A sublime knock, and a sucker-punch

The last time Aaron Redmond played international cricket in England, it's fair to point out he was not a rip-roaring success. In three Tests in 2008 he mustered 54 runs at 9.00, as James Anderson in particular tormented his technique with full and fast swing. Today, on the other hand, Redmond managed nine more than that tally in exactly a sixth of the deliveries, as he scorched Ireland's job-a-day seamers with 13 fours in 30 balls. At times, it was like watching Geoffrey Boycott in the 1965 Gillette Cup final, as a previously one-paced plodder pulled on his dancing shoes and tripped the light fantastic. Sadly it couldn't last. But for a man who had never previously been considered even for 50-over internationals, it was some statement.

Nathan McCullum might not have been playing if Daniel Vettori had been risked for this match, but for the second game running his fluster-free offspin proved impossible for the batsmen to dominate. Three overs, 15 runs, and three wickets took his tournament analysis to 7-0-33-4. That would be pretty handy in 50 overs, let alone 20.

For all Redmond's ferocity, aerial shots are not his forte. He pierced the gaps with aplomb, but left the clearing of the ropes to his team-mates, in particular Martin Guptill, who went up and under as enthusiastically as Gavin Hastings in a Grand Slam decider. Four times he went all the way, including one shot off Alex Cusack that landed in the top tier of the old lady's pavilion at mid-on.

Run-outs are part-and-parcel of the frenetic world of Twenty20, but some are infinitely crueller than others. Take Will Porterfield's extraction in the first over of Ireland's run-chase, for instance. Backing up, as one ought to in this format, he was left stranded as Gary Wilson's punched drive skimmed back down the pitch and flipped the tips of Kyle Mills' fingers as he stooped to field. The non-striker's leg stump was plucked neatly from the ground, New Zealand celebrated even before the appeal had been upheld, and Porterfield's innings was over after one ball.

Imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. Just as oodles of batsmen in this tournament have been trying out Kevin Pietersen's switch hit, with mixed success, so today it was the turn of Tillakaratne Dilshan to provide the template for experimentation. Gary Wilson gave his remarkable scoop shot a go shortly before his dismissal, but made only nominal contact. John Mooney, however, got it spot on. Facing up to the unthreatening medium pace of Scott Styris, Mooney transferred his weight to the off side, dropped to his knees, and lapped the ball expertly over his head and all the way to the boundary.

Take your pick. Porterfield may have been unlucky, but he set an unfortunate precedent, with Mooney, Andre Botha and Trent Johnston all succumbing to a combination of swift fielding and inept calling. Perhaps the most culpable was Botha, who dabbed Nathan McCullum to backward point, and hared off for a non-existent single. In came a diving shy from Styris, and Botha had given up the ghost long before Peter McGlashan had sounded the death rattle.