This is proper cricket
Balbirnie, Tucker and the bowlers all combine to put Ireland into a dominant position on day three
End of day three
Ireland 260 & 298
Zimbabwe 267 and 38-3
Ireland need seven wickets to win.
Barring disaster, Ireland are on the cusp of a third Test victory in a row. With Zimbabwe needing another 254 runs, a strong evening session with the ball leaves Andrew Balbirnie’s side needing just seven more wickets on day four to win.
Balbirnie himself added a half-century this morning, alongside Lorcan Tucker’s counter-attacking 50, to give Ireland a lead nearing 300.
Zimbabwe’s brittle batting line-up was always going struggle chasing such a total, given the historical difficulty of chasing at Bulawayo. So it proved, as Ireland’s new ball prowess coupled with some spin guile leaves them as rightful favourites.
Here are the day three talking points.
Trustworthy Tucker
It’s time to start marvelling at Lorcan Tucker’s red ball record. Yes, he’s only played seven Tests, but he now has the fifth highest average for wicketkeeper batters.
Ever.
After a first innings effort of 33 off 28 balls, Tucker followed that up on day three with 58 off 95. He came in during a tricky period with Zimbabwe’s spinners starting to apply pressure. He counter-attacked with a series of sweeps over mid-wicket, picking the perfect time for aggression when the line ensured he couldn’t be dismissed bowled or LBW.
When Zimbabwe brought back on their fast bowlers, in response to Tucker and Paul Stirling’s counter, Ireland’s ‘keeper started pulling them over mid-wicket. Traditionally, pulls and sweeps are not considered aesthetically pleasing shots. But I would gladly watch Tucker’s versions all day. There is a languid beauty, an effortless quality to his leg side play.
Could he have marshalled the tail slightly better, farming the strike more to bring Ireland past 300? Maybe. But his efforts with the bat in this Test have been significant.
He now averages 37 against Zimbabwe, below only his one-game averages of 73 and 72.5 against Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively. Having played seven Tests against five different countries, Tucker’s lowest average against a single opponent is 31.
This sample size is too small get overly excited, but the point is he has now had success across the world. With no consistent First Class cricket.
He’s done it on spinning pitches in Bangladesh, flat tracks in Galle and Lord’s, seamers in the UAE and now Zimbabwe’s unique bounce and spin combination in Bulawayo.
Gone too is the frantic, Duracell bunny after two cans of monster energy which hampered him in Lord’s back in 2023. Tucker is aggressive but still feels like he is batting in third gear. He looks close to mastering his red ball batting rhythm.
Ireland are all the better for it.
Cricket at its best
Finally, taking in an Irish batting display resembles watching real Test match cricket.
I remember the first time I watched a semi-decent standard of multi-day cricket. It seemed remarkable how, without the pressure of scoring quickly from ball one, good players atop the order always seemed to make somewhat of a contribution. Getting out for 20 was a failure, but they were still out there for at least half an hour, safeguarding against collapses which can quickly lose you a game.
We saw one such passage on day one when Ireland were reduced to 31-5. In their second innings, Ireland avoided such a disaster.
No one scored a daddy hundred which would have put this game beyond doubt. Andrew Balbirnie (66) was the only other batter alongside Tucker (58) to pass 50 in Ireland’s second innings. But everyone contributed.
After PJ Moor departed for 30 last night, Curtis Campher nicked one this morning which wasn’t there to drive while on 39. Harry Tector reached 17 before a howler of an LBW decision - the leg-spinner pitched it on leg stump, it didn’t spin enough to not be sliding down leg but still the finger went up. Paul Stirling was caught behind for a counterattacking 21.
Until Ireland play consistent domestic red ball games, daddy hundreds will be the exception that proves the rule. Death by a thousand cuts, contributions from the whole order will be the method of scratching out Test match victories.
Still, having a top order all capable of contributing some innings of note made Ireland feel a proper Test team. Balbirnie only hit two boundaries in his 66. His strike-rate of 41 might suggest it was a dour, old fashioned knock. Sod that. Grind them into the dirt.
His fashion choices helped. Batting against spin with a wide-brim floppy, in true Richie Richardson style, only added to the allure.
Zimbabwe even sent in a nightwatchman in the evening session. This after Matthew Humphreys trapped Nick Welch LBW, throwing in the Stuart Broad celebration appeal for good measure.
This must be what it feels like to watch proper cricket. Shame the broadcast farce meant most people missed it.
March to victory
Alongside that Humphreys scalp, which came via an arm ball, Ireland took two other with wickets before stumps. Barry McCarthy nicked off Ben Curran (again), while Mark Adair bowled Takudzwanashe Kaitano with an off-cutter. Zimbabwe still need another 254 runs with a weak middle order to come.
Tomorrow may not be a procession, but something will have to go horrendously wrong for Ireland to not wrap up a third consecutive Test victory.
No matter what your technological illiteracy, find a VPN and set it to India, then give FanCode a few cent/pence so you can tune in. Failing that, bite the bullet and deposit a few quid in a Bet365 account (I can’t believe that sentence came out of my mouth).
All indications are Ireland’s planned home Test with Afghanistan won’t happen this summer. The next red ball games are away in Bangladesh next winter.
We don’t know when Ireland will be in a realistic position to win a Test match again. Get up early on Sunday, find a way of tuning in and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling.
It might be a while before we get this chance again.