Match winners Peter Fulton and Daniel Vettori reflected on a job well done after the BLACKCAPS’ ICC World Cup Super Eight Series victory over Ireland in Guyana.
Fulton’s 83 set the platform for a total of 263, a target the Irish never troubled thanks to Vettori’s four for 23, figures that helped dismiss the opposition within 38 overs to claim a 129-run win.
After his first World Cup half-century, Fulton said: “I’m feeling a lot better after today’s innings.
“We’ve got three tough games to go and obviously we want to win those and hopefully we will be able to keep it going.”
In a reversal of recent trends, Vettori provided the cutting edge as the BLACKCAPS quicker bowlers limited their opponents’ order.
The left-armer said: “It’s nice to see spinners making their mark, you see it all around the world now and they play an important role.
“And it’s good, in particular, to see New Zealand playing two. It was a slow wicket and it didn’t turn too much but all the spinners on show today bowled well.”
Skipper Stephen Fleming looked ahead to a tough schedule with three matches against superpowers Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka in the next 10 days.
“The fitness of the side is quite good. We are getting guys who are quite close. I think Ross Taylor is close and Mark Gillespie was available today.
“So we are getting back to full fitness at the right time. We’ve a heavy run-in now with three games in six days against three top sides. We have our work cut out for us but it has been a good run so far.”
Defeated captain Trent Johnston praised his side’s display in the field, while also commending Fleming’s team.
“We have a lot of pride in what we do,” he said. “We dive around, jump around and get out there and enjoy ourselves. I think everyone can see that our fielding is of a very high standard.
“It didn’t help that we got tied down in the middle overs. All credit to New Zealand – they are a very good team and will be one of the favourites to win this competition.”
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