Zimbabwe wicket-keeper Clive Madande conceded 42 byes in a Test innings against Ireland on Friday to break an unwanted Test record. 42 of Ireland’s 250 first-innings runs were given away over the curb as byes to surpass a 90-year-old Test record.
He surpassed the previous record held by former England batsman and wicketkeeper Les Ames, who gave away 37 byes in Australia’s total of 327 in a Test at The Oval in 1934.
Interestingly, 42 of Ireland’s 250 runs in the first innings came in extras in reply to Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 210. Ireland won the toss and opted to bowl first. They did a good job of dismissing the visitors for a paltry total.
Incidentally, Madande also made his debut in this Test match and was out for a duck on the first ball. Openers Jaylord Gumbie (49) and Prince Masvaure (74) did most of the scoring for Zimbabwe. The experienced Sean Williams scored 35, which was the third-highest run of the innings. Barry McCarthy and Andy McBrine took three wickets each for Ireland.
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Clive Madande creates an unwanted test record
The Irish team, in response to Zimbabwe’s first innings total, scored 250. Former Zimbabwe wicket-keeper and batsman Peter Moor now plays for Ireland and scored a brilliant 79 off 105 balls for the hosts.
Captain Andrew Balbirnie scored 19. Paul Stirling (22) and Andy McBrine (28) were the other key contributors with the bat. Moor spoke about his batting performance after the day and reflected on his innings.
“It’s good to score runs against Zimbabwe. It’s good to play for both nations, contributing for Ireland for the first time has been a rewarding feeling. I don’t want to make excuses, I’ve been changing a lot of my roles, but I’ve known this role for a while, that change of mindset has helped me. Runs at the back are crucial, any advantage in a low-scoring game is crucial, but if we don’t bowl well early on tomorrow that advantage can quickly disappear,” he said.
For Zimbabwe, Blessing Musarabani and Tanaka Chivanga took three wickets each. Tendai Chatara and Sean Williams also took two each.
At the end of the second day, Zimbabwe were 28 runs unbeaten and still trailed Ireland by 28 runs in the first innings. The visitors have managed to reduce the deficit to 40 runs but need to bat very well on the third day to regain the lead.
The Test match is therefore very well placed heading into the third day, with a win at stake for both teams. Zimbabwe recently played a T20I series against India under the captaincy of Sikandar Raza. They lost the series 4-1. They also failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
Ireland, meanwhile, played in the T20 World Cup but did not perform as expected. They had a winless campaign, losing matches against India, Canada and Pakistan. Their match against the United States was cancelled due to rain.
Ireland are relatively new to Test cricket, having played their first Test match in 2018. They have Test matches against Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. They have a Test series win against Afghanistan under their belt.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have been playing Test cricket since 1992. Despite playing over 100 matches in this format, they have won only 13 Test matches in total.
They have lost almost 75 per cent of their Test matches. Zimbabwe lost their last Test match against West Indies 1-0, while Ireland had lost the away Test series against Bangladesh recently.
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