Zimbabwe vs Ireland Match Preview, Only Test

Host nation Zimbabwe (ZIM) will take on Ireland (IRE) in a one-off Test match at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Thursday, February 6.

Ireland had a memorable 2024 as they won their first two Test matches since receiving Test status in 2017. Their first win came against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi and the second one was against Zimbabwe in Belfast. The Andy Balbirnie-led side will want to take inspiration from those results and produce a strong performance against the Chevrons.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe lost a two-match Test series in Bulawayo by a 0-1 margin against Afghanistan last month. The batters were bamboozled by Rashid Khan in the second Test which they lost by 72 runs. Rashid bagged 11 wickets in the Test match. Ireland's spin-bowling attack is nowhere near the same level as Afghanistan's. However, they do have some talented seamers and decent spinners in their ranks.

Match Details

Pitch Report

The first Test between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the Queens Sports Club ended in a drab draw as there wasn't much on offer for the bowlers. However, in the second Test, the pitch was quite balanced with spinners getting a lot of assistance. Fans will hope that the track is similar to the one that hosted the second Test.

Head-to-Head Record

Probable Playing XIs

Zimbabwe:

Predicted XI:  Joylord Gumbie (wk), Ben Curran, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Jonathan Campbell, Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.

Ireland:

Predicted XI: Andy Balbirnie (c), Peter Moor, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Andy McBrine, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young, Matthew Humphreys.