The luck of the Irish paid off at the end, but they were made to toil for 122 runs by a battling bowling performance.
That’s not what James Tau, captain for the day, would have been hoping for when he won the toss and opted to bat first on a sunny morning in South New Zealand.
Simon Atai, fresh off the best innings of his life, showed exactly why cricket can be such a cruel game. After scoring his personal best of 81 against Canada, Atai was out for a duck, in the very first over of the match.
