Irish Cricket 2023

46 run win.. that is a fairly convincing margin of victory.... very well played... we have to be slightly favourites going into the decider...

A few absolute rabbits down that Zimbabwean lower order... certainly a reward for taking early and consistent wickets... get into em.

Been a great series, I’ve really enjoyed it, great that it’s been accessible to watch…..

Yes, we were in need of a wicket at that stage, very grateful for the run out.

Bad news is a lot of rain showers scheduled for Harare on Monday morning and afternoon.

maybe the forecast will improve over the next 36 or so hours, hopefully. Both sets of players and supporters alike deserve a thrilling decider and an entertaining climax to this excellently entertaining 3 match series. Be a shame if it ended as a damp squib, for all concerned…

Washout?

Yep, only 13 overs of the Zimbabwe batting innings completed and no further play.

A shame as we bowled well enough… Zimbabwe innings finishing 55/1 after 13. We could have had a couple more wickets. Only bad luck and fine margins prevented us.

Some very strange goings on at Cricket Ireland. The coach Heinrich Malan is being 'rested' for the Sri Lanka tour? I never heard the likes of this before. It's not like this tour is at the end of a big long schedule, Ireland haven't played a game since January, how does a coach needs a rest!! CI have spent years and years crying out for more games, and now hey finally have them our coach can't commit to a big tour. He's hardly out there bowling 20 overs a day or batting 3/4 hours, what rest does he need. Surely when he took the job, he realised he might actually have to go on our. I really can't believe how flippant Ireland are now that they're finally getting the games they craved. Test cricket has gone from being the ultimate dream, to being a format the coach and star batter couldn't be fussed about. After years of dreaming about test cricket, we're going into a test, by choice, without our best batter, best bowler and our coach!!

This also sets a really bad precedent, can players now pick and choose tours. David Delany had his call up pulled because he wanted to return to Oz after the the Bangladesh series, to complete commitments he made after initially being ignored. He must be pissed off watching a coach pick and choose his games, while he's punished....

Malan is 41 years of age.

his position with Cricket Ireland is full time.

nobody put a gun to his head to sign that contract.

I wonder is this an ‘exit strategy’ of sorts.

sorry, but you don’t accept the job with the responsibility it bears to go missing, that’s BS, disrespectful to everyone involved in irish cricket…. players, the organisation & supporters.

the statement from irish cricket…Performance Director Richard Holdsworth in a recent release when 27 central contracts for the men were announced…

"While fans enjoy the top year of cricket to come, one thing we should always be mindful of is the toll – both physical and mental – that a busy playing and travelling schedule may take on both players and coaching/support staff. For example, there is a 140-day period coming where Ireland Men will be touring or in camp for 115 of those days.

“As such, fans will on occasion see a greater level of player and staff rotation to manage risk of burn-out. With increased focus on the mental health and emotional strain that the global game places on players and staff, we have to carefully consider our options."

PR bôllocks to be fair.^^^ sounds like this disappearing act was planned and factored in….. 🙄

Teams, cricketers, management and support staff have been spending months away, for years…across the globe. Months !!! Full time gig.

Australia Ashes team and staff will be away from early June till about early August….

unless it’s an ill family member, which it obviously isn’t given the statement above, that could easily have been intimated at…..it realistically translates into…. “ I’d like the gig but at my discretion I’ll dive in and out, just because “

Tector has just gone for 22 in the 35th over and Bangladesh now 205/3

It’s going to be around 335 unless we take a couple of wickets.

needing around 6.7 an over…hmmmm… Ahmed gone.

338/8 after 50

no free broadcasts in Europe.

some sketchy looking site based over there you can pay a fiver to watch it, not going there.

6.78 the RRR

Don't see us chasing that down too easily

Need to be up with the rate, on it from the get go...

Possible but difficult..

We can't lose early wickets..

Edit : we lost an early wicket, Stirling gone for 6. But ultra edge saves him he nicked it so lbw overturned.

3.5 overs we are 12/1…. Slow start, only one four, no other boundaries. A serious number of dot balls I’m seeing.

A 15 run over, much needed…. Still too much daylight between the actual run rate and the required. But the wickets all intact is encouraging .

80/5… needing 8.23 going at 4.42 … we are done, start the car. Ffs.

Required run rate creeping further up…. More dot balls than scoring delivers.

in the last 8 overs only 4 boundaries.

155 all out. Beaten by 183 runs

Balbernie was a little unimpressive in his post match interview….I’m reading him saying some comment about his team being unaware of their surroundings but no excuses, why mention it then ? Balbernie scored 5 off 12 to be coming out with guff like that…

dreadful performance.

Balbernie 5

Tector 3

Tucker 6

Campher 16

the middle order totally capitulated. Virtually the core of our batting talent…4 batsmen, scoring 30 between them…. New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa you might say, ok tough day at the office, beaten by the better side but….Bangladesh ? Can beat us for sure and are certainly on the up and indeed their ICC ranking shows, they are ahead of Ireland, but that kind of a hammering ? Jesus.

Their batsmen destroyed our bowlers and their bowlers destroyed our batsmen.

338/8 vs 155 all out.

our middle order just capitulated again. A 183 run defeat ffs.

Match abandoned