Ireland to tour Zimbabwe for bilateral series in January 2023

Zimbabwe Cricket and Cricket Ireland have today confirmed tour details for the upcoming Men’s white-ball series scheduled for next month in Zimbabwe.

The tour represents the start of a busy year for the Ireland Men’s squad that includes four tours, several home series, competing in two world cup qualifying campaigns, and holds the tantalizing prospect of playing at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India at the end of the year.

This tour is Ireland Men’s first fixture since their impressive performances at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last month. Both teams made it to the Super 12 of the tournament, but unfortunately, none could make it to the final four in the knockout stages as England clinched the championship title.

The Zimbabwe tour will feature three T20 Internationals, followed by three one-day internationals. All matches will be played at Harare Sports Club. The tour begins on January 12 and concludes on January 23. The ODI series, which will be played second, will not be a part of the World Cup Super League.

Both teams aim big for the World Cup

The two sides will be benefitted from the ODI series as it would give them an opportunity to prepare for the ODI World Cup Qualifier. Notably, Zimbabwe is set to host the qualifiers, scheduled in June-July 2023. Currently, Zimbabwe is out of the competition to automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup, which will be held in India in October and November, and Ireland is battling it out with four other teams for the eighth and final spot.

Ireland has one series left against Bangladesh at home in the summer of 2023, and they are presently ranked 10th out of 13 teams in the league. To have a possibility of ending seventh in that series, they will need to win all three games while also hoping that Sri Lanka and South Africa lose all of their respective remaining fixtures.

The fixture details are:

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)
• 20 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)