Zimbabwe Beat Ireland in Warm Up Match
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:20 pm
n Dubai, Ireland lost to Zimbabwe by six wickets.
Ireland 204 all out (W Porterfield 66, E Joyce 45, A White 41, G Lamb 3-30, G Cremer 2-20) lost to Zimbabwe 208-4 (42.5 overs, B Taylor 82*, C Ervine 47, C Coventry 26, S Williams 25, A Cusack 2-22, A Botha 1-20, K O'Brien 1-50).
Zimbabwe recorded a convincing six wicket against Ireland in their warm-up game in Dubai.
Their win was set up after an opening stand of 58 in just 12 overs between Brendon Taylor and Charles Coventry.The dismissal of Charles Coventry, bowled by Alex Cusack for 26, with the total on 58 offered Ireland some hope as they looked to defend their modest total.
Cusack claimed a second wicket shortly after, when Gary Wilson took a fine catch to dismiss Regis Chakabva for just 8, to leave the score on 70 for 2.
Sean Williams (25) was particularly severe on George Dockrell, who conceded 20 runs in his opening two overs. Andre Botha claimed a welcome wicket, as William's cameo was ended when Paul Stirling hung onto a sharp chance to leave Zimbabwe on 102 for 3, but very much still in control.
Taylor was joined by Irish passport holder Craig Ervine, and the pair ensured there was no further alarms for their side until the scores were level.
The pair doubled the total from 102 to 204 in a 4th wicket partnership in which they were rarely troubled by the Irish attack.
Ervine (47) went to a Trent Johnston catch from the bowling of Kevin O'Brien, but just two balls later a boundary from Chigumbura sealed the win.
Earlier, Ireland's cricketers threw away a promising start to finish on 204 all out.
66 from skipper William Porterfield and 45 from Ed Joyce had led the side to a commanding 111 for 1, after Paul Stirling went for just 6 early on. The pair added 105 for the second wicket before Joyce was unluckily run out, when a Porterfield drive was deflected onto the stumps by the bowler.
That saw the Ireland side collapse as they lost 7 wickets for just 43 runs as they were reduced to 154 for 8. Spinners Greg Lamb (3-30) and Graeme Cremer (2-20) did the damage, while Andre Botha was another victim of a run-out.
In the end it took 41 from Andrew White to get the team past the 200 mark, as the middle order crumbled against the Zimbabwe attack, with Niall O'Brien (1), Kevin O'Brien (0), and Gary Wilson (2) all falling in single figures.
The game is an uncapped 12 a side fixture, which means John Mooney remains on 99 caps for Ireland. Ireland left out Nigel Jones and Albert van der Merwe from their side, while Boyd Rankin is currently at a fast bowling camp in India. George Dockrell didn't feature in the batting, but is included in the bowling XI.
Ireland are next in action on Tuesday when they play Kenya, while Zimbabwe face The Netherlands the following day.
Ireland and Zimbabwe meet again in Nagpur on February 15th in an official warm-up match ahead of the World Cup proper.
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