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ZC Managing Director Ozias Bvute has spoken to explain ZC's withdrawal of an invitation to tour from Cricket Ireland. CI had been hoping to play a 4-day match and 3 ODIs against Zimbabwe later this year, until the invitation was withdrawn citing fixture congestion. Bvute clarified in an article carried in The Herald:

"Zimbabwe has a full international and domestic calendar this season and we are not obliged to play against Ireland. Our offer to arrange playing opportunities with them is spearheaded by nothing less than the spirit of sportsmanship and inclusion. With the Australian and South African A sides, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan all having confirmed to tour Zimbabwe between June and November this year there is simply no slot available to accommodate them in 2011."

"It is very unfortunate that recent media reports aim to portray Zimbabwe as unwilling to play against Ireland and insinuate that the reason is based on an attempt to ostracise them. Zimbabwe has suffered greatly from the politics of exclusion and we would not wish that on any one."

Can't help but think that "we are not obliged to play" comment will come back to haunt him some day. Many sides have played Zimbabwe over the past few years who were "not obliged to play", and our already-sparse fixture list would have been very bare without them - I can't help but think we should be returning the favour.
The Herald - Bvute on schedule

UPDATE: Both Zimbabwe Cricket and Cricket Ireland have been speaking further regarding the purported withdrawal of Zimbabwe's invitation to Ireland to tour, and it seems that "withdrawn" is not the word we should be using. A press release issued by ZC this afternoon states that an alternative date is currently on the table:

Cricket Ireland can confirm that when they toured here in September we voluntarily made them an offer to arrange fixtures against them and have since been in communication with their administrators. Our last correspondence proposed January 2012 as a possible date.

Meanwhile, Cricket Ireland's Chief Executive, Warren Deutrom, has spoken out in support of ZC and Ozias Bvute in the matter, in comments reported by CricInfo:

"In the recent Chief Executives Committee meeting, [Ozias Bvute] was extremely supportive of the associates and spoke out strongly in their favour. There is nothing sinister in this whatsoever. We were initially in conversation about travelling to Zimbabwe at the end of the year, but as one of the smaller Full Member nations, they have to wait for the bigger members to organise their own schedules. Simply, there was a clash between the time we wanted to come down, and the contractual obligations they are required to fulfil through the FTP."

So, I back down somewhat from my earlier disappointment over the situation, and hope that the two boards can reach agreement over tour dates sooner rather than later.
CricInfo - Zimbabwe are not the enemy, confirms Ireland chief

A stunning, unbeaten century by Elton Chigumbura wasn’t enough to prevent Zimbabwe from slipping to a four wicket defeat against Ireland in their second and final warm-up match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday. The Zimbabwean captain’s brutal assault helped his team recover from a desperate situation at 100-5 with less than 20 overs remaining to a competitive 244-8 in their 50 overs before a disciplined bowling performance promised much but just failed to deliver as the Irish reached 245-6 in reply to win with just three balls remaining. Had Zimbabwe fielded to their normal, high standard the result would almost certainly have been different.

Having chosen to bat first and seen the entire top order struggle on a surprisingly difficult pitch, Chigumbura came to the crease at 74-4 in the 25th over with a mountain to climb to justify his decision. But that is exactly what he did. Cautious at first on the back of a long run of lean scores, the powerful right hander grew in confidence throughout his innings and was ably assisted by Prosper Utseya (26) in a sixth wicket stand of 54 to provide the innings with much needed stability.

Chigumbura’s half century came from 61 balls with just two fours and a delightful six flicked over deep backward square leg. He was compact and organised but there was nothing to indicate the ferocity to come which saw him move from 50 to 100 in just 20 more deliveries including a further six fours and two sixes, the last of which sailed over long on to raise his century from the final ball of the innings.

Zimbabwe’s new-look opening pair of Brendan Taylor (1) and Charles Coventry (5) struggled against the new ball and Sean Williams, too, never settled but Tatenda Taibu (45 from 78 balls) and Craig Ervine (27 from 53 balls) spent valuable time at the crease before Chigumbura transformed the innings.

