Dominant TelstraClear White Ferns beaten by rain in Dublin

Rain forced the abandonment of the TelstraClear White Ferns first game in their three-match One-Day International series against Ireland at Clontarf, Dublin today.

Batting first the TelstraClear White Ferns made 249/6 in a rain-reduced 42-over match and then restricted the Irish to 18/1 in 6.1 overs before the match was abandoned.

The Irish leg of the TelstraClear White Ferns Northern Hemisphere tour comes after they completely dominated The Netherlands in a three match One-Day International series between the two sides.

The TelstraClear White Ferns, batting first on each occasion, scored in excess of 240 in each of their three innings before dismissing the Dutch for below 100 runs in all three matches.

"We expected we would beat the Dutch comfortably," said New Zealand Cricket Development Manager John Reid.

"But the defeats the TelstraClear White Ferns have inflicted have been record-breaking and suggest this relatively young side is quickly developing into a very good one."

In the second match played against the Netherlands in Amstelveen on 27 June the TelstraClear White Ferns scored a massive 335/4, their second highest One-Day International score.

"The professionalism of the players has shone through in all the matches," said Reid. "Despite the comparative weakness of the opposition they have not dropped their own standards, they have been ruthless."

From the three-match series, six TelstraClear White Ferns achieved batting averages above 40 and four had strike-rates above 90. Of the nine bowlers used, the miserly statistics show all had an economy rate below 2.50.