|| CF DESK ||

Cricket Ireland has announced a new schedule for the eight-game series between Ireland and Zimbabwe after being delayed because of Covid-19 quarantine requirements.

Ireland Cricket stated in a media release that the tour will now begin with a five-match T20I series, as opposed to the previous itinerary, which saw the tour begin with a three-match ODI series.

"There has been a great deal of behind-the-scenes work on pulling together a revised playing programme since the earlier series postponement, but thanks to the support of Provincial Unions and various hosting clubs, we have managed to create a schedule that meets the evolving requirements of health and sporting authorities, while ensuring we can still host these extremely important matches within the available window," Ireland's High-Performance cricket director Richard Holdsworth said in the statement.

There are also changes in venues for the upcoming series. The first two T20Is will now be played at Clontarf, while the final three will be played at Bready, which was actually planned to host only the first two T20Is.

The One-Day Internationals (ODIs), which are part of the World Cup Super League, will all be contested in Stormont.

The series will now start with five T20 fixtures from 27 August to 4 September, followed by three ODIs at Stormont on 8, 10 and 13 September.

T20I series:

27 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe - 1st T20I (Clontarf, start 12:00 BST)

29 August: Ireland v Zimbabwe - 2nd T20I (Clontarf, 12:00 BST)

1 September: Ireland v Zimbabwe - 3rd T20I (Bready, 15:00 BST)

2 September: Ireland v Zimbabwe - 4th T20I (Bready, 15:00 BST)

4 September: Ireland v Zimbabwe - 5th T20I (Bready, 15:00 BST)

ODI series: