New Zealand won the second ODI by three wickets on another hot day, with just under 12 overs to spare. On several occasions in their run chase it looked like it would be a comfortable win but then Ireland would grab a wicket and put it back in the melting pot.

Despite losing wickets to the first two deliveries off their run chase, New Zealand continued to attack and for the next 16 overs never looked under serious pressure from an Ireland bowling attack that appeared to be suffering a hangover from their devastating loss two days ago. It was two superb deliveries from Mark Adair that accounted for Martin Guptill and Will Young. Both balls were full of length and moved through the air and the only sound that the batsmen heard was the rattle of their stumps.

The initial hope that Ireland would avenge that loss appeared to be gradually extinguished as a run a ball century partnership between Finn Allen and Tom Latham looked to have broken the back of the chase.

However Allen mishit a Curtis Campher delivery to be caught for 60 and Ireland chipped away to pick up regular wickets that kept reviving dwindling hopes. And when Latham fell LBW to Simi Singh the ball after he had reached his half-century with a huge six 40 runs were still required. However, unfortunately for Ireland, their nemesis from Sunday, Michael Bracewell, was still there and his three sixes and the same number of fours took his team home and as he had done two days ago applied the coup de gras with a maximum.

The hot dry weather in Dublin broke briefly overnight and caused the start of the second ODI against New Zealand to be delayed by forty-five minutes. Latham had no hesitation in putting Ireland into bat and he soon had justification for his decision.

The humid atmosphere caused the ball to swing and seam around and both Paul Stirling and Andrew Balbirnie were back in the pavilion with only five runs on the board. Both were victims of an incisive spell from Matt Henry who had Stirling plum LBW and then enticed the Ireland captain to shoulder arms to a delivery that nipped back in and clipped the top of off stump.

Apart from the movement there was also pace and bounce which caused the the splice of the bat to be tested regularly and when the New Zealand spinners came on they also got appreciable turn at times. All of this contributed to Ireland crawling to 19-2 after the ten over power play.

When Ireland’s in form batsman, Harry Tector, fell for four after a painstaking 25 balls it didn’t appear likely that Ireland would come anywhere close to the three hundred total that almost brought them victory last Sunday. Tector appeared ill at ease when he took a sharp blow on his hand while facing the debutant seam bowler Jacob Duffy which caused him to be tentative which was very much at odds with his form of the past months.and

Andy McBrine and Curtis Campher both got starts but couldn’t build on them and it wasn’t until George Dockrell cut loose that Ireland threatened to get a competitive total. He reached his fifty off just 48 deliveries with seven fours and a six and then accelerated to his highest ODI score of 74, adding three further boundaries and another six. His partnership with Simi Singh realised 49 runs which was comfortably the highest of the innings.

Unfortunately for Ireland this was the first of three wickets to fall for the addition of just three runs. Although there was a late flurry from Mark Adair the indecision in Ireland’s innings was summed up by some crazy running which ended the innings with a full two overs remaining. Adair turned down a single off the penultimate ball of the forty-eighth and then bizarrely went for a second run of the last ball rather than the sensible option of retaining the strike. Josh Little never stood a chance and the innings finished on 216.

For New Zealand, apart from Henry’s early burst, the twenty overs from spinners Michael Bracewell 2-26, and Mitchell Santner 2-32, was the main component in restricting the home side to a well below par total.

Ireland 216 (48 overs, G. Dockrell 74, M. Bracewell 2-26, M. Santner 2-32) Lost to New Zealand 219-7 (38.1 overs, F. Allen 60, T. Latham 55, M. Bracewell 42*, M. Adair 2-29) by 3 wickets