Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie says his players have "gone back to basics" to take on Zimbabwe's bowling strength ahead of their tour to the African country, which starts with a Test match tomorrow.
It's the second time that Ireland will have played the Zimbabweans in the last seven months, with Balbirnie’s side winning by four wickets in Belfast last July.
Outside of the five-day test in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Ireland will play three T20Is and three one-day internationals, all of which take place in Harare.
Balbirnie, who will not be involved in the T20 series, will be playing in Ireland’s tenth test match since their opening game against Pakistan in Malahide in 2018 and is looking forward to the challenge.
"We kept sharp during the winter by going to the gym and training in North County," said Balbirnie.
"We've done a lot of work in red ball Cricket, and hopefully we can and produce a good result."
"Zimbabwe obviously played two Test matches recently. The first Test was quite a high-scoring game. Second Test was a lot of wickets taken, so we are not really sure what to expect, but I think with the squad we have all bases covered."
Balbirnie has played in all nine of Ireland's Tests to date, two against England, Afghanistan and Ski Lanka and one-off matches against Pakistan Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and retained the red ball captaincy after stepping down from that role in limited overs cricket in 2023.
"I like them all," he said. "I don't have a real favourite. Test cricket's pretty cool, pretty special, but I've had some great days playing in the other formats, so I have no real preference.
"I don't think you ever get too comfortable in Test cricket. It is tough when you play them sporadically and we don't play three or four in a row, but I've always enjoyed playing Test cricket.
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I think the appetite for test cricket is there from our group and from our fans, and I hope in the coming years that there will be many more tests for Ireland."
Balbirnie will also be hoping that the Zimbabwe tour will set up Ireland for a busy year which includes games - though not Test matches - against both England and the West Indies. An as yet unannounced tour to Pakistan in September remains a possibility.
"I don't really at the start of the year set any goals," he said. "I just like to score as many runs as I can and see where that takes me.
"I want to keep improving and keep making sure that I'm contributing to wins for Ireland in whatever format I play."
Zimbabwe have two uncapped players included in their latest Test squad, providing opportunities for 27-year-old leg-spinner Vincent Masekesa and 26-year-old batter Nicholas Welch.
The series kicks off with a one-off Test match tomorrow, 6 February, at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
The ODI series will begin on 14 February, with the subsequent matches scheduled for 16 and 18 February.
The T20I series will start on 22 February, with the second match a day later followed by the final T20I on 25 February.
