Zimbabwe edge Ireland by two wickets

Hola! Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the first One-Day worldwide (ODI) between Zimbabwe and Ireland from the Harare Sports Club, Harare.

Ed Joyce (53) and Wilson (70 not out) put on 83 for the fourth wicket but from 137 for three, Ireland lost five wickets for 39 and it needed 23 from 14 balls by No 10 Andy McBrine to get Ireland up to 219 for eight, thanks to 29 off the last two overs.

Ireland reduced Zimbabwe to 171-7 but Raza’s unbeaten knock helped them to victory with an over to spare.

George Dockrell was the best Irish bowler on view, removing the unsafe Sean Williams (24) and skipper Elton Chigumbura (16), but couldn’t dislodge the stubborn Raza. Gary Wilson stood firm, guiding the rest of the batting line-up to the end, top-scoring with an unbeaten 88-ball 70. Together they pinched singles through the smallest of gaps, pushing for every run, and Raza kept Zimbabwe just in front with the odd boundary, bringing up his own fifty in the 46th over.

The first match of the collection has been as keenly contested as these two groups’ earlier encounters have been, and one other potential cracker is about to be performed out on Sunday. The Irish started the series in 10th and Zimbabwe 11th, with the tourists holding a two-point advantage over their rivals.

The home side chose to leave out Brian Chari, who had made his ODI debut in the previous series against Pakistan, and instead handed a debut to left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, who has represented Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup.