Tag: Ireland

Andy Balbirnie struck an unbeaten 82 as Ireland beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in Harare on Sunday to seal a 2-0 ODI series victory.

Needing 201 runs to win a match reduced to 40 overs a side because of rain, the tourists lost captain Paul Stirling with just 12 on the scoreboard.

But Balbirnie shook off recent indifferent form to create partnerships of 70 with Curtis Campher (40) and 63 with Harry Tector (33) to take the match away from the hosts.

Balbirnie patiently built his innings, compiling a total including a six and four fours off 102 balls.

“I think if you bide your time, you will get some luck. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it does not,” said the right-hand batter.

“It was good to be out there at the end on a challenging wicket. I knew if I set myself up for the back end, I would do well.”

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The match-winning runs, a four from wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker, came with 13 balls to spare as Ireland reached 204-3 at Harare Sports Club.

Zimbabwe made 197, thanks mainly to Joylord Gumbie (72) and back-in-form Sikandar Raza (37), while Graham Hume and Campher took four wickets each for the Irish.

Ireland missed Josh Little, the six-wicket star of their win on Friday, as he picked up a niggling injury.

The tour marked an impressive start to the captaincy of Stirling as Ireland also won the preceding three-match Twenty20 series. The first ODI was abandoned due to rain.

“I think we saved our best performance for the last match. I am so happy for the lads. We have worked hard recently and it was good to be rewarded,” said the skipper.

Ireland came to the southern African country never having won a series there — then succeeded twice within eight days.

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DUBLIN: Cricket Ireland on Wednesday, unveiled separate ODI and T20I squads, under the leadership of Paul Stirling, for their upcoming white-ball tour to Zimbabwe.

According to the details, the contingent, which will be led by Paul Stirling, will depart on December 1 and will play three T20Is and as many ODIs.

This will be the first tour led by Paul Stirling since his permanent appointment as white-ball captain.

He has previously captained the side 22 times in an interim capacity.

Before the squad’s departure to Zimbabwe, the players will participate in a five-day training camp, which will be held in Spain from 19-23 November.

Ireland Men’s national selector Andrew White is eager to see how the new set of players evolve under a new leadership.

“This is the first outing for the Men’s squad since the ODI series in England in September. This tour marks the start of a new cycle under a new leadership set-up, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this playing group evolves as it builds towards the next 50-over World Cup.

“However, before we get to that stage there will be two T20 World Cups to plan and prepare for, and this tour is core to our preparations for the T20 World Cup next June.

“We showed the world what we were capable of at the last T20 World Cup, but with the talent and potential within this playing group, there is a belief we can push on and achieve even more.”

Ireland Men’s T20I squad
Paul Stirling (Capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young.

Ireland Men’s ODI squad
Paul Stirling (Capt), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Graham Hume, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Theo van Woerkom, Craig Young.

Tour Itinerary:

7 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 1st T20I (Harare)
9 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 2nd T20I (Harare)
10 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 3rd T20I (Harare)
13 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 1st ODI (Harare)
15 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 2nd ODI (Harare)
17 December: Zimbabwe v Ireland – 3rd ODI (Harare)

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GALLE: Ramesh Mendis took five wickets and Prabath Jayasuriya became the fastest-ever spinner to 50 Test wickets Friday as Sri Lanka thrashed Ireland by an innings and 10 runs in the second Test.

The hosts swept the two-match series in Galle 2-0, recording their 100th Test win and leaving the tourists still seeking a first victory in cricket’s longest format.

Harry Tector fought a lone last-day rearguard action to try to bat out a draw, scoring 85 and mounting a 41-run stand for the ninth wicket, but Mendis took 5-64 as Ireland were bowled out for 202 in their second innings.

Asitha Fernando bowled Tector with a yorker to end the resistance and accounted for last man Ben White with the very next ball to wrap up another emphatic win in style.

The visitors posted 492 in their first innings — among the highest-ever scores to be followed by an innings defeat.

After Sri Lanka declared on 704-3, Ireland resumed their second innings on 54-2, hoping to hold on for a draw on a track still good for batting.

But Jayasuriya dismissed Paul Stirling in the fourth over of the morning to become the quickest-ever spinner to take 50 wickets, in just seven Tests.

Fellow left-armer Alf Valentine of West Indies had taken eight games to the milestone more than seven decades earlier.

Mendis removed first-innings centurion Curtis Campher when he swept one straight into the hands of Kusal Mendis at leg-slip, and took his third wicket of the innings when captain Andy Balbirnie drove one straight to Angelo Mathews at mid-off on 46.

Mendis then dismissed Andy McBrine and Graham Hume in successive overs to claim his fourth five-wicket haul.

Sri Lanka won the first Test by an innings and 280 runs.

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LONDON: Ireland’s longest-serving captain and legend William Porterfield has announced his retirement from international cricket after he joined Gloucestershire county as a consultant coach.

The 37-year-old Porterfield has called time on his international career after leading his national side in 172 international matches, including two ODI World Cups. He also captained Ireland in three Tests that the side have played so far.

Porterfield made his debut in 2006 and appeared in 212 international matches to become the second most-capped player for Ireland after Kevin O’Brien.

Porterfield, while announcing his retirement felt honored to represent his country for more than 16 years and advance his national side from an amateur team to a Test-playing nation.

“It’s been an honour to represent my country for 16 years – it’s something I had always wanted to do since I was a child,” Porterfield was quoted as saying by Cricket Ireland.

“During my career, we’ve gone from an amateur team right through to now being a Test nation. From those before me, and along my journey, we have hopefully built an infrastructure that will allow the game in Ireland to continue to flourish,” he added.

The 37-year-old announced that he would now be pursuing coaching roles in the future and had been looking for the right opportunity to begin a coaching career.

“I’ve been given the opportunity to join Gloucestershire as a Consultant Coach until the end of the season, and these opportunities don’t come around very often,” he said

“Coaching is something I’d like to be involved in next, and after talking to my fiancé Hayley, my dad and a few other people I have decided to pursue this opportunity,” reflected Porterfield.

The legendary Ireland cricketer also expressed his wish to become a head coach of his national side.

“Ultimately one day would I like to still be involved and have an impact in Cricket Ireland? Yes. Where that is down the line as potentially a head coach, I’d like to be in a position where I’d be considered for that,” he concluded.

The former Ireland captain Porterfield scored 4343 runs at 30.58 in ODIs to become the second-highest run-scorer for Ireland after Paul Stirling. Meanwhile, he made 1079 at 20.35 in T20I cricket.

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Karachi: First-class cricketer Fazal Subhan had a shocker of PKR 1.7mn after ‘fraudster’ Khalid Haroon showed him the dream of representing the Ireland cricket team.
In the name of playing cricket for another country, Khalid Haroon impoverished Subhan, who didn’t had the opportunity to represent Pakistan.
“Khalid told me of getting a two-year contract from Ireland Cricket,” he said. “He asked for bank accounts and took money online, all the evidence is with me,” he added.

“I took a loan and sold my land and jewelry for a bright future. Security agencies help me, debtors are harassing me,” he expressed his disappointment.
Fazal has represented Pakistan A, U19 and various other first-class sides. He played in all national events including Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy.
He has played 39 first-class games, 29 List-A games and 6 T20s from 2006-2017. He is a right-handed batter having five first-class centuries.

Utrecht: The Netherlands defeated Ireland by just one run on Wednesday in the first of three one-day internationals in Utrecht.
Timm van der Gugten starred with both bat and ball in a match that forms part of the World Cup Super League qualifying process for the 2023 50-over showpiece in India.

🦁 🏅 NETHERLANDS WIN BY 1 RUN! What a match, tense until the very last ball! Stay tuned for more!

📺👉 @ZiggoSport

Livestream 👉 https://t.co/5FRN08L3aB

Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/babNnXuBGd#CWCSuperLeague #NEDvIRE #CricketNL #TeamNL @TeamNLtweets pic.twitter.com/tfl1hgXEFq

— Cricket🏏Netherlands (@KNCBcricket) June 2, 2021

Test nation Ireland had the edge early on, with Craig Young and Josh Little taking three wickets apiece before tailender Van der Gugten’s 49 from 53 balls saw the Netherlands to a total of 195.
Ireland then collapsed to 69-5 before the experienced Paul Stirling revived their innings with 69 only to fall to Van der Gugten, the man of the match.
Left-arm spinner Pieter Seelar then took two wickets in an over to leave Ireland needing 19 runs from 24 balls.
And with three required off the last ball, Ireland No 10 Little failed to connect, with the ensuing bye not enough to deny the Dutch a tense victory.

🤩 What a day for Dutch cricket. We'll just leave this here for you to enjoy!#NEDvIRE #CricketNL #CWCSuperLeague #TeamNL @TeamNLtweets pic.twitter.com/jPwREFVMHL

— Cricket🏏Netherlands (@KNCBcricket) June 2, 2021

The second ODI is scheduled for Friday, with the series concluding on June 7.
For the World Cup, hosts India and the top seven sides thereafter in the 13-team Super League will qualify automatically.
The remaining five teams will then play in a 2022 qualifying event to decide the final two sides for a 10-nation World Cup.