'He's just got all the attributes to go on and be one of the greats of Irish cricket' - Andrew Balbirnie heaps praise on Harry Tector

Ireland suffered a three-wicket loss against Bangladesh in the second ODI of the ongoing three-match series on Friday, May 12 at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford. Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal won the toss and invited Ireland to bat first. Harry Tector scored a century as Ireland posted 319 in 45 overs in the rain-affected match. 

In reply, Najmul Hossain Shanto (117 off 93) scored a ton as Bangladesh chased down the target in 44.3 overs. Curtis Campher and George Dockrell picked two wickets while Joshua Little, Mark Adair, and Graham Hume grabbed one each.

Meanwhile, Ireland captain Andre Balbirnie praised Tector stating that he has the attributes to become one of the greats of Irish cricket. He also lauded the performances he has displayed in the last 18 months, especially in the 50-over format. Tector smashed a career-best 140 from 113 balls against Bangladesh in the second ODI despite the team losing the match.

"His performances in the last 12 to 18 months have been so good for us, and particularly in 50-over cricket. I think that was as good a knock as I've seen in Irish colours for a 50-over game. He's just got all the attributes to go on and be one of the greats of Irish cricket and I hope that we can help him on his way, and he continues to put in scores for us. The more runs he gets for us, the better place we're going to be," Balbirnie was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

I thought we played pretty good cricket: Balbirnie

Balbirnie went on to say that his side played pretty good cricket in the second ODI which gives them a lot of positivity ahead of the Cricket World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. He did, however, admit that it is unfortunate that they didn't cross the line.

"Bangladesh entertained the crowd who braced the elements, as it was very cold out there, but I think if we were still able to qualify and we had a result like that, it would really hurt us. I thought we played pretty good cricket, which is a good sign going into the qualifiers [in Zimbabwe] later on in the summer. It's just a shame we couldn't really get over the line," he added.

The third and final ODI of the series between Ireland and Bangladesh will be played on Sunday, May 14, at the County Cricket Ground, in Chelmsford. After the first ODI was washed out due to rain, Bangladesh are now leading the series by 1-0.