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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

IRELAND did not waste time after arriving in Zimbabwe on Sunday as they began training at Harare Sports Club on Monday ahead of their first T20I match against the Chevrons at the same venue on Thursday.

“After arriving in Harare this weekend and hauling all those bags and more to the team hotel, the Ireland Men’s squad begin training today (Monday) ahead of the first T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday,’’ posted Cricket Ireland on Twitter.

The Chevrons have also been training as they prepare to get off the year to a good start with a win over the Irish. The last time the two sides met in a T20I match was at last year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup in Australia where Zimbabwe won the game by 31 runs.

The Chevrons will be missing the services of stalwart Sikandar Raza who was given permission by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to play franchise cricket in Bangladesh. Former England international, Gary Ballance is however, set to make his debut for the country of his birth.

The T20I matches are scheduled for January 12, 14 and 15 at Harare Sports Club and will start at 1000hrs. The T20I matches will be followed by an ODI series to be played at the same venue. However, changes were made to the second match of the 50-over series, which was moved from Friday 20 January to Saturday 21 January. The move was meant to allow fans to go out on a weekend and enjoy the game. – @brandon_malvin