Why could we not watch an Ireland Test match?
Day one roundup as Andy McBrine and Mark Adair lead fightback against Zimbabwe
End of Day 1
Ireland: 260 all out
Zimbabwe: 72-1, trail by 188
An Irish Test match started today, only no broadcaster showed it in Ireland. The only ways to watch legally were to deposit a nominal sum into an online gambling account or use a VPN to access a stream sponsored by Hardik Pandya’s sportswear brand.
I don’t need to list the quote about the definition of insanity, but we have been here before.
In 2023, Ireland toured Zimbabwe for a series of white ball games. The initial T20s were not shown by broadcasters in either country. Save the streaming labyrinth, the only way to watch legally was to fly to Harare and buy a ticket.
Surely then, close to 18 months on, ahead of a Test match in Bulawayo, any broadcast issues would be sorted. We all expected Zimbabwe Cricket to find a buyer for the rights in the Irish broadcast market. We all expected Cricket Ireland help their counterparts to do so. We all expected that a YouTube stream would appear should nothing else materialise.
No dice. No Irish broadcaster showed the 10th Test match in the country’s history.
The same sequence of events prior to the 2023 series repeated themselves in recent weeks. All parties involved, including punters who expected better, did the same thing while anticipating a different result. We are all guilty of insanity.
Why, then, was everyone left disappointed? Why was a rare Irish Test match, the first since July and likely the only offering until next winter, not available to fans in Ireland, north and south?
Sadly, bilateral broadcast rights for countries like Zimbabwe and Ireland are next to worthless. As a result, these nations package their home series over a period of a number of years, selling them off to a third-party marketer in one go. The marketer is happy because, more often than not, this package includes the visit of India, a series which guarantees a profit. All the other bilaterals act as bonuses if and when they are sold off. The host nation is happy because this increases the odds of having their less illustrious fixtures on TV. It is now in the interest of a marketing specialist with contacts in the broadcast world to get all games televised.
Both Ireland and Zimbabwe engage in this practice. Zimbabwe, as the host of this Test match, have the initial responsibility for the rights. They have sold their multi-year package to Total Sports Marketing (TSM), a Bangladesh-based company led by CEO Moinul Chowdury. TSM used to also buy up Cricket Ireland’s rights but they no longer work together.
As such, the broadcast rights belong to Chowdury and are his responsibility to do with what he pleases.
The general order of things is that, once a memorandum of understanding for a series is signed between the two nations, the visitors then ask the hosts about broadcasting. In other words, Ireland ask Zimbabwe who will show the games in Ireland, since the broadcast rights belong to the hosts. The MOU was signed around a fortnight ago.
It is understood there was no information on broadcast lists shared until the day before the Test. When it was, no broadcaster for Ireland, NI or ROI, was included.
At this stage, given Zimbabwe had long ago packaged the rights to TSM, who then found a series of broadcasters (predominantly in the Asian market), there wasn’t a whole lot they or CI could do. Attempts were made on all sides to reach TSM, but it appears unlikely that contact was made prior to the Test starting.
In 2023, the broadcast company - a different entity from TSM - did not provide the right kind of stream which was technically suitable for YouTube. CI also did not have the capability to geo-block the games for anyone outside the UK or Ireland, a necessity to preserve the rights paid for by Asian channels. This time around, CI did have that ability. They did not know if the stream was suitable for YouTube, though, because no contact with TSM was established before the start of the Test.
TSM, Cricket Ireland and Zimbabwe Cricket have been approached for comment.
Back in 2023, TSM did state that they contacted CI with a view to helping them secure an Irish broadcaster. They claimed that no help was forthcoming. It was always unlikely that TNT or Premier Sports, the usual suspects for showing away Ireland games, would pay for a Zimbabwe series. This proved to be the case again in 2025, even if this series featured a Test match.
All of which is the current state of play. Given this was the second time this has happened, fans understandably are looking for somewhere to point the finger.
At the time of writing, TSM have made little indication of their willingness to carve out a portion of the rights for the Irish market for free consumption on YouTube. It appears to represent a lack of interest in the desires of the Irish cricket fan. Making the broadcast available for free streaming is unlikely to severely dent TSM’s return on investment.
Cricket Ireland’s hands are tied since the rights belong to the host country. Zimbabwe can’t do anything either since the perilous position of bilateral rights forced them into a situation where they are no longer in control. TSM, holding all the power, are the straightforward target of criticism, given their lack of interest in promoting the game in a smaller market.
That said, Zimbabwe deserve scrutiny for their decision making on who they sell their rights to. Given Ireland women’s tour of Zimbabwe was available on YouTube in Ireland, why could the same not happen for this tour?
