The ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 is to be played across four venues in Harare, Zimbabwe from November 21 to December 5.

The tournament gets off with a set of warm-up matches on November 19 before the preliminary league takes place.

The 10 competing teams will be split into two groups of five for the preliminary league, with Ed Joyce’s girls in green placed in Group A alongside the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the West Indies.

There is no knockout stage in the competition, with the preliminary league, consisting of five teams each in two groups, followed by a Super Six stage to decide the final positions at the end of 29 matches.

Ireland’s match against the Netherlands will take place on the opening day of the qualifiers at Takashinga Cricket Club alongside three other matches.

Pakistan and Bangladesh feature in a highly anticipated match at the Old Hararians Club while Thailand and Zimbabwe face-off at Harare Sports Club and a second Group A clash of the day is played between West Indies and Papua New Guinea at Sunrise Cricket Club.

The Zimbabwe tournament is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April.

The three qualifiers will join five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand.

These three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams.

All fixtures are day matches starting at 9:30 am local time, or 11:30 am GMT.

Groupings

Ireland ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 fixtures

Warm-up match

Friday, November 19 – Pakistan v Ireland

Qualifiers

Sunday, November 21 – Ireland v Netherlands – 11:30 am

Tuesday, November 23 – West Indies v Ireland – 11:30 am

Thursday, November 25 – Ireland v Sri Lanka – 11:30 am

Saturday, November 27 – Ireland v Papua New Guinea – 11:30 am

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Hunter scored an unbeaten 121 in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare to become the youngest player, male or female, to score a one-day international century on her 16th birthday.

She did so on the day captain Laura Delany and wicketkeeper Mary Waldron played in their respective 150th international match for Ireland across all formats.

The youngest male batter was Shahid Afridi who scored 102 against Sri Lanka aged 16 and 217 days.

The youngest woman previous to Hunter was Mithali Raj with 114 not out against Ireland aged 16 and 205 days.

The score of 121 came from 127 balls and included eight fours as Ireland powered to a 3-1 series win on Monday.

The youngster’s century helped to propel Ireland to 312/3 at the end of their 50 overs – their highest-ever ODI team score.

Gaby Lewis hit her third half-century of the series to complement Hunter’s 121 and put Ireland in their strongest-ever position.

Lewis had opened for 40 with Leah Paul before Hunter came in alongside her – Hunter and Lewis scored 104 between themselves.

Delany came on in place of Lewis and Hunter and her improved upon the previous partnership with their 142-run third-wicket, which came off just 115 balls.

Zimbabwe could not chase it down and never looked like doing so regardless of the efforts of Ashley Ndiraya and Josephine Nkomo, who posted a 96-run partnership.

The Zimbabweans gave up their first wicket in the second over after only two runs asthe form of Irish bowlers impressed.

Jane Maguire (1-24), Cara Murray (1-33) and Celeste Raack (1-24) made key breakthroughs, while Delany (2-32) and Sophie MacMahon (2-44) ensured the Zimbabwe batters found it hard to score freely.

The hosts ended their time at-bat on 227-8 as Ireland cruised to an 85-run win over them, taking the series with them.

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Ireland played a much-improved game compared to their previous match as Leah Paul and Gaby Lewis combined for a century to begin proceedings.

Zimbabwe’s target of 286 was too much for the side in their second competitive ODI as they tasted defeat in the format for the first time, losing by 80 runs.

Josephine Nkomo stood out for the hosts with an unbeaten 70 being the highlight of their batting.

Paul and Lewis gave the Irish side 135 runs before their first wicket came – Lewis was bowled out by Nkomo in the 25th over, giving the partnership a run rate of five per over.

Their performances were much better than the first test when the Irish opening partnership was much less successful, only managing 28 runs in 8.2 overs before Paul walked.

Replacement Amy Hunter was gone just moments later but Ireland did not drop a third wicket until they had passed the 200-run mark.

Paul was the fourth to fall, walking after her 95 runs from 118 balls helped the side to 219 overall with less than ten runs to go.

Ireland finished their 50 overs of batting with 286/7 to their name.

Zimbabwe could only manage to get 21 runs from their opening duo before their first batter was removed and already had five out by the end of the 25th over.

Josephine Nkomo’s 70 from 86 balls helped the side pass 200 but lacklustre numbers put up by everyone else in the squad meant it was not enough.

Captain Mary-Anne Musonda, who had scored an unbeaten ton to lead her side to victory on Tuesday, managed a measly four runs from 17 balls.

The two teams are now level in the series with two more games to go, with the final two fixtures set to be played on Saturday, October 9 and Monday, October 11.

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Ed Joyce’s side will look to get their first win of the series after Zimbabwe emerged victorious from the first test, winning by four wickets.

Zimbabwean captain Mary-Anne Musonda scored 103 runs for her side to help them chase down Ireland’s target of 253, becoming the first woman from the country to score a century for her national team.

