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Brilliant Tucker century, half-centuries to Tector and McBrine revive Irish chances

Lorcan Tucker scored a masterful century as Ireland piled on the runs to end day three with a lead of 131 runs over Bangladesh in Mirpur.
Having been staring down the barrel of an innings defeat on day two, Ireland’s middle-order were imperious as they batted out the day and finished on 286-8, having been 51-5 in the morning session. Harry Tector scored a second half-century of the match and Andy McBrine became the third Ireland batter to register a maiden Test half-century in the match as he ended the day on 71*.
The records tumbled while Tucker was at the crease, first building an Ireland record fifth-wicket partnership with Tector before putting on 111 with McBrine - the second-highest partnership ever for Ireland in Tests.
Tucker’s 108 was also the second-highest Test score for Ireland. He joins Kevin O’Brien as the only two players to have scored Test centuries for Ireland.
After a solid start to the day which saw PJ Moor and Tector see out the first 14 overs without the loss of a wicket, Shoriful Islam found the breakthrough for Bangladesh. A loose shot from Moor provided keeper Litton Das with a simple catch to deepen Ireland’s collapse from the night before. They still needed 104 to force Bangladesh to bat again.
From there onwards, however, Ireland dominated the day’s play. Tector continued to look as assured at the crease as he did on day one, punishing some wayward bowling from Shoriful to pick up consecutive boundaries towards the end of the morning session. Tucker joined in on the attack, hammering back-to-back fours off Edabot Hossain before the lunch break.
Tector reached his half-century with a thick outside edge off Khaled Ahmed just after the interval. He bettered his first innings score by six runs before he was pinned plumb in front by Taijul Islam. Despite opting for the review, ball tracking showed three reds to send him on his way and bring McBrine to the crease.
At that point, Tucker had reached 40 off 72 balls, both batters matching each other to attack the bowlers as the pitch deadened out. With Tector gone, Tucker took centre stage. He reached his maiden fifty off 82 balls before whacking a six over long-on off Mehidy Hasan Miraz two balls later.
The boundaries continued to flow - Tucker gave Ireland the lead with a four off Taijul before McBrine smashed a six back over the bowler’s head in the same over.
Tucker ended the session on 88, tantalizingly close to a Test century but having turned the match on its head. 106 runs came in the 27 overs after lunch, with Ireland’s lead approaching fifty. Bangladesh were hampered by what was seemingly an injury to Shakib Al Hasan which prevented him from bowling for a large part of the day.
It took Tucker just three overs after the break to register his hundred, getting to the milestone with a cover drive to the boundary. The shot made him the first Ireland Test centurion in almost five years, O’Brien having scored the only other Ireland Test century against Pakistan in 2018.
The hundred partnership with McBrine came up in the same over, Tucker dancing down the wicket to hammer another boundary down the ground. He couldn’t go on to challenge O’Brien’s record, however, smashing a half-volley from Hossain straight to extra cover to end his innings for 108.
McBrine saw Ireland through to the close of play, despite the loss of Mark Adair late in the evening. He brought up his maiden Test fifty off a waist-high full toss from Shakib, which he steered to the fine-leg boundary for four. Along with Graham Hume, he plundered a string of boundaries as the day came to a close, finishing unbeaten on 71.
Ireland will resume tomorrow sensing an opportunity for a first Test match victory, Bangladesh still needing two wickets to end the Irish innings with the lead approaching 150.

MATCH SUMMARY
Bangladesh v Ireland, Only Test match, Day Three, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 5th April 2023
Ireland 214 (77.2 overs; Harry Tector 50, Lorcan Tucker 37, Taijul Islam 5-58)
Bangladesh 369 (80.3 overs; Mushfiqur Rahim 126, Shakib Al Hasan 87, Andy McBrine 6-118)
Ireland 286-8 (107 overs; Lorcan Tucker 108, Andy McBrine 71*, Taijul Islam 4-86)
Ireland lead by 131 runs

IRELAND ON THE NOOSE
Bangladesh quickly responded on the second day after they lost a couple of wickets late on the first day. The hosts reached 369 to put them into a strong position but to make things worse Ireland lost four wickets late in the day to face an impossible task to win the game. The next few batsmen will determine the outcome in the third day to see if they can avoid an innings defeat. On the plus side Andy McBrine's six wickets were impressive and Ireland will hope he's just impressive at batting.
Roll on tomorrow!

MATCH SUMMARY
Ireland 214 and 27/4 (17 overs; PJ Moor 10*, H Tector 8*; T Islam 2-7, Shakib Al Hasan 2-11)
Bangladesh 369 (80.3 overs: Mushfiqur Rahim 126, Shakib-Al-Hasan 87, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 56*, Litton Das 43; A McBrine 6-118, Mark Adair 2-64, B White 2-72)

Honours even in Dhaka after Tector fifty, late wickets
A record fourth-wicket stand of 74, a maiden Test half-century from debutant Harry Tector and two late-in-the-day wickets helped Ireland Men grab the momentum – and a lead of 180 runs - heading into Day Two of this one-off Test match against Bangladesh in Dhaka.
Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher and Mark Adair also contributed with the bat as Ireland posted 214 from their first innings, while a wicket with the final ball of the day – from Andy McBrine – has ensured that Ireland go into Day Two in buoyant mood.
Tector was one of seven Ireland Test debutants, along with Murray Commins, Campher, Tucker, PJ Moor, Graham Hume, and Ben White.
Opting to bat first after winning first toss as Test captain, Andrew Balbirnie found himself in the middle in just the fifth over of the day, as Murray Commins was trapped in front by a ball tailing in from Shoriful Islam. Commins’ opening partner James McCollum was also dismissed within the first 10 overs, edging a lifting delivery from Ebadot Hossain to slip, where it was taken after some brief juggling.
Together with Harry Tector, Balbirnie saw off the rest of the Bangladesh seamers’ new ball burst, and the introduction of spin initially proved fruitful for the visitors. An on-drive for four off the left-arm spin of Taijul Islam accounted for Tector’s first Test runs, and the following over the 23-year-old lofted Mehidy Hasan Miraz back over his head for six.
Bangladesh’s spinners were not rattled by Tector’s stroke-making however, and Taijul removed Balbirnie with the score still on just 48. Encouraged to play the sweep shot by some aggressive field placements, the Ireland captain couldn’t quite get his pad outside the line of off-stump and departed as the second LBW victim of the innings.
Tector and Curtis Campher set about rebuilding, and reached lunch without further incident. The pair quickly added significantly to the score, with boundaries coming on a regular basis. They brought up the 50-run partnership from 80 balls, Ireland’s first half-century stand for the fourth wicket in Tests. The next three overs added a further 21 runs and saw Harry Tector reach 50 in his maiden Test innings, the first player to do so for Ireland in men’s Tests.
The celebrations were short-lived though. Mehidy and Khaled Ahmed rebuilt the pressure that had been relieved with a couple of accurate overs, and Tector fell victim to the former as he tried to work a ball from outside off into the leg side. His 50 runs came off 92 balls, with six fours and one six.
With the breakthrough made, Taijul returned to the attack and in his first over removed PJ Moor thanks to a mishit shot taken at mid-off. The left-armer’s second over saw the back of Campher for 34, beaten on the inside edge by one that slid on with the arm, to leave Ireland stumbling having fallen from 122-3 to 124-6.
Lorcan Tucker set about rebuilding, first with Andrew McBrine and then Mark Adair after the Ireland spinner was bounced out by Ebadot for 19. With the score just one run shy of the 200-mark, Tucker fell for 37 as he looked to add to his three boundaries. His attempted sweep against Taijul saw him drag his back foot well outside of the crease, providing keeper Litton Das ample opportunity to complete a stumping.
Adair was pinned plumb in front not long after as Taijul completed his five-wicket haul, ending with figures of 5-58. Mehidy clean bowled Graham Hume less than an over later to end the Ireland innings on 214.
Bangladesh’s reply was dealt an early blow when Najmul Hossain Shanto was bowled off the inside edge by Mark Adair from the fifth ball of the innings. Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque appeared to have survived the remaining over, but McBrine found enough turn and bounce with the final delivery of day one to take Tamim’s edge. The hosts will resume on 34-2 tomorrow at 10am local time, trailing by 180 runs.
MATCH SUMMARY
Bangladesh v Ireland, Test match Day 1, Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 4 April 2023
Ireland 214 (77.2 overs; Harry Tector 50, Lorcan Tucker 37, Taijul Islam 5-58)
Bangladesh 34-2 (10 overs; Tamim Iqbal 21, Mominul Haque 12; Mark Adair 1-3)
Ireland lead by 180 runs