CI can justifiably be asked why, given the previous history with Irish broadcasts of matches in Zimbabwe, they only chased this issue a few weeks ago. They can also be asked why they didn’t follow up on their pursuit of a broadcast list when it only came the day before the Test.
Answers to these questions, sadly, are not forthcoming. Everyone misses out. CI finally has an Irish company sponsoring their men’s shirts and their first day out isn’t accessible to their target market. Fans can’t watch a rare Test match, a fact which will do absolutely nothing to increase the format’s popularity, nor will it slow its descent into irrelevance.
Blessing not-so-well disguised
In terms of the actual cricket itself, day one was initially a familiar tale of Irish batting woe. Blessing Muzarabani, Zimbabwe’s opening bowler, was rampant, using his height to extract bounce which troubled the Ireland top order.
PJ Moor, Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling were all bounced out. Curtis Campher dragged on an attempted pull shot off the bowling of Richard Ngarava. There wasn’t a heap of sideways movement, but slight nip away did for Harry Tector when he nicked Muzarabani to slip.
Ireland were 31-5 inside nine overs. Lorcan Tucker counter-attacked, looking arguably as good as he ever has in his short Test career. He took on Muzarabani’s short ball, continuing to cash in when Zimbabwe insisted on digging the ball in with not much boundary protection on the leg side.
His fun was cut short after seven boundaries inside 28 balls brought Ireland’s ‘keeper to 33. He dragged on as Trevor Gwandu got one to nip back just enough. Ireland were 111-6 at lunch.
Trouble.
ScrAdair to the rescue
Or was it? Perhaps we should know better. Ireland’s lower order has bailed them out time and again in multiple formats. None more so than red ball.
Last year, Andy McBrine and Mark Adair were at the crease when Ireland finished off what threatened to be a nervy chase against this same opposition at Stormont. In 2023, the pair combined to save face against England at Lord’s, ensuring Ireland avoided an innings defeat.
With the softer ball no longer zipping through from Muzarabani, and the supporting cast offering little control, ‘Scra’ (McBrine) and Adair cashed in. Zimbabwe bowled short with the field on the leg side up. They bowled outside off with no sweeper or third on the fence. ScrAdair pulled, drove and cut with disdain. Adair brought out his uppercut once again, the shot which cost him a century at Lord’s. This time he had more luck with it. That fortune ran out, though, when he nicked a short, wide delivery from Muzarabani. He departed with 78 to his name.
McBrine held firm but Ireland’s tail didn’t sufficiently wag to guide him to a century. In Lord’s two years ago, James McCollum’s injury ensured McBrine was not out on 86 as Ireland ran out of batters. Today, he was left on 90 at the other end when Ireland lost their 10th wicket. He could be forgiven for wondering what he has to do to earn a Test century.
A more serious point would be to look at just how much Ireland rely on their lower order. A four month break from their last game against South Africa ensured today would always be a difficult new ball task against a rampant Muzarabani. Perhaps it’s lazy to say the top order resembled a group without red ball practice, but sometimes the correct answers are the most simple ones.
Once the ball softened up and Zimbabwe had to rely on men not named Blessing, things stabilised. Still, it has to be a concern that Ireland’s most productive partnership in their Test history is the seventh wicket. Since 2022, Ireland’s opening partnership is averaging a hair over 12, the worst of any Test nation. Lower order runs are necessary when the top order struggles, but they account for too much of Ireland’s total.
As things stand, Lorcan Tucker, Ireland’s number six, is the country’s top scorer in Test matches. McBrine is second. Tucker, McBrine and Adair all have higher Test match batting averages than Balbirnie, Campher, Tector, Stirling and Moor. That has to change.
Long day ahead
Don’t let Ireland’s collapse this morning distract from the fact that this is a very good batting surface. Muzarabani is the only bowler - apart from maybe Ngarava, who was waylaid by stomach cramps at one point - whose height and extra bounce allowed him to extract help from the surface. Anyone lacking that point of difference struggled, given the lack of significant sideways movement.
Barry McCarthy got one delivery to zip off a length and take the edge of Ben Curran, but apart from that Ireland struggled for consistent threat. This isn’t the flattest pitch in the world, but as Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Nick Welch showed in the final session that there are runs out there. Ireland’s total of 260 looks below par.
The conventional wisdom on the ground is that this pitch should get even flatter on day two. Ireland also lack the extra bounce and pace of Muzarabani. It could be a tricky day in the field tomorrow.
Well, there were OB vans there so somebody was watching.