Toss Ireland chose to bowl vs Zimbabwe
Craig Ervine was satisfied despite losing the toss, saying he wanted to bat first anyway, having noted that scores have proved difficult to chase down so far. Dew as the evenings progresses may also become a factor, but perhaps not as much as spin; Preston Mommsen is expecting offspinner Sikandar Raza to be particularly effective. Zimbabwe also have the offspin of Wessly Madhevere, the left-arm spin of Sean Williams and the legspin of Ryan Burl to call on.
Ireland’s slower bowling will be headlined by offspinner Simi Singh but they will also challenge Zimbabwe with their quicks. Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy and Josh Little, who finished as the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the Hundred, have all been named in the XI.
Ireland missed out on the Super 12s at last year’s T20 World Cup and beat only Netherlands, losing to Sri Lanka and Namibia. None of those sides are in their group in this time around.
Ireland: 1 Andy Balbirnie (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Simi Singh, 10 Barry McCarthy, 11 Josh Little
Zimbabwe: 1 Regis Chakabva (wk), 2 Craig Ervine (capt), 3 Wessly Madhevere, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Milton Shumba, 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Luke Jongwe, 9 Tendai Chatara , 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing Muzarabani