IRELAND BOUNCE BACK
Paul Stirling and Matthew Humphreys starred to give Ireland a seven-wicket victory in their final white-ball match in Bangladesh.
Humphreys took two wickets in his first three balls on T20I debut as Ireland bowled Bangladesh out for 124. In a standout performance with the ball, all seven of Ireland’s bowlers contributed to the wicket tally, Bangladesh falling four balls short of batting their 20 overs.
Paul Stirling then knocked off the bulk of the runs with the bat, scoring 77 off 41 as Ireland chased down their target with six overs to spare. The result was Ireland’s first-ever win over Bangladesh on home soil - a significant turnaround on a white-ball tour in which the hosts have dominated with bat and ball.
In stark contrast to the fast starts made in the first two matches of the series, Bangladesh capitulated in the powerplay having elected to bat first. Looking to be aggressive up front once more, four out of the first five wickets to fall were caught in the deep on the leg side as the batters looked to clear the rope.
Litton Das picked out George Dockrell on the boundary off Mark Adair’s first ball, and Harry Tector struck at the end of the next over to dismiss Najmul Hossain Shanto. After he juggled the catch off Shanto in the deep - nearly dropping it before clinging on with his second grab - Curtis Campher joined the wicket-taking ranks by dismissing Rony Talukdar, leaving Bangladesh 24-3 at the end of the fourth over.
Despite a short boundary blitz from Towhid Hridoy, the wickets continued to tumble. Mark Adair picked up his second with the penultimate ball of the powerplay, Shakib Al Hasan playing a loose shot to give Ben White a dolly at midwicket before White got in on the act himself. He dismissed Hridoy looking to continue his attack, Tector taking another easy catch.
Humphreys stole the bowling show, however, sending down a memorable first over in T20I cricket. He cleaned up fellow T20I debutant Rishad Hossain with his first delivery - the 25th bowler in history to take a wicket with the first ball of their T20I career - the ball cannoning into leg stump as Hridoy looked to heave over long-on. He struck again two balls later to dismiss Taskin Ahmed, caught at deep midwicket once again by Campher and finished his first over with figures of 2-3.
Humphreys’ over marked the halfway point in Bangladesh’s innings, with the hosts in an unfamiliar position in the series at 64-7. A steady maiden T20I half-century off 40 balls from Shamim Hossain dragged the hosts past the three-figure mark. He was the final batter to fall, giving a catch to backward square-leg off Fionn Hand to ensure all seven of Ireland’s bowlers had a mark in the wickets column.
Set 125 to chase, Paul Stirling led the march to a well-deserved victory. Despite the loss of Ross Adair and Lorcan Tucker in the powerplay, he powered Ireland forward, hitting five boundaries in the first six overs of the innings.
He reached his 22nd T20I half-century off 31 balls before unleashing a flurry of boundaries to accelerate towards the target. Shoriful Islam was hit for four consecutive boundaries by Stirling immediately after he reached his fifty, starting with a huge six over fine leg before he scooped a full ball for four over the same boundary.
Stirling was finally dismissed going for another maximum down the ground, caught in the deep by Shanto off Rishad Hossain, but the damage had already been done. Campher finished the match with a six to complete a dominant victory for Ireland.
Having lost the T20I series 2-1, the only Test match of the tour will begin next week on Tuesday, 4 April in Dhaka.
MATCH SUMMARY
Bangladesh v Ireland, 3rd T20I, Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram, 31 March 2023
Bangladesh 124 (19.2 overs; Shamim Hossain 51, Rony Talukdar 14, Mark Adair 3-25)
Ireland 126--3 (14 overs; Paul Stirling 77, Curtis Campher 16, Rishad Hossain 1-19)
Ireland won by seven wickets

Ireland will need a victory in the second match of the series on Monday to stay in the series.
MATCH SUMMARY
Bangladesh Men v Ireland Men,1st ODI, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, 18 March 2023
Bangladesh 338-8 (50 overs; Shakib Al Hasan 93, Towhid Hridoy 92, Graham Hume 4-60)
Ireland 155 (30.5 overs; George Dockrell 45, Stephen Doheny 34, Edabot Hossain 4-42)
Bangladesh won by 183 runs

Belfast’s CIYMS set off in search of European glory

2022 Clear Currency All-Ireland T20 Cup winners CIYMS depart today for Malaga in southern Spain to take part in the 2023 European Cricket League (ECL) as Irish cricket’s representative club – and captain John Matchett says the excitement for this adventure has been building nicely.
With up to seven T10 matches scheduled to be played over the next three days, the Belfast-based club will be hoping to win through the first round and into Championship Week, starting on Monday 20 March.
THE COMPETITION
The ECL is a T10 competition played at the Cartama Oval in Malaga, featuring 30 teams from across Europe in six groups of five teams.
CIYMS have been drawn in Group F, alongside Ariana KIF (Sweden), Oerias (Portugal), Istanbul KSK (Turkey), and Punjab Lions Nicosia (Cyprus).
All teams will play four games in the group stages. Four teams qualify to the next stage, with the fourth-placed side playing the third-placed team in Eliminator One. The winner moves on to Qualifier Two. In Qualifier One, first and second in the group face off against each other, with the winner moving into the final, while the loser faces the winner of Eliminator One for the chance to meet the winner of Qualifier One in the final.
More details on the tournament can be found on the European Cricket Network’s website here.
It’s a massive week for the club, heading overseas to represent both CIYMS and Irish cricket.,
CIYMS get their campaign underway with a game against Ariana KIF of Sweden tomorrow morning, Thursday 16 March at 10.30am (Ireland time).
CIYMS SQUAD
Adam Heasley, Adam Kennedy, Allen Coulter, Angus Farrell, Carson McCullough, Chris Robinson, Christopher Dougherty, Jack Beattie, Jacob Mulder, Jason van der Merwe, John Matchett (capt), Mark Best, Oliver Topping.
Team Manager: Richard Heasley
FIXTURES
16 March: CIYMS v Ariana KIF (10.30am Ireland time)
16 March: CIYMS v Oeiras (2.30pm Ireland time)
17 March: CIYMS v Istanbul KSK (12.30pm Ireland time)
17 March: CIYMS v Punjab Lions Nicosia (6.30pm Ireland time)
18 March: Eliminator 1, Qualifiers 1&2 plus Final.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK (should CIYMS qualify)
Teams will play matches from 20-23 March, with the Eliminator and Final on 24 March.

Cricket Award Winners 2022
Josh Little and Arlene Kelly were the big winners at the 11th Clear Treasury Irish Cricket Awards on Friday night in Dublin, as they were respectively named Men’s and Women’s International Player of the Year for 2022.

Little had an outstanding year, becoming only the sixth player to take a hat-trick at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, against New Zealand in the Super 12 stage. His excellent performances throughout the year were recognised when he was named in the ICC T20I Team of the Year and became the first active Irish cricketer to be offered a contract to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kelly, who only made her Ireland debut in June, made an immediate impact as she was part of the side that beat South Africa in their opening T20 international at Pembroke. She was the highest wicket-taker in every T20 international series during 2022.

George Dockrell and Gaby Lewis were named Inter-Provincial and Super Series Player of the Year respectively, while Cade Carmichael and Jane Maguire won the Emerging Player of the Year awards.

In club cricket, Cork Harlequins were named Club of the Year, while David Delany and Amy Caulfield won men’s and women’s Club Player of the Year.

There were three inductees into the Irish Cricket Hall of Fame: Bob Lambert, Stella Owens, and Andre Botha, while Paul Reynolds was awarded the Outstanding Contribution and Service to Irish Cricket award.

Other award winners on the night were Simon Galloway (Volunteering Excellence Award), Brian Kelleher (Outstanding Contribution to Coaching), Declan Earley (Club Cricket Official of the Year), and Eglinton Cricket Club (Groundskeeping Team of the Year).

Each winner received an engraved award designed to the iconic Irish brand, Waterford Crystal – an organisation that is proudly extending its generational links with cricket.

