Ireland Announces Squad for Historic Test Match Against Zimbabwe

Dublin [Ireland], July 17: Ireland’s national men’s selector, Andrew White, confirmed a 14-member squad for the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe in a press conference on Wednesday. The squad includes familiar faces, with spinners Matthew Humphreys and Gavin Hoey being key additions.

White mentioned, “Humphreys made his Test debut in Sri Lanka and found it challenging against good players of spin in the subcontinent. He went through a period of loss of form and confidence but has worked hard to come back.”

He added, “Hoey is a talented leg spinner, and his ability to spin the ball both ways gives us a strong wicket-taking option. He has been on the radar for a while and can play across all three formats.”

Earlier this year, in March, Ireland made history by recording their maiden victory in the longest format since achieving full Test status, beating Afghanistan in the UAE by six wickets. This upcoming match will be the first-ever Test hosted in Northern Ireland and their second home Test in nearly seven years. It will be played at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Stormont, Belfast, from July 25 to 29.

White stated, “On the back of our first victory [against Afghanistan], we are definitely looking to back that up with another win. We are not looking to just pick a squad that will compete, we are looking at a squad that can actually win the Test match – by taking 20 wickets and scoring the runs that we need to score, arguably in the first innings to set up the victory.”

Ireland Test Squad:

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, PJ Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, and Craig Young.