BELFAST(Cricket news) Ireland suffered a 38-run defeat in the first game of the World Cup Super League series against Zimbabwe, despite a strong display with the willow by the top order and a good performance from spinners Andy McBrine and Simi Singh.
With 267 to win, the hosts’ chase got off to a decent start, Paul Stirling and William Porterfield were happy to take their time and lay a foundation rather than attempting to hit out in the powerplay, finishing at 34-0 at the end of the 6 overs.
The approach seemed to have worked as the openers started to attack, with Stirling smoking Luke Jongwe for a straight six to show his intent. He fell for 32, dismissed lbw by Wellington Masakadza, with Andrew Balbirnie following not long after for 12, bowled through the gate by Wessley Madhevere, but another partnership between Harry Tector and Porterfield kept Ireland the scoreboard ticking.
The pair added 71 for the third wicket, with a slog-swept six by Tector off Sean Williams taking Ireland past the 150 mark. However, a stroke of strange fortune turned the game around, with Porterfield caught for 75 after a juggle and rebound off the shoulder of Dion Myers, and from there, Ireland failed to recover. At that point, Ireland needed just over a run a ball, but without any other set batter even that wasn't possible.
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Tector forged a lone hand, and while he was at the crease there was some hope. But he fell immediately after passing fifty, a top-edge off Williams pouched by Blessing Muzarabani at short third man, and Ireland soon slid to 228 all out, with Muzarabani taking four of the last six wickets to fall. Having at one point been 187-3, the collapse read 41-7, with Zimbabwe left victorious.
Earlier, a topsy-turvy innings had seen Zimbabwe start and finish strong, only to be pegged back through the middle by a pair of miserly spells from Ireland’s frontline spinners, Singh and McBrine.
Craig Young struck early, removing Regis Chakabva caught at second slip in the fifth over with just 14 runs on the board, but Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine combined to put on the most fluent stand of the day. The first full over of their partnership cost just one run, but from then on they scored at least one boundary per over.
The end of the powerplay brought no let up, with overs 11-13 costing 34 runs, and Taylor striking the first six of the day straight down the ground. A scoreboard error prompted him to celebrate 50, though he had only 49 to his name; the introduction of Singh ensured he would never reach the milestone, the off-spinner enticing the Zimbabwean to pick out the fielder in the deep.
The innings shifted with the dismissal, and McBrine’s entrance further halted Zimbabwe’s progress. He dismissed Myers in his first over, the No.4 top-edging an attempted lap, and between them, McBrine and Singh proceeded to spin a web around the Zimbabwe batting effort. Apart from a brief riposte from Sean Williams, who pulled and reverse-swept a pair of boundaries off consecutive Singh balls, there was near total control, with just 39 runs scored in the 16 overs in which they bowled in tandem. Singh ended with the slightly more economical figures, bowling two maidens and conceding just 22 runs, while McBrine conceded 26 runs but no boundaries in his 10 overs.
Williams immediately cashed in when pace was introduced, striking a pair of boundaries in Little’s sixth over, though the left-armer struck back in his next over, Williams bottom-edging an off-cutter onto his stumps.
That dismissal brought Sikandar Raza to the crease, and the all-rounder wrested another shift in momentum Zimbabwe’s way. Aided by brisk cameos from Madhevere and Luke Jongwe, his 38-ball half-century helped Zimbabwe take 76 runs from the last seven overs, lifting the total to 266-7. It would prove to be plenty.
MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland Men v Zimbabwe Men, 1st ODI DafaNews Cup, Stormont, 8 September 2021
Zimbabwe 266-7 (50 overs; C Ervine 64, S Raza 59*; S Singh 1-22)
Ireland 228 (48.4 overs; W Porterfield 75, H Tector 50; R Muzarabani 4-29)
Zimbabwe won by 38 runs (Zimbabwe leads series 1-0)
