Ireland opt to bowl after rain delay, hand Tim Tector debut

Ekanth

25-Feb-2025 • 20 mins ago

Ireland won the toss and chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe

Paul Stirling put Zimbabwe in to bat in Harare after toss was delayed by 45 minutes by rain which reduced the game to an 18-over contest. Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe captain, said that he would’ve bowled first too because of the rain, but that his team would not let toss dictate the result of the final game of their home summer. The hosts come into the game with a 1-0 series lead and cannot lose the series as the first game was washed out.

Debutant Tim Tector is one of Ireland’s three changes to their playing XI. Fionn Hand and Matthew Humphreys come in too. All entrants are players who hadn’t gotten a game earlier in the series. Stirling said that qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup automatically allowed Ireland to try out new faces.

Zimbabwe made no changes to the side that took the series lead in the previous game. Raza was hopeful the pitch would be dry but said that the outfield being wet would make it batting easier.

This is the second day-night game hosted by Harare out of a total of 52, including this game. The first one was contested by the same teams, with Zimbabwe winning by one wicket.

Ireland XI: Paul Stirling (capt), Tim Tector, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Fionn Hand, Matthew Humphreys, Craig Young, Josh Little

Zimbabwe XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu

Ekanth is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo