODI (Harare Sports Club; start 9.15am local time)
• 23 January: Zimbabwe Men v Ireland Men – 3rd ODI (Harare Sports Club; start 9.15am local time)