Bowled him! McBrine cleans Ngarava up and Ireland register a memorable win in Bulawayo. Flights it up and lands it full on middle, Ngarava can't resist the big heave-ho down the ground and sees middle pegged back. Smiles and hugs in the Ireland camp and well-deserved that
Zimbabwe vs Ireland, Only Test at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe vs Ireland, Feb 06 2025 - Match Result
Balbirnie accepts the trophy and then his Ireland team-mates join him for photos. They now pose behind the board that says "WINNERS" and cheers ring around the Queens Sports Club. Well done Ireland, commiserations to Zimbabwe. That is not all from this tour. The two teams indulge in three ODIs followed by three T20Is. The first ODI is on February 14 in Harare. We'll be on for that, so do join us for that. Before that, you can check out Ekanth's report here soon. On behalf of him and our scorer Harshith, this is Sudarshanan signing off. Goodbye, take care! Ciao, aficionados!
10:52am Time for the presentations
Andy McBrine, Player of the Match: "[Approach at 31 for 5] Kept it very simple as possible. Blessing started well, got extra bounce. But we batted well. We got a few partnerships, tried to keep ourselves going, that worked out."
Johnathan Campbell, Zimbabwe captain: "Bless bowled well upfront, lots of ifs and buts but we did not bat well in the first innings. The bowlers bowled well all Test match. We let it slip with the bat. A couple of good individual performance but lacked cohesiveness. Reflect individually, I gave it away in the second innings, kicked myself for it. [Madhevere] He had a fighting knock, Nick in his first match. There's exciting talent in Zimbabwe, we are not far off. Ireland are a well-formed unit, they stuck in there, hung in there. McBrine hung in there, we need to find a way to get him out."
Andy Balbirnie, Ireland captain: "Very rewarding. Test cricket is tough. To go into five days, with weather around. We love Test cricket as a team, need to work hard. To do it a couple of times in the last two series is great. All our seamers worked hard, took wickets at key time. Humphreys was superb, McBrine does it every time he wears the Irish jersey. [Winning first three Tests] Just waiting for the DVD to come out! We are desperate to play, we don't know when our next Test match is. We had a long winter, prepped in Dubai. Our guys have been brought up on one day and T20 cricket but they prepared well. Sometimes it won't go our way but happy with how it is going."
10:40am Heartbreak for Zimbabwe as Ireland win by 63 runs. A superb bowling show from Ireland this. A chase of 292 with over two days left, Zimbabwe could have fancied it given there was not much on the surface. But Ireland kept at it with some disciplined bowling. Inclement weather threatened the victory charge but they made enough inroads in the pockets of play yesterday and ran throw the lower order today to finish the job. This is their third Test win in a row
Ireland's bowling charge was led by Humphreys, the left-arm spinner. He struck early in the dying moments of day three and then broke the back of the middle order yesterday. Today, he bowled well with the old and new ball to pick two more, including that of Zimbabwe's hero Madhevere. As long as he was in the middle, the hosts were in with an unlikely chance. But Humphreys attacked the stumps constantly to ask the right questions and return with the best Test figures for Ireland
Full on middle, he strides forward and defends it
Tossed up on middle, he lofts it in the air and well wide of long-off
Quicker on middle, he comes forward to defend it to the on side
Flatter and outside off, he goes back and punches it through cover
Misses everything as he swings across the line. Flighted ball, spins in, past the inside edge and past leg
Flatter and quicker outside off, he hangs back and looks to steer it fine but is beaten
Tossed up full on off, squeezed off the inner half to short mid-on
Flatter outside off, on a length, he comes forward and defends
Fuller outside off, chipped wide and over cover
Full outside off, eased towards deepish mid-off for a quick one
Fuller outside off, defended off the inner half towards short midwicket
Fuller on off, driven to short mid-on
David : "Marco as an Irish fan can I thank you so very much.If you support Zim you have my commiserations."
Flatter outside off, driven past cover
Full on middle, chipped towards the bowler
Quicker on off, fuller as well, he presses forward to defend. A wicket-maiden for Humphreys
Fuller on middle, pushed towards mid-on
Full on off, defended back down towards the bowler
Full on leg, defended
Huge appeal! Quicker and sliding in with the arm, beats him on the inside and hits him low on the pad, sliding down leg
Blessing Muzarabani is the last batter in. Can he play a match-winning hand with the bat to go with eight wickets with the ball
1W | ||||
4W | ||||
1W | 1W |
1W | ||||
1W | 2W | |||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | |
Toss | Ireland, elected to bat first |
Series | |
Season | 2024/25 |
Player Of The Match | |
Series result | Ireland won the one-off match |
Match number | Test no. 2581 |
Hours of play (local time) | 10.00 start, Lunch 12.00-12.40, Tea 14.40-15.00, Close 17.00 |
Match days | 6,7,8,9,10 February 2025 - day (5-day match) |
Test debut | |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |