Ireland tour of Zimbabwe delayed due to Covid-19

Ireland Three ODI and Three T20I tour of Zimbabwe delayed due to Covid-19

Zimbabwe Cricket officials have advised Cricket Ireland that the upcoming men’s tour is not possible at this stage due to the country’s COVID-19 situation.

The Ireland Men’s squad was due to fly to Harare on 28 March 2021 and play a three-match T20 International series, and a three-match one-day international series in April.

 Both the Cricket Board have agreed to reschedule the tour for a later date

The postponed ODIs against Zimbabwe were not part of the ICC World Cup Super League – those fixtures against Zimbabwe are scheduled to be played in Ireland this summer.

Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said-

We’re obviously disappointed, but to be honest, it is not an unexpected announcement from our Zimbabwean counterparts,” Holdsworth said. “We appreciate their efforts and willingness to try and make the tour possible, but in the end, the health and safety of players and support staff must be of primary consideration.

“We’ll now look at whether alternate fixtures can be arranged during that period, which is a crucial window in advance of a busy home season and in a T20 World Cup year.”

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Ireland recently toured the UAE, where they drew the ODI series against the hosts 1-1 before suffering a 3-0 whitewash in the format against Afghanistan.

Aside from the home series against Zimbabwe, they are also due to host South Africa in the summer, in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

Ireland’s full summer schedule is set to be released in April.