Presentations were also made on the night to recent international retirees, William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, and Peter Chase, all who had long distinguished careers in the Irish jersey.
The evening also saw a special acknowledgement of the work of Gareth Thompson in driving women’s forward at CSNI Cricket Club and across the Northern Cricket Union.

Denis Campbell Artt
Passed away on 1st February 2023 at home. He was 78.
Denis was a stalwart at North Down Cricket Club and a Comber man through and through. He went to Methodist College and played for Collegian before returning to his homeland. He was an authority in Insurance and was a founder at Artt-Green Brokers. Denis was an exceptional wicker-keeper and many felt him unfortunate not to play for Ireland. His stumping and catches were outstanding and starred at Ulster Town Interprovincial team. He loved the camaraderie and friendship of sport and played hockey at North Down HC and Ballydrain summer league football with aplomb. He was an aggressive wicket-keeper and scored regularly. He hated losing any sport and was fiery at most times. His determination and enthusiasm was well known. At North Down he was a cornerstone of the club in the Seventies and Eighties and loved to tour. He was a member when the club toured Barbados, Blackpool, Glasgow, and Dublin. He scored a century at Glasgow Accies and celebrated buying drinks and cigars to all the clubhouse! He loved the Ballymena, RUC and North Down Sixes and captained victories several times. In later life he was an occasional visitor to The Green.
Denis Artt-
20th February 1944 - 1st February 2023
Dearly loved father of Judith, Darryl, Nadine and Alexandra.
A service of thanksgiving will be held at Roselawn Crematorium on
Monday 13th February 2023 at 9.20am.
Family flowers only please
Donations in lieu, if desired, may be sent direct to
Stroke Association
www.stroke.org.uk
Will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by the whole family circle. In particular the North Down club that he played and enjoyed for many years.
Rest in Peace Denis, a great friend to many.
JCH

Dearly loved father of Judith, Darryl, Nadine and Alexandra.
A service of thanksgiving will be held at Roselawn Crematorium on
Monday 13th February 2023 at 9.20am.
Family flowers only please
Donations in lieu, if desired, may be sent direct to
Stroke Association
www.stroke.org.uk
Will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by the whole family circle.

20th February 1944 - 1st February 2023

Family flowers only please

Please make charitable donations to
Stroke Association
Send Flowers Make a Donation

CC Men’s T20I Team of the Year:
1 Jos Buttler (c) (wk) (Eng)
2 Mohammad Rizwan (Pak)
3 Virat Kohli (Ind)
4 Suryakumar Yadav (Ind)
5 Glenn Phillips (NZ)
6 Sikandar Raza (Zim)
7 Hardik Pandya (Ind)
8 Sam Curran (Eng)
9 Wanindu Hasaranga (SL)
10 Haris Rauf (Pak)
11 Josh Little (Ire)
The lineup for the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year includes many familiar names from the breathtaking action that unfolded at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Jos Buttler secured the England captaincy in June, and is selected the skipper of this dream team after sealing the silverware down under.
Buttler also opens the batting alongside Mohammad Rizwan, who scored ten half-centuries during the year and fell agonizingly short of 1,000 T20I runs. In fact the only player to surpass this milestone was India’s Suryakumar Yadav, and the number-one ranked batter was in blistering form during the Men’s T20WC. Yadav is one of three Indian players named in the XI, with Hardik Pandya slotting in together with Virat Kohli, whose excellent performances in the tournament earned him the ICC Player of the Month accolade for October.
The bowling attack features prolific Irishman Josh Little, who was the leading wicket-taker in the format for the year with 39 wickets at an average of 18.92.
Sikandar Raza was an integral figure for Zimbabwe in T20Is through the year, not least in qualifying, and he is one of two expert spinners in the side. Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka took more wickets than anybody in the Men’s T20WC, and another star of the tournament completes the lineup – the Player of the Match in the Final, and the Player of the Tournament, England’s Sam Curran.

Little goes large as Ireland knocks Zimbabwe off Ballance to level series
Zimbabwe – Ireland Men won a closely fought match by 46 runs in Harare to level the ODI series 1-1 with one to play. Josh Little took career-best ODI figures of 4-38 to close out Zimbabwe’s hopes of victory, along with milestone performances with the bat from Stephen Doheny and Harry Tector, which helped Ireland post 294-7 in the first innings.
Despite strong resistance from Gary Ballance and Innocent Kaia, who both registered fifties, the home side were bowled out with two overs and three balls left in the match.
Following Wednesday’s thrilling match in which Clive Madande was the hero, hitting a boundary off the last ball to shatter Irish hearts, today’s game in Harare was also evenly matched until a late flurry of Zimbabwean wickets, with the series now still alive going into its final act.
Paul Stirling captained in the absence of Andrew Balbirnie, who suffered a concussion in the first ODI. Ireland lost the toss and was asked to bat, with Murray Commins making his international debut.
Creating a good platform first up, Stirling and Doheny combined for a 100-run partnership in 20 overs, including two huge sixes from Stirling on the leg side. After he was dismissed in the 21st over and Commins departed soon after for six, Doheny combined with Harry Tector to score the bulk of runs. In just his second ODI appearance, Doheny registered his maiden half-century off 76 balls.
Coming in four runs short of 1,000 ODI runs, it took Tector just eight balls to break Stirling’s record and become the fastest Ireland player to reach the milestone in men’s ODIs, taking just 25 innings to do so.
Zimbabwe turned to the short-ball tactic with few other options to limit Tector and Doheny, but the two batters cashed in, with the team’s 150 coming up in the 31st over – in which Sikandar Raza was hit for two boundaries. Doheny was finally dismissed for 84 by Ryan Burl, top-edging a reverse sweep, and Ballance taking a good, low, diving catch.
Continuing from his brilliant hundred in the first match of the series on Wednesday, Tector went on to smash 75 from 61 balls, giving Ireland hopes of a 300-plus score. In a fiery moment of frustration, Victor Nyauchi threw the ball at Tector in his follow-through, despite the batter never leaving his crease, hitting him on the shoulder and prompting the umpires to intervene and calm tensions down. Tector followed up a few overs later with a huge six straight down the ground off Brad Evans and a four off the following ball.
Once Tector was finally dismissed, Ireland fell just short of the 300-run mark, despite useful cameos from George Dockrell (30) and Lorcan Tucker (11).
The ever-present threat of rain held off, and Zimbabwe began their innings with Little dismissing Tadiwanashe Marumani LBW with his second delivery.
A promising partnership from Kaia and Chami Chibhabha worth 90 may have had Ireland fans worried early on in the chase, but nerves would have steadied after Andy McBrine got Kaia's wicket, thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Graham Hume, with Little continuing his magic to dismiss Chimhabha.
Despite Zimbabwe keeping up with the required run rate through the majority of the innings, Ireland’s bowlers kept making crucial inroads to peg them back. Mark Adair got the all-important wicket of Raza before Campher effected a fortunate run out of Ryan Burl at the non-striker’s end. Campher got a small touch on a straight drive from Ballance in his follow-through, which deflected onto the stumps with Burl out of his ground. It was a big moment going into the last ten overs with Zimbabwe needing 88 more runs.
There was to be no end of match heroics from Madande this time though, with Little taking out his off stump with a hooping delivery and claiming Richard Ngarava as his final victim to complete his career-best ODI figures.
Mark Adair took the final wicket to complete another thrilling match in Harare, with the series decider set to be a blockbuster on Monday.
MATCH SUMMARY
Zimbabwe v Ireland, 2nd ODI, Harare Sports Club, Harare, 21 January 2023
Ireland 294-7 (50 overs; S Doheny 84, H Tector 75, P Stirling 45; T Chatara 3-51)
Zimbabwe 248 (47.3 overs; G Balance 52, I Kaia 51; J Little 4-38)
Ireland won by 46 runs

