Half centuries from Ben Calitz, Gavin Hoey and Mark Adair put Ireland Wolves into a strong position at the end of the first day of their opening four-day game against Zimbabwe A at the Harare Sports Club.

 

The Wolves finished the day on 420 for nine although four batters will be disappointed to have been dismissed between 41 and 51 after Matthew Humphreys won the toss.

 

Calitz is currently the top score with 80, although Gavin Hoey will resume in the morning on 74 not out, just 13 short of his highest first class score. Mark Adair was the other batter to reach 50, from only 37 balls, but was given out lbw by Gareth Morrison immediately afterwards, while Jake Egan, Chris de Freitas and Cade Carmichael were all out in the 40s.

 

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There was no one more disappointed, however, than Stephen Doheny, who was leg before to his first delivery and he held his head in his hands before he left the middle.

 

On paper it would appear to be two evenly matched teams with 21 Zimbabwean and 20 Ireland Test caps on view although the home team is vastly more experienced in red-ball cricket with almost four times the 77 first-class appearances on the Wolves side, with 21 accumulated by Adair alone.

 

The experienced all-rounder was playing his first match of the winter after failing to appear in any of Ireland’s one-day internationals against Namibia because of disciplinary reasons but he was, undoubtedly glad to be back in the thick of the action and wasted no time in getting into his stride.

 

Adair replaced Tim Tector with the score on 153 for four and he hit his fourth ball to the boundary and his sixth and seventh over it, all off the bowling of the most familiar opponent in the Zimbabwe team, Mike Frost who of course has played for Munster Reds. Frost finished the day with the wickets of Carmichael and Liam McCarthy who will form the Wolves pace attack with Adair and Byron McDonough, on his first class debut.

 

In such a pace bowling-heavy 15-man squad, it is Matthew Hollard, Jai Moondra, Reuben Wilson and Jordan Neill who are sitting out this game.

 

The innings of the day was played by Calitz whose 80 came off just 79 balls, although in such an adventurous mood he was always likely to play one big shot too many and, sure enough, he skied off spinner Matthew Campbell to mid-off, going for his eighth six to go with four other boundaries.

 

Gavin Hoey has been much more patient and watchful and has already faced 124 balls (eight fours and a six) in his excellent innings and certainly deserves a career-best for his efforts.

 

But it will be the bowlers under the microscope for the first time on day 2.