Ireland’s reply began disastrously for Zimbabwe when Ed Rainsford sprained his ankle bowling the first ball and now faces a battle to regain fitness for the rest of the tournament. But senior spinners Ray Price and Prosper Utseya again bowled superbly for figures of 2-37 and 0-34 respectively in their 10 overs while Shingi Masakadza claimed 2-39 in 6.2 overs. Alex Cusack (47) and Andre Botha (79) did the majority of the early scoring but it was left to experienced left hander Kevin O’Brien to see the Irish to victory with an unbeaten 62 from just 61 balls.

The match did not have ‘official’ status so Chigumbura’s remarkable innings will not be recorded in his career statistics – but neither will Zimbabwe’s defeat.

“It was the worst fielding performance we have produced since I took over as coach,” said a disappointed coach Alan Butcher afterwards. “It was diabolical and unacceptable and I told the players that. We didn’t score enough runs and it was actually a good effort to get so close to victory given how poorly we fielded.”

For Chigumbura it was a day of mixed emotions: “I’m pleased to have scored the hundred and to get back to form – hopefully I can carry it on for the rest of the tournament. But we will have to improve as a team and it was very disappointing to field like we did and to lose.”

Full scorecard below the cut. Zimbabwe's next match is their opening Group A fixture, against Australia on Monday (21 February).
Zimbabwe 244/8 (50 overs; Chigumbura 103*, Johnston 2/9), Ireland 245/6 (49.3 overs; Botha 79, Price 2/37). Ireland win by 4 wickets.
[Match report via ZC]

Zimbabwe are currently in Dubai for two warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup, and got their campaign off to a flyer with a 6-wicket win over Ireland yesterday. Both sides fielded 12 players in the match (11 batting, 11 fielding) so it doesn't count as a ranking or capped game, but Zimbabwe's performance in it was certainly impressive. Ireland were put into bat after Zimbabwe won the toss, and bar a 2nd-wicket stand of 95 by William Porterfield (66) and returning Irish hero Ed Joyce (45), it was all Zimbabwe's innings: once the 2nd wicket fell, Ireland lost their remaining 8 for 93 runs, with Andrew White (41) being the only other player to reach double figures. As expected, it was Zimbabwe's spin combination that did the damage, with Greb Lamb (3/30) and Graeme Cremer 2/21) leading the charge.

In reply, Brendan Taylor finally found some form, carrying his bat for the innings to end on 84 not-out, while Craig Ervine's 47 helped see Zimbabwe home with over 6 overs to spare. Alex Cusack was the pick of the bowlers for Ireland, with 2/29.

A convincing win for Ireland, then, against the side that held them to a famous tie last World Cup. The two will meet in another warm-up before the World Cup proper begins, but Ireland go on now to face Netherlands tomorrow before leaving Dubai. Full scorecard for this match is below the cut.
Ireland 204 (48.1 overs; Porterfield 66, Lamb 3/30), Zimbabwe 208/4 (43.5 overs; Taylor 84*, Cusack 2/29). Zimbabwe win by 6 wickets.

The fighting Irish team showed a lot of spirit against Zimbabwe team in winning the third and final one-day international at Harare Sports Club by 20 runs. While Ireland’s batsmen recovered from a poor position, the Zimbabwe top order, with the exception of Sean Williams, had little stomach for the fight and slithered to a defeat.

The traditional luck of the Irish has not extended to the toss, as for the third time Zimbabwe won it and decided to field. They did take the opportunity, though, of giving a game to Ian Nicolson, the former Midlands pace bowler who has recently returned to the country, and Shingi Masakadza, but unfortunately neither succeeded with the ball – although they put an upright show with the bat.

Ireland made an aggressive but risky start to their innings, the openers enjoying several lucky escapes before Paul Stirling lofted one drive too many and was caught low down at extra cover for 13. Two more wickets then fell quickly, reducing Ireland to 40 for three wickets, all of them to Ed Rainsford, who was back in fine bowling form. Kevin O’Brien immediately took advantage of some rather loose bowling, racing to 20 off 14 balls and finally departing for 34. The captain Will Porterfield was still there, though, playing a steady innings and providing the backbone for the team. Zimbabwe finally got rid of him for 46 off 79 balls, run out looking for a quick single.

Ireland were now 128 for six in the 31st over, but this side does not seem to know how to collapse. Andrew White and John Mooney fought back with an admirable partnership of 66, and some big hits from Trent Johnson took the total past 200. George Dockrell stuck around as last man for 30 invaluable runs with Mooney, who was run out in the final over for 55. Ireland’s total was 244, much better than looked likely at one stage. Rainsford bowled superbly to take five wickets for 36 runs, while of the others Prosper Utseya did a fine holding job in conceding just 28 runs from his ten overs.

Zimbabwe made another weak start to their innings. Hamilton Masakadza fell to the fourth ball, bowled by Kevin O’Brien, who removed Brendan Taylor in his next over with only three runs on the board, and the batsmen seemingly too scared to hit the ball off the square. Williams alone showed any initiative, and even Tatenda Taibu was reduced to strokeless defence. Zimbabwe need urgently to rethink how they should open their innings, especially as the powerplay is in effect then. An active pursuit of quick singles would be a good place to start.

Zimbabwe did reach 30 in the tenth over – thanks to Williams, who had 26 of them. Taibu took an age to get off the mark, but then scored 22 in a partnership of 70 before a yorker from Mooney knocked his middle stump out of the ground. With Craig Ervine in, the hundred came up in the 24th over, but Williams threw his wicket away with his score on 74. Having just executed a perfect reverse sweep for four, he tried it again to the wrong ball and lobbed an easy catch to backward point. He faced 86 balls and hit nine fours, and apart from his dismissal had played an outstanding innings for his side when the opposition had been on top.

Zimbabwe were soon in trouble again, as Ervine, playing an orthodox sweep, hit a catch straight to square leg for 14. The team was now 117 for five, at the halfway stage of the innings – and Zimbabwe had quite a long tail. Yet again the burden of responsibility rested on Chigumbura. He looked good for a while, but on 22 he played weakly at a ball outside the off stump and was caught at the wicket. Three wickets went down for only four runs, and when it was too late the last pair of Shingi Masakadza (45 not out) and Nicolson (15) enabled the team to lose with some honour with a gallant stand of 60. But in the end the tourists deservedly celebrated. The left-arm spinner George Dockrell again did well with three victims, as did Kevin O’Brien.

The win sees Ireland reclaim 10th spot in the ICC's ODI rankings, one point ahead of Zimbabwe in 11th. Full scorecard below the cut.
[Match report via ZC]
Ireland 244 (49.4 overs; Mooney 55, Rainsford 5/36), Zimbabwe 224 (47.4 overs; Williams 74, K O'Brien 3/27). Ireland win by 20 runs.

Today's second ODI against Ireland in Harare was another match that was too close for comfort, although Zimbabwe did manage to squeak home with seven alls to spare. In a rerun of Sunday's match, Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to field, allowing Ireland to set the target for the match. Captain William Porterfield again fell early, on 11/1, but Paul Stirling's 52 laid the foundation for the innings. Regular wickets threatened to restrict Ireland to around the 200 mark again, but Kevin O'Brien stepped up to the plate in the final overs, smashing 30 runs in two overs to take Ireland to 239/9 at the end of their allotted overs. Prosper Utesya was back to his parsimonious self and took 2/37.

In reply, Hamilton Masakdaza's poor run of form continues as he fell with the score on 15, but Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams settled the side in, albeit at a very sedate scoring rate, before Williams was run out for 21. Tatenda Taibu and Taylor then combined to put on 80 for the 3rd wicket. A rash of mid-innings wickets threatened to leave Zimbabwe caught short, with Taylor eventually falling for 71, but the efforts of Elton Chigumbura (32*) and Graeme Cremer (22*) saw Zimbabwe home with and secured the series for Zimbabwe. Kevin O'Brien led Ireland's bowling figures, with 2/33. The win also saw Zimbabwe pass Ireland to reclaim 10th place in the ICC ODI rankings - although Ireland could potentially reverse that again with a win in the final ODI on Thursday. Full scorecard below the cut.
Ireland 238/9 (50 overs; K O'Brien 73, Utseya 2/37), Zimbabwe 239/7 (48.5 overs; Taylor 71, K O'Brien 2/33). Zimbabwe win by 3 wickets.

A match that began so well for Zimbabwe ended in the tightest of victories over the fighting Irishmen by two wickets off the final delivery.

The match was a wonderful triumph for Ed Rainsford, on his return to the national side following his superb bowling ever since he missed out on selection to West Indies. He took four wickets for 23 runs to shatter Ireland’s top order, and then hit the final delivery of the match for six to clinch victory. The tourists had fought back well, and then steady bowling and tight fielding restricted.

Zimbabwe, winning the toss, put Ireland in to bat. There is traditionally a little life and movement in the Harare Sports Club pitch early in the morning. A Zimbabwean pace bowling attack ripped through the top order of their opponents. Chris Mpofu bowled well enough, but the danger man was Rainsford, who bowled at a good but not excessive pace, with accuracy and getting whatever help he could from the pitch.

He began with the fourth ball of his first over, which Will Porterfield drove straight back to him. Niall O’Brien was caught in the slips off the next ball, while Kevin O’Brien groped at the hat-trick ball, just outside the off stump, but missed. Rainsford would have picked up Paul Stirling in his next over, but Chris Mpofu, perhaps dazzled by sun in his eyes, missed the chance and the ball bounced off his hand for six. He later had Stirling caught at the wicket, heaving across the line, for 17, after Mpofu had removed O’Brien, who skied a catch into the covers.

At 22 for four, Ireland were facing disaster. But Gary Wilson now joined Andrew White, and the two of them saw off the opening bowlers and then began to build a recovery off their replacements. They did a marvellous job for their team: there were few big shots but they kept the board ticking over all the time and put on 115 together before White, on the verge of his fifty, got a leading edge into the covers off Graeme Cremer. Wilson was eventually caught at long-off off the same bowler for 69; he faced 108 balls and hit seven fours, half his team’s total of boundaries. With the team dismissed for 200, this heroic partnership had realized almost 70 per cent of the total.

Hamilton Masakadza nudged the first ball of the innings from Kevin O’Brien into the hands of first slip. Brendan Taylor and Tatenda Taibu played for a few overs like grim death, suddenly aware it seemed that they could lose. Finally Taylor broke the shackles and played some handsome strokes, finding the gaps in the field, scoring 27 before driving a catch to mid-off. Vusi Sibanda followed him, lbw next ball, the bowler being the left-arm spinner George Dobrell, who played a vital part for his side with three for 27 in his ten overs.

This was to be the story of the innings: Taibu and Craig Ervine (23) improved matters, Taibu being a specialist in scoring runs when others fail. But when he had made a fine 62 off 106 balls he hammered a catch straight to backward point and Zimbabwe were 125 for five.

The loss of wickets affected the over rate, and after 40 overs Zimbabwe were only 140 for five. The match was really in the balance now. Elton Chigumbura and Charles Coventry started another recovery, only for Gary Wilson to step in with a brilliant run-out to remove Coventry. Utseya fell; 31 runs needed in the last four overs, and it almost all depended now on the captain. With two overs to go, Chigumbura hit a huge six over long-on, leaving 14 needed off the last two overs. He was caught at long-on for 41 off 32 balls, leaving the last three batsmen to score seven off seven balls to win the match. Rainsford scored a vital two off the penultimate ball to level the scores before he faced the final ball from Johnson – a full toss that he picked up superbly and swung high over the long-leg boundary for six.

Rainsford rightfully earned the man of the match award helping Zimbabwe to lead 1-0 in the Coca Cola Challenge and Ireland are looking to get back into the series with a victory on Tuesday 28 September. Full scorecard below the cut.
[Match report courtesy ZC]
Ireland 200 (47.3 overs; Wilson 69, Rainsford 4/23), Zimbabwe 206/8 (50 overs; Taibu 62, Dockrell 3/27). Zimbabwe win by 2 wickets

The 9 points taken from their Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland should be enough to see Zimbabwe XI through to the final of the Intercontinental Cup - ICC deliberations on Scotland's refusal to tour Zimbabwe permitting - after a high-scoring draw on a pitch that offered very little for either side's bowlers to exploit. Batting first after winning the toss, Ireland posted an impressive 465 for their first innings, amongst their highest first-day totals with Andrew White's 102 leading the charge, while John Mooney (87) and William Porterfield (51) provided support. Shingi Masakadza managed to take 5/107, the best bowling figures of the match, to keep the Irish for scoring even more.

At first it looked as though that may have been enough for the Irish to claim first-innings points, especially with the early wicket of Stuart Matsikenyeri (2) raising the worrying spectre of a Zimbabwe Collapse™, but first the combination of Steve Marillier (47) and Sean Williams (a career-best 178), then a further partnership between Williams and Keith Dabengwa (140), laid the foundations of a huge score for Zimbabwe XI. Regis Chakabva (54) and Forster Mutizwa (67*) also chipped in to take Zimbabwe XI to 590 all-out - although by the time they were bowled out, the match was already well into its final day and only a spectacular Irish collapse could have produced a result.

That didn't come, although Ireland did wobble on their way to 151/4 before the match was eventually called off. Ireland's dreams of a 4th consecutive Intercontinental Cup title were thus ended, while Zimbabwe XI await the ICC's decision on what will happen to their match against Scotland - although with Scotland having missed an ICC deadline to agree to the tour (which expired today), it seems likely that the match will not now be played, with points either being split equally between the sides or going fully to Zimbabwe. Either decision will secure Zimbabwe XI's place in the final against Afghanistan. Full scorecard for this match is below the cut.
Ireland 465 (134.5 overs; White 102, Masakadza 5/107) & 151/4 (54 overs; Porterfield 66, Sibanda 1/3), Zimbabwe XI 590 (173.2 overs; Williams 178, K O'Brien 4/104). Match drawn.

ZC have announced their 13-man squad for the Intercontinental Cup fixture against Ireland. A win in the match will keep Zimbabwe on course for a place in the final, while Ireland must win to keep their chances alive - although even then they would still be reliant on results elsewhere. Here's the list:
Forster Mutizwa, Keith Dabengwa, Nathan Waller, Natsai Mushangwe, Njabulo Ncube, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Shingirai Masakadza, Steven Marillier, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tendai Chatara, Timycen Maruma, Vusimuzi Sibanda.

Ireland have confirmed a 14-man squad for their upcoming trip to Zimbabwe, which includes an Intercontinental Cup fixture against Zimbabwe XI and three ODIs against the senior side. With Ireland currently ahead of Zimbabwe in the ICC ODI rankings, Ireland are keen to underscore their superiority against Zim, and coach Phil Simmons is hopeful of a good series:

"It's an important trip for a variety of reasons. We're currently ranked 10th in the world above Zimbabwe, and we want to not only keep our position but close in on, and possibly overhaul Bangladesh. We haven't given up hope of still qualifying for the final of the Intercontinental Cup. A full points win would keep us in with a chance, so we'll be striving all out to achieve that."

It's also a chance for the Irish players to prove form ahead of the next cricket World Cup. The full squad is: William Porterfield (captain), Andre Botha, George Dockrell, Allan Eastwood (Pembroke), Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien (wkt), Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Albert Van De Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson (wkt).
CricInfo - Porterfield back to lead Ireland in Zimbabwe

CricInfo are carrying an itinerary for Ireland's trip to Zimbabwe, from which I'm assuming that they've formally agreed to tour. The schedule is for an Intercontinental Cup fixture against Zimbabwe XI, and three ODIs against the senior Zimbabwe side, with all matches to be played at Harare Sports Club. Here are the details:

20-23 September 2010	Zimbabwe XI v Ireland
26 September 2010	Zimbabwe v Ireland: 1st ODI
28 September 2010	Zimbabwe v Ireland: 2nd ODI
30 September 2010	Zimbabwe v Ireland: 3rd ODI

With Ireland having recently overtaken Zimbabwe in the ICC ODI rankings, the three ODIs would give Zimbabwe a chance to reclaim 10th place.