New Zealand too strong for Ireland
Daniel Vettori watched his side win from the sidelines
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Thursday, 11, Jun 2009 08:04
New Zealand got their Super Eights campaign off to the perfect start as they overcame Ireland by 83 runs at Trent Bridge.
Aaron Redmond was the star of the show for New Zealand as he cracked 63 off just 30 balls to help his side to 198-5. Ireland were never in the hunt and were bowled out for just 115, with Andre Botha top-scoring with 28.
New Zealand came into the match ravaged by injury problems with the key trio of captain Daniel Vettori, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder all ruled out of the game. But in Redmond they had a more than adequate replacement and the opener came out and hit 13 fours to give his side a blistering start.
Martin Guptill, another man who came into the side due to injuries to others, showed his power as he smashed four sixes on his way to 45 not out. The veteran Scott Styris added 42 as the Kiwis posted a huge total of 198.
Ireland desperately needed to get off to a good start to give themselves any chance of an unlikely win. But lost the important duo of Will Porterfield (1) and N O'Brien (3) inside the first three overs and it was all downhill from there.
Botha hit five boundaries, but when he was run out, the rest if the wickets fell in quick succession. Neill McCullum was the most impressive of the New Zealand bowlers as he ended with three wickets for just 15 runs from his three overs.