Zimbabwe edge final-ball thriller over Ireland despite Balbirnie and Tector centuries
Centuries from captain Andrew Balbirnie and Harry Tector – as part of a record third-wicket stand of 212 - weren’t enough as Zimbabwe won a thrilling first ODI of the series in Harare by three wickets (DLS), with Clive Madande winning the match with a four off the final ball.
A lengthy rain delay reduced the target from 115 off 102 deliveries to 39 off 22. Wickets tumbled and sixes sailed over the rope in a chaotic twenty minutes of play, which ended with Zimbabwe needing four off the final ball of the match. Heartbreakingly for Ireland, but to the delight of the home crowd in Harare, Madande pumped Graham Hume’s final ball down the ground to the boundary, completing a famous win.
Zimbabwe won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat first, with Balbirnie top scoring in his 200th match for Ireland with 121 not out from 137 balls. He timed his innings superbly after Ireland lost two wickets within the first ten overs, including that of Stephen Doheny who was out for three on his ODI debut. Balbirnie, aided by Tector at No. 4, rebuilt superbly, accelerating during the last ten overs to set Zimbabwe 289 to win.
The captain’s innings came to an unfortunate end in alarming fashion, when he was struck on the head by a chest-high beamer from Brad Evans, which deflected off Balbirnie’s bat and into his helmet. Although the stretcher was brought out Balbirnie was eventually able to leave the field under his own steam but took no further part in the match.
After Balbirnie departed, all eyes turned to Tector to see if he could complete his third ODI hundred in just his 24th innings in the format. He was joined for brief cameos by George Dockrell and Curtis Campher, who each looked to attack from the get-go.
Tector reached his three-figure milestone in the last over of the innings, roaring in delight as he came back for a second run to take him to the hundred. He fell just four runs short of breaking the Ireland record for the fastest batter to score 1,000 ODI runs, although he has another five innings leeway to claim Paul Striling’s record of 29 innings.
Zimbabwe lost Wesley Madhevere early in their innings, after he was caught by substitute fielder Tyrone Kane, Mark Adair making the breakthrough inside the first five overs.
From there Innocent Kaia and Craig Ervine built a watchful partnership, scoring 40 off the next 49 deliveries to steady the Zimbabwe ship. There was a reprieve for Kaia when he was dropped by Josh Little off Adair, seemingly squandering some good pressure built by the bowler but the reprieve wasn’t too costly. Campher held onto a chance in the very next over to send Kaia on his way.
A stunning caught and bowled gave Ireland their third, Tector back in the game and nearly colliding with his teammate in the field but managing to just cling on to the ball to dismiss Craig Ervine. Gary Ballance was next to go after a good partnership with Sikandar Raza, courtesy of another fantastic catch this time by Graham Hume on the boundary.
The match continued to swing one way and then the other. Zimbabwe ramped up the pressure once more with Raza and Ryan Burl at the crease. Burl hit Dockrell for consecutive boundaries, including a huge six back over his head, to reduce the equation to 136 from the last 20.
With rain starting to fall, Ireland were two runs ahead on the DLS as the covers came on, with play unable to continue for over an hour. When the players were finally able to get back on the field, with Zimbabwe chasing a reduced target, the fans were treated to a hugely entertaining final passage of play.
Sikandar Raza was out second ball going for the big shot, before Ryan Burl was six and out in the final over, leaving the equation down to 11 off four. With Clive Madande the senior batter, some good running brought it down to four off the last ball with him on strike to complete the tightest of victories. A tough loss for Ireland but an incredible game of cricket.
The sides will do it all again at the same venue on Saturday, 21 January with a 7.15am start (Ireland time).
MATCH SUMMARY
Zimbabwe v Ireland, 1st ODI, Harare Sports Club, Harare, 18 January 2023
Ireland 288-4 (50 overs; A Balbirnie 121*, H Tector 101*; V Nyauchi 2-65)
Zimbabwe 214-7 (37 overs; R Burl 59, S Raza 43; M Adair 2-40)
Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets (DLS Method)

Zimbabwe win series 2-1 in T20
Ireland 141-9 (20 overs): Tector 47, Campher 27; Madhevere 2-8, Burl 2-28, Chatara 2-26
Zimbabwe 146-4 (19 overs): Ervine 54, Burl 30*; White 2-26, McCarthy 2-34
Zimbabwe won by four wickets
Scorecard
Ryan Burl's late big hitting helped hosts Zimbabwe clinch a 2-1 win over Ireland in the T20 series in Harare.
Harry Tector's 47 contributed to Ireland posting 141-9 with Curtis Campher hitting 27 before becoming one of leg spinner Burl's two victims.
Despite skipper Craig Ervine's 54, Ireland kept Zimbabwe's batting in check until Burl's 18th over heroics.
Burl fired two sixes and a four off successive George Dockrell deliveries to help the hosts win by four wickets.
Luke Jongwe, who also took two wickets in the Ireland innings, hit the winning four in the final ball of the 19th over but it was Burl's knock which proved key.
The sides will begin a three-match one-day series in Harare on Wednesday.

Ross Adair half-century guides Ireland Men to a thrilling victory in Harare
The game ended in a six-wicket victory for Ireland, after Ross Adair smashed his maiden T20I half-century to set up Ireland’s run chase and level the series againstZimbabwe.
With Ireland set 145 runs to win after bowling Zimbabwe out in their 20 overs, Adair and Andrew Balbirnie looked set to cruise to the total with a 48-run opening stand. Two quick wickets saw Harry Tector take over as Adair’s partner, and the two took Ireland to within 26 runs of the target with four overs to go.
Some scintillating death bowling from Tendai Chatara and Ryan Burl briefly turned the game, with the equation reducing to nine off eight. But Curtis Campher and George Dockrell saw them home with two balls to spare: Dockrell finished the innings with a six to set up the series decider on Sunday.
Earlier, Zimbabwe got off to a flying start after losing Tadiwanashe Marumani thanks to Tector’s new-found bowling success in T20Is, this being only the second time he has bowled in 53 games. Craig Ervine and Innocent Kaia – into the Zimbabwe’s XI after Gary Ballance withdrew ahead of the game following a concussion – blasted 48 off 29 in the powerplay, including a flat-batted smash from Kaia down the ground off Mark Adair for six.
Ireland rang the bowling changes to limit the scoring rate, with Campher completing a brilliant run out of his own bowling in the sixth over to break the partnership. It was the first of three run outs for Zimbabwe in the innings. A period of rebuilding saw them get to 115-4 with five overs to go. Ervine top-scored with 42 off 40.
Graham Hume, the only change in the XI from Ireland’s loss in the first T20I, took two wickets in the 16th over, including his maiden T20 international scalp to dismiss Ervine and then Burl.
An engaging passage of play followed where Ireland took three wickets in three balls including two consecutive run outs to rip through Zimbabwe’s tail. After Mark Adair dismissed Brad Evans, the fielders took advantage of some poor running from the Zimbabwe batters to complete a team hat-trick and leave the home side nine down in the final over.
Hume finished the innings off with the wicket of Wellington Masakadza off the final ball of the 20th over.
Ross Adair’s innings stood out in the chase. Opening the innings with Balbirnie, he initially took a back seat as Balbirnie did the bulk of the scoring, including hitting a massive six off Richard Ngarava onto the roof of the Harare Sports Club. When Balbirnie was dismissed for 33, Adair was on 15 off 21. But it was only once Tector came to the crease that Adair really upped his rate, swatting a four off Burl in the 11th over to get going.
His next four boundaries were all sixes as he took on the Zimbabwe bowlers, reaching his fifty off 39 balls with a six over square off Evans. A powerful blow over the long on rope of Ngarava was his last of the innings, as he was dismissed for 47-ball 65 the following delivery.
He had done the majority of the damage though. Despite a few nervy moments towards the end of innings, Adair’s knock set up a brilliant win for Ireland, keeping the series alive ahead of the final match on Sunday.
MATCH SUMMARY
Zimbabwe v Ireland, 2nd T20I, Harare Sports Club, Harare, 14 January 2023
Zimbabwe 144 (20 overs; Craig Ervine 42, Innocent Kaia 25; Graham Hume 3-17)
Ireland 150-4 (19.4 overs; Ross Adair 65, Andrew Balbirnie 33; Ryan Burl 2-26)
Ireland won by 6 wickets

Poor start for Ireland
Zimbabwe v Ireland, 1st T20I, Harare Sports Club, Harare, 12 January 2023
Ireland 114 (19.2 overs; Gareth Delany 24, Curtis Campher 20; Ryan Burl 3-29)
Zimbabwe 118-5 (18 overs; Sean Williams 34*, Gary Ballance 30; Mark Adair 2-12)
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets

Happy Christmas to everyone.
JCHJK