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Though some major upsets have added a strong shade of sensation in any match between a minnow and veteran, the world cup super 8 match between Ireland and Newzealand was just a hard cruise for black caps and yet another learning experience for the still rookie Irish outfit.

New Zealand’s display with bat wasnt all that smooth and silky. Irish stike bowler Dave Langford-Smith toppled the Kiwis quite superbly and itched them quite regularly throughout the turbulent innings. He toppled Marshall and Styris and didnt allow others to romp the field. Kyle McCallan and Andrew White, the two offspinners, also creamed off two wickets each. New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming struggled for 11 balls and succumbed to Rankin’s delivery, which resulted in a catch to Portfield. McMillan and Jacob Oram also started the ignition, but couldnt put the vehicle in 3rd gear and went out begging. It was Peter Fulton and McCullum who flighted the Kiwi kite high in the air with their sizzling strokes and scintillating sprint. Fulton scored a long due 83 and McCullum’s 47 were as spectacular as anything could be in Guyana. Franklin soured to skies with is brilliant 34 runs in no time.

Ireland’s fledgling yet ambitious batters were looking at the target of 264 with awe and hope. Their openers Porterfield and Bray didnt press anything and fell pray to star striker Bond. Morgan also went cheaply after scoring 15, but O’Brien managed to get a decent 30 score before giving his wicket to Patel. Styris/Marshall joint venture yielded a handsome run of Kevin O’Brien when he was batting at 49. His innings was a silver lining for Irish team.

Rest of the Irish team did nothing special to be mentioned. Daniel Vettori, the veteran star bowler took 4 wickets and was in high spirits. In his own words, he echoed, “I’m not a big spinner of the ball, so I mixed up my pace today and used some drift, Hopefully I can carry this form into the big matches we’ve got coming up.”