Clive Madande, Brian Bennett and Johnathan Campbell, who are all part of the ongoing T20I series against India, are the new faces in Zimbabwe’s Test squad, which was named earlier today for the one-off fixture against Ireland later this month. Joylord Gumbie, who is yet to be capped in the format, is also in the squad of 15.
Zimbabwe, who last played a Test match back in February 2023, in Bulawayo against West Indies, and are not a part of the ICC’s World Test Championship, will travel to Ireland for the first Test between the two countries, with the match slotted for July 25 to 29. The game will be played in Belfast.
Leading them will be Craig Ervine, and making a comeback after missing that series against West Indies because of an injury is Sean Williams, who Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said would “provide the team with the much-needed experience” along with Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Victor Nyauchi and Richard Ngarava. The last three are currently playing the T20I series against India, which Ervine has missed, with ZC saying Williams and he had not been considered for selection.
Of the new faces, Bennett and Campbell have only played T20Is so far, while Madande has appeared in both ODIs and T20Is.
Ervine, with 20 Test appearances over the years, and Williams, with 14, are the most experienced Test players in the travelling party, and while Zimbabwe don’t have a lot of pedigree in the format, their opponents have only played eight Tests since playing their first Test in May 2018. They lost their first seven Tests before getting their first win when they beat Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
Ireland were expected to host Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is too, and while there is no word on whether those are still part of the plan or not, fund-related issues for Cricket Ireland have meant a cut in the number of home fixtures this summer.
When Zimbabwe last played Test cricket, their squad had Gary Ballance, in what became his farewell appearance after he had switched from England to Zimbabwe. The players who were part of that two-Test series but aren’t in the mix now are Chamu Chibhabha, Innocent Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Milton Shumba, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brad Evans, Brandon Mavuta, Kudzai Maunze and Donald Tiripano.
Zimbabwe squad for one-off Test in Ireland
Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Joylord Gumbie (wk), Roy Kaia, Clive Madande (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams
