Ireland Cricket on Wednesday announced the squad for their first-ever Test against Zimbabwe which is set to be played at Stormont in Belfast from July 25 to 29.
With the familiar faces of Andrew Balbirnie, Mark Adair and others, Matthew Humphreys and Gavin Hoey are also included in the squad to play the match against Zimbabwe.
“Humphreys made his Test debut in Sri Lanka and found the going difficult against good players of spin out in the subcontinent. He'd admit himself that he went through a period of a loss of form and maybe a loss of confidence, but he's worked extremely hard to come back into the reckoning," Ireland’s National Men’s Selector Andrew White said.
“Hoey is a talented leg spinner, and his ability to spin the ball both ways gives us a strong wicket-taking option. Again, he’s a player that's been on the radar for a while and can play across all three formats."
Earlier in March 2024, Ireland recorded their name in the history books by registering first-ever win in red-ball cricket since achieving full Test status as they defeated Afghanistan in UAE by six wickets.
This will be the first time a Test match will be held in Northern Ireland and just their second home red-ball match in about seven years.
“On the back of our first victory [against Afghanistan], we’re definitely looking to back that up with another win," White added.
"We're not looking to just pick a squad that will compete, we're 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."
Squads
Ireland: 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, Craig Young
Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Joylord Gumbie, Roy Kaia, Clive Madande, Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams
