Ireland host rusty Zimbabwe at Test cricket’s newest venue

The weather forecast in Belfast doesn’t look good for the first-ever Test match between Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Test debut for Northern Ireland

The Civil Service Cricket Ground in Belfast is beautiful, with its green outfield and the Stormont Estate nearby. On Thursday, it will become the 123rd venue to host a men’s Test match when Ireland plays Zimbabwe.

This will be Ireland’s ninth Test match in six years. They come into this game after winning their last Test against Afghanistan in March in the UAE. They had lost their first seven Tests but finally won one and now hope to win again without their top bowler, Josh Little. Little is playing in the USA’s Major League Cricket, so Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy will lead Ireland’s bowling attack.

For Adair and some other players, playing in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, is special. Ireland’s team includes players from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, is struggling in international cricket. They haven’t been in the latest ODI and T20I World Cups and aren’t in the World Test Championship. They’ve only won two Tests since 2013 and none since 2021. They haven’t played a Test in over a year.

Besides their captain Craig Ervine and Sean Williams, none of the Zimbabwe players have played ten Tests. Four players are uncapped, and their best bowler, Blessing Muzarabani, hasn’t played a Test since 2021. Zimbabwe has an inexperienced batting line-up and will need their experienced bowlers like Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, Victor Nyauchi, and Richard Ngarava to step up.

Peter Moor, who played for Zimbabwe between 2016 and 2018, now plays for Ireland and is expected to open the batting for the hosts.

Form guide

Ireland WLLLL (last five Tests, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LDLLL

In the spotlight: Humphreys and Muzarabani

ALSO READ: Why Pat Cummins ‘jumped at’ MLC and ‘hadn’t thought’ of the Hundred

Matthew Humphreys, a left-arm spinner who has played only one Test, could lead Ireland’s spin attack. His debut in Sri Lanka last year wasn’t great, but national selector Andrew White says Humphreys has been consistently good since then. He gained valuable experience with Ireland Wolves in the West Indies and Nepal and has been in good form lately. Last month, he took 15 wickets in two first-class games for Ireland Emerging against West Indies Academy, with an average of 12.60 and two five-wicket hauls.

Blessing Muzarabani, a tall fast bowler, is great at hitting the right spots even in limited-overs cricket. He’ll try to do the same in Ireland, where his ability to move the ball in the air and off the pitch could trouble the Irish batters. With a Test economy of 2.79 and an average of 24.89, Muzarabani is expected to be Zimbabwe’s key bowler.

Team news

Ireland is expected to make one change from their win against Afghanistan. Theo van Woerkom is out, and left-arm spinner Humphreys will likely join the team. Stirling might bat at No. 5, and Lorcan Tucker is expected to keep wicket instead of Moor. Legspinner Gavin Hoey has a slim chance of making his Test debut but will probably be on the bench with batter James McCollum and seamer Graham Hume.

Ireland’s likely lineup:

1. PJ Moor
2. Andy Balbirnie (captain)
3. Curtis Campher
4. Harry Tector
5. Paul Stirling
6. Lorcan Tucker (wk)
7. Andy McBrine
8. Mark Adair
9. Barry McCarthy
10. Craig Young
11. Matthew Humphreys

With ten new players since their last Test match, Zimbabwe’s team will likely feature some exciting new talents. Brian Bennett might make his debut after doing well in the T20Is against India, and allrounder Johnathan Campbell could also play his first Test. Joylord Gumbie, usually an opening batter in white-ball cricket, is expected to keep wicket instead of Clive Madande.

Zimbabwe’s likely lineup:

1. Prince Masvaure
2. Joylord Gumbie (wk)
3. Brian Bennett
4. Craig Ervine (capt)
5. Dion Myers
6. Sean Williams
7. Roy Kaia/Johnathan Campbell
8. Victor Nyauchi
9. Richard Ngarava
10. Blessing Muzarabani
11. Wellington Masakadza/Tendai Chatara

Pitch and conditions

Belfast is likely to have a rainy start to Test cricket, with rain expected on all five days, especially the first three. The venue is great for batting in limited-overs games, but batting against the red ball in cloudy conditions could be tougher.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe will be Ireland’s sixth opponent in Test cricket. Ireland’s previous eight matches were against Pakistan, Afghanistan, England, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
• Northern Ireland will be the 23rd country to host a men’s Test match. The Republic of Ireland was the 22nd in 2018 when Ireland played their first Test against Pakistan in Malahide.
• Thirteen out of the 15 players in Zimbabwe’s squad have played ten or fewer Tests.
• PJ Moor is the 17th player to play Test cricket for two countries. The last two players to do this from Zimbabwe and Ireland were Gary Ballance (Zimbabwe and England) and Boyd Rankin (England and Ireland).
• Zimbabwe has won only 13 out of 117 Tests, giving them the lowest win percentage (11.11%) among all teams that have played at least ten Tests.