Ireland’s spin duo limited the damage to under 300 after their seamers were expensive and often bowled too full
50 overs Zimbabwe 266 for 7 (Ervine 64, Raza 59*, Taylor 49, Simi 1-22, McBrine 1-26) vs Ireland
Ervine was in to bat in the fifth over, after Regis Chakabva was caught at second slip off a Craig Young’s outswinger.
Taylor had moved to 24 off 32 balls when he was given out caught behind off Little and reviewed immediately. Replays showed the ball had beaten the bat, and clipped the pad on the way through, as he survived, and drilled the next ball through the covers for four. In the next over, Ireland reviewed an lbw appeal against him. This time Taylor was hit outside the line of off stump and so survived again, hitting the next ball over mid-on for four more. Taylor was well on his way to fifty and beyond, but Swept the first ball he faced from Simi to George Dockrell at deep square leg.
That wicket slowed Zimbabwe down significantly. They only scored one boundary in the next nine overs, as both Myers and Ervine lived dangerously. Myers nearly chopped on off a cut, was almost bowled by a Little delivery that straightened on him, got a leading edge to cover off Simi and was beaten by the spinner before he top-edged McBrine to wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker.
Williams scored his first run off the tenth ball he faced, then hit back-to-back boundaries off Simi – the only fours hit off the offspinner – but found scoring generally tough. Ireland’s spinners kept Zimbabwe quiet in the middle overs with Simi and McBrine bowling in tandem for 16 overs and giving away just 39 runs.
Zimbabwe’s reprieve came once the spinners’ spells ended and Little was brought back after an initial five-over spell in which he leaked 43 runs. Williams edged the first ball of Little’s second spell for four and then drove him straight down the ground for four more confidently. Little eventually got his own back, when he bowled Williams with a cutter that moved back into him as he tried to flick it away.
By that point, Ervine had reached fifty off 83 balls and needed to bat through to give Zimbabwe their best chance of a score in the region of 250. But Ervine was dismissed in the 42nd over, hitting Dockrell straight to cover, and left it to Raza to finish off. Raza’s 59 came in 44 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Zimbabwe scored 83 runs in the 8.4 overs after Ervine was dismissed to set Ireland a challenging total.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent