Niall O'Brien
Niall O'Brien needs to star with the bat if Ireland hope to seal a victory over Zimbabwe. [Getty]

Ireland will take on Zimbabwe in a Group B clash of the 2015 ICC World Cup at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Saturday.

Where to Watch Live

The match starts at 3.30am GMT. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD. Click here for the live streaming link.

Overview

Ireland come into this fixture after suffering a 201-run defeat to South Africa. Centuries from Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis helped the African nation post a total of 411 runs. Ireland were bowled out for 210.

It was the William Porterfield-led side's first defeat of the World Cup. They have four points after three games and share the same number of points with third placed West Indies and fourth placed Pakistan.

The net run rate separates the three teams and a win for Ireland will help them move to third position in the group table.

Sean Williams
Sean Williams of Zimbabwe plays a shot during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match against UAE. Getty

Zimbabwe come into this fixture after losing their last fixture by a narrow margin of 20 runs against Pakistan. Misbah-ul-Haq's side managed 235 runs and in reply, Zimbabwe were bowled out in the final over of the match.

The African side will be without the services of their skipper Elton Chigumbura as he is out of action with a grade three tear to the quadriceps muscle in his left leg. The incident took place during their clash against Pakistan. He is likely to be replaced by Tafadzwa Kamungozi.

Prediction

Ireland to win

Betting Odds (888Sport.com)

  • Ireland to win: 3
  • Zimbabwe to win: 1/4

Team News

Ireland

Possible XI: Williams Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien, Andy Balbirnie, Gary Wilson (wk), Kevin O'Brien, John Mooney, Alex Cusack, Max Sorenson, George Dockrell

Zimbabwe

Possible XI: Sikandar Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor (c & wk), Sean Williams, Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Tafadzwa Kamungozi

Zimbabwe World cup