*IRELAND VS OMAN MATCH 4: PREVIEW- ICC WORLDCUP QUALIFIERS 2023*
*THE BUILD UP:*
Two underwhelming outfits with a bulk of potential are set to clash in the fourth game of the ICC Worldcup Qualifiers. It’s Ireland up against Oman as two of the most promising associate allrounders will be battling it out to prove to the world who’s the better bet. I rate Zeeshan Maqsood’s game very highly but with Curtis Campher on the other side of the table, the competition becomes fierce and come tomorrow, we’ll find out who triumphs over the other and makes it count when it matters the most. Andrew Balbirne and co are a promising side with their players having the needed experience and truck loads of talent up their sleeves to challenge even the best of players in the world. Their feat vs England in England on several occasions has made fans attract themselves to the heroics of the likes of Stirling, Tector, Campher etc. With Oman on the receiving end, the Irish will look to start with a blast and send across a powerful message to all others in the competition. Earlier in the warmups, they had a little bit of success having defeated the raw side that the USA are but suffered defeat against a much horned Netherlands who were successfully in bundling them out for a mere 193.
Oman led by Maqsood, their premier all rounder were out of sorts in the warmups, being handed over losses one after the other as teams brushed past them. To add to that, they haven’t experienced these conditions alot having played on the slowish and spin friendly Oman tracks back home. It’s going to be stiff and exciting at the same time for this middle eastern unit but what’s the fun in cricket without these challenges? If they end up producing a miraculous campaign, we may be in for a shocker of a tournament. On that note, let’s take a look at the probable XIs of the two sides.
*IRELAND PROBABLE XI:*
Andy McBrine, Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie(c), Harry Tector, Lokan Tucker(wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Gerath Delaney, Mark Adair, Craig Young/Ben White
Ben White has been in sensational form in the Warmups with a fifer against Netherlands to show for it. He is new to the setup and the team in general but with form, comes a lot of promise and the hope that Ireland make through. Oman in my opinion isn’t going to be any match for the Irish pacers with the surface at hand and the experience of their quicks who will look forward to rattling the stumps of the Omani batters. There’s a possibility that White could start ahead of Craig Young, the right arm medium pacer and this development backing form over reputation could be a make or break factor for Ireland come this game.
I’m excited to watch the trio of Tector-Balbirnie-Stirling bat in these conditions. Though Ireland is more swing friendly, the Zimbabwe tracks produce bounce however the superior game of this trio vs pace can trouble Oman and it’s quicks. To add to that, Tector was at his supreme best with a near 150 score vs USA, bossing around at best and making his presence count. With a disappointing 4(11) in the second game where Ireland lost, he’d look to get back on track against Oman at Bulawayo.
*OMAN PROBABLE XI:*
Aqib Ilyas, Jatinder Singh, Kashyap Prajapati, Zeeshan Maqsood (C), Naseem Khushi (WK), Sandeep Goud, Ayaan Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Bilal Khan, Fayyaz Butt, Kaleemullah
Oman will depend heavily on their trio of Zeeshan Maqsood, Jatinder Singh and Aqib Ilyas in the batting department. Bilal Khan has been a genuine wicket-taker from them and needs to be on top of his game. His returns in the two warmups was ordinary with a two wicket haul vs Zimbabwe going at over 6 an over and going wicketless against Nepal. If these are the signs of what is to come, Oman could be in for huge trouble.
The playing conditions of Bulawayo are expected to be sporting with pleasant weather all around. A high scoring contest isn’t expected with Zeeshan needed to come out good for Oman to even come close to Ireland and their heroics.
*MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE GAME:*
*FOR IRELAND:*
Highest run getter- Harry Tector/Paul Stirling
Highest wicket taker- Mark Adair/Curtis Campher
*FOR OMAN:*
Highest run getter- Zeeshan Maqsood/Aqib Ilyas
Highest wicket taker- Bilal Khan/Fayyaz Butt
*FOR THE GAME:*
Ireland to win.