(Cricket news) Andrew Balbirnie scored an impressive 40 runs in his last innings as his side amassed 282-8 against the visiting Zimbabwe side. However, the match was abandoned due to heavy rain and Ireland could not square the series and gain 10 valuable World Cup qualification points.

Having taken over captaincy of the team in 2019, Andrew Balbirnie is Ireland’s fifth highest run scorer in ODI cricket and has expressed his pleasure at how his side bounced back after a disappointing Game 1 loss.

In a press release by Cricket Ireland, Balbirnie said “Yeah, it’s very pleasing how we played with the bat in the last match, which was a huge improvement from the first game. It’s exactly what we were looking for. I’m particularly pleased for Porty [William Porterfield] – he has been brilliant since he’s been back opening, and has brought a lot of stability and class at the top of the order.”

“Going into tomorrow’s last match, we are confident that we can get a result – it’s the last international game of our home summer, and we feel we can really end on a high and put in a complete performance.”

The third ODI will be played today at Stormont.

Ireland’s ODI squad:

Andrew Balbirnie (Captain), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, William Porterfield, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.

Also read: Ireland all-rounder Eimear Richardson named ICC Player of the Month