Devine, bowlers help White Ferns claim another big win

In the second ODI of the White Ferns series against Ireland, the White Ferns simply picked up from where they had left off in their previous innings, moving past the 400-run barrier in consecutive innings and defeating their opponents by a massive margin once again. In their chase, Ireland could only manage 112 runs before being bowled out, meaning the White Ferns won by 306 runs.

Having won the toss, stand-in skipper Amy Satterthwaite elected to bat first with Sophie Devine to open the batting in place of Suzie Bates, who had been rested for the match. It did not seem as though Devine was playing her first international innings of the season as she smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, bringing up her century in just 59 deliveries. She was supported on the other end by Maddy Green who continued her good form, scoring a quick-fire 36-ball 50. Valuable contributions from Satterthwaite (48 off 42), Bernadine Bezuidenhout (43 off 37) and Anna Peterson (46 off 36) helped New Zealand post the daunting total of 418 on the board.

For Ireland, young gun Lara Maritz stood out on a day where the bowlers struggled. She finished with impressive figures of 4-58 from 8.5 overs. Amy Kenealy and Cara Murray claimed two scalps each as well to ensure the White Ferns were restricted to a score below 450 runs, which, early in the White Ferns innings looked like they would achieve easily.

Chasing, Ireland got off to a shaky start, losing opener Mary Waldon for a duck in the first over. It did not get better for them as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals with Captain Laura Delany top-scoring for her side with a patient 33 off 70 balls. Cecelia Joyce (26 off 38) and Shauna Kavanagh (18 off 40) were the only other batters to reach double figures. Such low scores meant Ireland was bowled out for 112 runs in 35.3 overs.

Lea Tahuhu, Holly Huddleston, Amelia Kerr and Anna Peterson all chipped in with two scalps each to ensure Ireland never came close to chasing down the total and secured another win for New Zealand.