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2009 ICC T20 World Championship goes into the Super 8s stage where the competition gets tougher. What’s in store for Ireland who is playing for the first time in the league of big nations?

New Zealand needs to rethink their bowling strategies as their fast bowlers, with the exception of Ian Butler, are conceding more runs via boundaries, according to Castrol Index. Teams having strong batting line-up can exploit this weakness in the Kiwis bowling department - a fact from which Irish batsmen Kevin and Niall O’Brien can draw inspiration. 

Comparative Analysis of New Zealand’s Bowling Performance in ICC T20

Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum also must be aware of his teams batting flaws in the match against South Africa. Faced against the strong bowling of South Africa, the Kiwis Batting Momentum (BM) dropped from a high of 208 (acquired against Scotland) to a meek 134. The vulnerability provides a big opportunity to Irish bowlers especially Trent Johnston who shouldered the team’s bowling in the match against Bangladesh.

To summarise, New Zealand needs to be watchful in their core skills even though the opponent seems to be somewhat weaker in comparison. But 2009 ICC T20 has been a Championship full of surprises. New Zealand will not like to add their name in the list of big-name casualties against Ireland.