Rain hands Zimbabwe series win after batters struggle

Zimbabwe 142 for 6 (Raza 34, Delany 2-5, Young 2-38) vs Ireland – No result

A second washout in three games handed Zimbabwe a 1-0 series win to end their home summer on a high. There was space for just one innings as rain delayed the toss by 45 minutes and then returned during the mid-innings break to have the final word.

The evening started with Paul Stirling winning the toss and Ireland striking twice in the first three overs. Young found seam movement to have Tadiwanashe Marumani caught behind. Matthew Humphreys then darted an arm ball from around the wicket to smash Wessly Madhevere’s stumps.

Raza started off with a streaky boundary over short third before before going through a couple of tense moments. He was in pain after edging a mistimed pull onto his leg, he survived an lbw call off Josh Little in the seventh over, and an edge off his bat didn’t carry to wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker in the eighth.

He did dispatch a Fionn Hand slower ball over long-on and pump Humphreys for a four and a six. But when he tried a flat-bat hit off Delany, the ball seemed to hold up in the pitch and ended up in Harry Tector’s hands at long-on.

Delany got Brian Bennett four balls later with ball that bounced low to take an edge and flatten leg stump as Zimbabwe slumped to 67 for 4. However, that was the only over Delany bowled for the day.

Munyonga got a fortunate boundary in the 11th over as debutant Tim Tector, at long-on, came in too close and the ball soared over him for a boundary. Ryan Burl offered two near chances in the following over off Hand, neither of which carried to the outfielders running in. The duo picked up seven twos, four of them in the 13th over, in their 27-run stand. That was broken by Little, who had Burl caught at deep third.

Musekiwa launched Young for two sixes in the 15th over, the first of which brought up Zimbabwe’s hundred, before pulling a half-tracker from Little into the grass banks. Musekiwa got a free hit after Hand, in a bid to keep the ball out of the arc, delivered a ball so wide that it was outside the cut strip. But a wide later, he missed out on a full-toss free hit.

Munyonga had near chances in the 16th over, both of which resulted in twos, but fell to Young in the final over, swipe the ball over long-on. Wellington Masakadza got a boundary off his first ball but Young bowled four yorkers on the bounce to keep the batters quiet.

With dew around, Ireland would have had fancied their chances of chasing down the total and ensuring that Zimbabwe finished their home summer without a series win, but it was not to be.