Craig Ervine to lead as Zimbabwe announces squad for one-off Test against Ireland
Zimbabwe has announced a 15-member squad for their first-ever Test match against Ireland. The one-off Test match is scheduled for July 25–29 at Stormont in Belfast, Ireland.
Veteran Craig Ervine is set to lead the side, which also includes senior players like Sean Williams, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, and Richard Ngarava.
Zimbabwe has also added four uncapped players to its roster: Jonathan Campbell, Brian Bennett, and wicketkeeper-batters Clive Madande, and Joylord Gumbie.
Zimbabwe Test squad for the one-off Test against Ireland: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Joylord Gumbie, Roy Kaia, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, and Sean Williams.
This is Zimabawe’s first Test assignment since the two-game home series against the West Indies in 2023, which the hosts lost 0-1. Craig Ervine's side will be looking to change their fortune this time around when they come out in whites.
Meanwhile, their opposition, Ireland, last played a Test match against Afghanistan earlier this year, which they won by six wickets.
Zimbabwe trailing 2-1 in the five-game T20I series against India
Sikandar Raza’s side started brilliantly when they defeated India in the first game of the five-match T20I series at the Harare Sports Club on July 6. Defending 116, the Zimbabwe bowlers were all over the Indian batters as the Men in Blue fell short by 13 runs.
However, Team India has bounced back, convincingly defeating Zimbabwe in the next two games. Shubman Gill's team prevailed by 100 runs in the second game and followed it with a 23-run victory in the previous outing.
After losing the third game, Raza said in the post-match presentation:
"It’s time that our players including myself take up the responsibility. The youngsters making mistakes is acceptable but the senior players need to step up. You cannot fix a problem by creating another problem, we have picked three openers for a reason. The openers that have been picked up should be given a run."
The fourth T20I between India and Zimbabwe is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 13.