The captain formed healthy partnerships throughout the 50 overs and her teammates contributed positively to the chase, with Precious Marange and Josephine Nkomo posting 27 and 25 runs each during their spells at-bat.

This came after two early wickets had spelled danger for the Zimbabweans, as the Irish held them to 25/2 after just 5.2 overs.

Ireland failed to get going until it was too late when they were at-bat in the morning, racking up a rate of just 3.5 runs per over after 28 overs.

The Irish opening partnership of Leah Paul and Gaby Lewis lasted longer than the Zimbabwean’s starting duo but were much less successful as they only managed 28 runs in 8.2 overs before Paul walked.

Lewis only managed 24 runs off 51 balls before she received her marching orders when Marange removed her, having separated the opening partnership earlier.

Laura Delany was the standout for Ireland on a slow day – the captain racked up 86 in a strong push to reach 253 but she became the side’s sixth wicket in the 46th over.

Ireland added 33 more runs after Delaney’s exit to finish on 253 after 50 overs, having given up eight wickets in the process.

Ireland failed to bowl out the hosts who reached their target in the middle of the 43rd over with four wickets to spare.

Squads

Zimbabwe: Mary-Anne Musonda (C), Ashley Day, Chiedza Dhururu, Precious Marange, Esther Mbofana, Pellagia Mujaji, Modester Mupachikwa, Josephine Nkomo, Loryn Phiri, Nomvelo Sibanda, Loreen Tshuma.

Ireland: Laura Delany (C), Georgina Dempsey, Amy Hunter, Shauna Kavanagh, Gaby Lewis, Sophie McMahon, Cara Murray, Leah Paul, Orla Prendergast, Celeste Raack, Rebecca Stokell

Match Info

The match will get underway at 7:30 am GMT and will be played Harare Sports Club in the Zimbabwean capital of the same name. Zimbabwe Cricket is expected to show the game live on YouTube.

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Zimbabwe chased down the target of 253 that Ireland had built up and scored 254 runs with 37 balls to spare to take the lead in the four-game series.

The hosts’ captain, Mary-Anne Musonda, scored a century to lead her side to victory in the country’s capital of Harare, going unbeaten in the process.

With her final score of 103, Musonda became Zimbabwe’s first-ever woman centurion, capping off a historic day with another milestone for the home side to celebrate.

The captain formed healthy partnerships throughout the 50 overs and her teammates contributed positively to the chase, with Precious Marange and Josephine Nkomo posting 27 and 25 runs each during their spells at-bat.

This came after two early wickets had spelled danger for the Zimbabweans, as the Irish held them to 25/2 after just 5.2 overs.

The Irish opening partnership of Leah Paul and Gaby Lewis lasted longer but were much less successful as they only managed 28 runs in 8.2 overs before Paul walked.

Lewis only managed 24 runs off 51 balls before she received her marching orders when Marange removed her, having separated the opening partnership earlier.

Laura Delany was the standout for Ireland on a slow day – the captain racked up 86 in a strong push to reach 253 after the side had managed a run rate of only 3.5 per over in the first 28.

She fell with only several overs to go and two more wickets followed after hers before the 50 overs came to a close.

Ireland failed to bowl out the hosts who reached their target in the middle of the 43rd over with four wickets to spare.

The two teams will play the second ODI in the four-match series on Thursday, September 7, with the game set to begin at 6 am BST.

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Their seven-wicket victory was helped on by the ever-reliable batsman Paul Stirling and captain Andrew Balbirnie, who scored 77 runs altogether and fired their side to victory.

Stormont could not escape the rain once again but it did not halt proceedings for the second game running, allowing Ireland to ease to victory in the final game of the series.

However, the match saw the total amount of overs reduced from 50 per team to 34 for Zimbabwe’s batting and Ireland had to chase their adjusted total of 118 in 32 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

The visitor’s had scored 131 in their overs, a total that was led by talisman Craig Ervine who hit 57 on the day teammate Brendan Taylor played his final game.

Taylor scored seven runs for his side as he brought an end to a 17-year international career with the side.

However, Ireland’s bowling led to wickets and Andy McBrine and Josh Little could only muster up a combined six runs in 59 balls.

The Zimbabweans ended their attack with 131 runs to their name, further reduced to 118 and the host’s made light work of their target.

The home side were almost at the half-century before their first wicket of the day came in the form of William Porterfield, whose 18 runs put Ireland on 48 alongside Stirling’s opening 30.

Captain Balbirnie helped his side home and steered Ireland into fourth on the Super League table on 50 points after the series.

Ireland’s focus will now turn to the T20 World Cup in October, with no ODI play scheduled until an away series against West Indies in January 2022.

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The series is part of the 2020-23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – an ODI league where teams play three-game series’ against each other.

Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza both reached half-centuries as the visitors built up a total of 266/7 while Zimbabwe’s bowling kept Ireland at bay.

Ervine hit his second half-century in as many games for the Zimbabwean national team after putting up an unbeaten score against Ireland in the final game of the nations’ T20I series.

The left-handed 36-year-old scored the most runs for his team but failed to go unbeaten as Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie got his wicket after 96 runs.

Sikandar Raza took the tempo up a notch when he stepped in, posting an unbeaten 59 from 44 balls to give Zimbabwe a strong finish to their 50 overs.

Ireland started their chase strongly but lost the wicket of Paul Stirling for 32 runs after himself and William Porterfield got Ireland up to 64 runs.

Porterfield fought on as Harry Tector replaced Stirling and gave Graham Ford’s side a second strong partnership in the opening half of their batting.

However, Porterfield was dismissed after 75 runs in 110 balls and the loss of the starter signalled the beginning of a collapse.

Tector kept his cool and managed an impressive 50 from 55 balls before falling victim to the Zimbabwean bowling.

Ireland were in a strong position at 187/3 but a measly 41 runs from the rest of their batsmen handed the opening match to Zimbabwe and gave the side their first ODI win in 10 months.

Lalchand Rajput’s men take an important lead that means Ireland will have to play catch-up for the rest of the series.

Zimbabwe have also won 10 valuable points in the 2020-23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League – another win will put them five points behind Ireland with six games-in-hand.

Ireland will look to get level in the series on Friday morning when the two sides play the second ODI.

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Zimbabwe took the fifth and final test in the final game of a series that was already decided to soften the blow of the setback.

Craig Ervine scored 67 for his side, achieving his third T20I half-century in an unbeaten fashion, to help Zimbabwe to their second triumph of the T20 games against Ireland.

However, the side started slowly with three batters being dismissed for single-digit scores – Mark Adair had another fruitful opener, taking two of the other and keeping Zimbabwe’s first batter, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, scoreless.

Ervine and Wesley Madhevere steadied things for the Zimbabweans after their 3/2 start and got 31 runs between them before the latter fell to Josh Little.

Ervine stepped up to the plate and achieved his unbeaten 67 with the support of Dion Myers and Milton Shumba, who added 40 between them to propel their side to 124/4 at the end of their 20 overs.

Myers became Adair’s third and final wicket of the day after scoring 26 runs in 23 balls.

Ireland failed to get going in the first six overs with Kevin O’Brien, captain Andy Balbirnie, Player of the Series Paul Stirling and Harry Tector all walking inside six overs.

Despite his early exit, Stirling finished the game as Ireland’s second-highest scorer with 19 runs from 13 balls.

The man ahead of him on the scoring charts, Neil Rock, got Ireland 22 runs off 21 balls but the side allowed too many wickets.

Luke Jongwe and Donald Tiripano picked up three wickets each as they bowled Ireland out for 119 in 20 overs.

The two sides will face each other three more times this month in the form of One Day Internationals beginning on Wednesday, September 8.

However, the next T20I action for Ireland will be at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in October – their first fixture is a match against the Netherlands on October 18.

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Paul Stirling’s first century in T20 international cricket came at a good time with his 115 pushing Ireland to victory against their visiting opponents.

The Belfast native took centre stage on a day when the second test’s Player of the Match, Kevin O’Brien failed to get up to speed.

Zimbabwe failed to muster a significant reply and they were dismissed for 138 in 18.2 overs.

The hosts rotated their side after their first win of the series in the previous test, making three changes in the form of Mark Adair, Joshua Little and debutant William McClintock who came in for Craig Young, Barry McCarthy and Harry Tector.

Ireland batted first but managed only 33 runs in the Powerplay, losing the wicket of O’Brien in the process.

Stirling, who opened with O’Brien, grew into the game and combined with captain Andrew Balbirnie to put up a 77-run stand.

Stirling reached a half-century for the 19th time in T20I cricket and continued his hot form when Balbirnie went out in the 16th over.

The 30-year-old reached his first century at this level after three sixes and a four in the 19th over against Tendai Chatara and went unbeaten on 115.

Ireland had turned their fortunes around from 60/1 at the halfway stage to 178/2 by the time they completed their overs.

Their bowlers stepped up to produce a tough challenge for the Zimbabwean batsmen, with Mark Adair being the pick of the bunch on his return to the side, posting 3-11.

The aggressive approach from the visitors did not pay off as captain Craig Ervine was the only player to score above 14 runs, putting 33 up for his side.

Ryan Burl managed to score 26 runs from 23 balls but the challenge of scoring 75 in the final 41 balls proved insurmountable and Zimbabwe were bowled out for 138.

Ireland will have the chance to wrap up the series on Thursday, September 2 at 3 pm when the two teams face off at Bready once again.

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