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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

FORMER Zimbabwe international PJ Moor is set to become the next player after Gary Ballance to feature in Test cricket for two countries after he was named in the Ireland Test squad to face Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in April.

Moor, who was capped 78 times by Zimbabwe, including eight Tests, 49 ODIs and 21 T20Is, is likely to play a part in the longest version during the Irish team’s first ever multi-format tour of both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The wicketkeeper/batsman rejected a central contract extension from Zimbabwe Cricket two years ago, amid growing frustrations after he had been overlooked by selectors for over a year and half.

The 32-year-old Harare-born cricketer has been pushing for a switch to Ireland since he also holds an Irish passport and was last year selected in an Ireland Development XI to play a four-day game against Gloucestershire 2nd XI.

PJ Moor was overlooked for last month’s whiteball series in Zimbabwe. Ireland coach Heinrich Malan believes PJ Moor’s experience will be key for his side in the longest version of the game.

Interestingly, his last match for Zimbabwe was in Bangladesh in November 2018 where he made his highest Test score of 83 runs.

“He’s played a bit of Test cricket in Bangladesh and gives us some experience in that middle order. He brings that to the party.

“It’s nice to have someone in the wings that could come in with a bit of experience, with relevant information on what it’s like to just bolster that experience side of things as well.

“He will be one of those 10 guys, which I mentioned earlier, that haven’t played for Ireland yet.

“He has played international cricket and it’s nice to have someone with that calibre in and around our environment,” said Malan.

The rock-solid batsman, who has previously played club cricket in Ireland for YMCA in Dublin and CIYMS in Belfast, recently turned out for Mountaineers in Zimbabwe’s Logan Cup first class cricket competition.

PJ Moor joined the Munster Reds in 2021 after turning down a central contract for Zimbabwe cricket. He has also captained Munster Reds on their way to their first Irish Inter-Provincial Cup title last year.

Moor set a new record in the tournament. His 152 runs against Leinster Lightning became the highest individual score in the Inter-Provincial Cup history as he eclipsed the previous record which was set by Simi Singh’s 136 back in 2016.

In June 2022, PJ Moor was selected in an Ireland Development XI to play a four-day game against Gloucestershire 2nd XI.

And now he has made the Test squad for the first time.

PJ Moor’s last international match came in October 2019 when he featured in a T20 International match between Zimbabwe and Singapore.

Malan confirmed that PJ Moor could make his debut when Ireland play their first ever Tests against Bangladesh from April 4-8 and then Sri Lanka from April 18-22.

“Ten of the 15 players that are part of those two Test squads have not played test cricket, so potentially we have 10 players that could debut,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean it’s the first time they play for Ireland, but it’s the first time they could play test cricket.

“Look, at one end it’s an exciting challenge, but at the other end it’s a pretty daunting challenge thinking we haven’t played a lot of red ball cricket.

“It’s a case of looking at the players that have been playing consistent cricket over periods of time and then trying to marry that up with the conditions that we’re trying to go to.

“We’ve got a couple of guys in there that haven’t necessarily played a lot of cricket, but we see the skill set that we’re looking for and we’ve got the opportunity to go and test it out and see what they can give us in the long run.”

Zimbabwe’s Ballance is the most recent player to feature for two nations in Test cricket after he made his debut against the West Indies in Bulawayo last weekend.

Ballance was the 16th player to do so.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe all-rounder Tony Munyonga is set to return to the United Kingdom to play club cricket after he was unveiled by the Mote Cricket Club as their first overseas signing.

Munyonga, who was part of the Zimbabwe national team at the recent ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, has played six One Day Internationals for Zimbabwe and 13 T20Is.

The Mote Cricket Club, who are based in Maidstone in the English county of Kent, was excited by the signing of the all-rounder, who is currently playing for Mountaineers in the domestic Logan Cup first class cricket competition.

“The Mote CC would like to welcome Tony Munyonga to the club as our overseas player for 2023. Tony, 24, has played ODIs and T20I’s for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh, Australia and Ireland over the last year. This is in addition to a first class career that commenced in 2017,” the club said in a statement.

The 24-year-old’s cricket career started in November 2017, when he made his first-class debut for the Rising Stars in the Logan Cup competition.

In February 2018, he made his List A debut in Rising Star’s victorious Pro50 Championship campaign — Munyonga was named “Player of the Series”.

In April 2019, he was named in Zimbabwe’s ODI squad for their series against the United Arab Emirates, but he didn’t feature.

Instead, he headed to the UK where he played for Rockingham Colliery in the strong South Yorkshire Cricket League (Championship Division).

He produced excellent returns, striking 734 runs at 43.18 and taking 31 wickets at 18.30.

The all-rounder returned to Rockingham for a second stint in 2021 and once again impressed (594 runs at 28.29 and 33 wickets at 19.88).

After his two-season stint with Rockingham, the Zimbabwean all-rounder was set to embark on a new opportunity in 2022 having signed with Astwood Bank for their Worcestershire League campaign, only for ZC to select him for national commitments.

Given he was unable to travel to the UK in 2022, he is eager to play a full club season in 2023, fresh from playing for his country in Australia at the T20 World Cup.