Tector’s ton, middle-order cameos lift Ireland to 300
Ireland 300 for 9 (Tector 113, Campher 43, Ferguson 2-44, Sodhi 2-62) vs New Zealand
Tickner, however, cut down his pace and cut short Tector’s innings at 113 off 117 balls. Tector was warmly welcomed back by Paul Stirling, the only other Ireland batter to rack up four successive fifty-plus scores for Ireland in ODI cricket, along with the rest of the Ireland squad, in front of a sell-out crowd in Malahide.
Tector found able allies in Andy McBrine and Curtis Campher who contributed 39 and 43 respectively. Ireland lost Lorcan Tucker, Tector and Mark Adair in a space of 11 balls, but cameos from George Dockrell (18) and Simi Singh (30) pushed Ireland up to 300.
Such a tall total seemed far away from Ireland’s reach when Ferguson and Henry had carved up their top order. Ferguson, who was playing his first ODI since March 2020, marked his return by blitzing through Stirling’s defences with a hooping inswinger. Andy Balbirnie managed nine off ten balls before Henry found just enough seam movement against the inward angle to scratch the outside edge.
Ireland had suffered a blow even before the start of the series, with their head coach Heinrich Malan going into isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Despite those setbacks, Ireland still found a way, thanks in no small part to their middle order.
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