As was expected, New Zealand made short work of overcoming Bangladesh who looked completely out of place in their first match. Mind you, nobody expected the Bangladeshis to perform any miracles, but the manner in which they batted, I wouldn't be surprised if coach Gordon Greenidge harbours thoughts of playing himself and showing them the way things are done. They were at the receiving end right from the time Stephen Fleming won the toss in perfect bowling conditions and invited them to take first strike.The overcast conditions proved all too much for the Bangladeshi batsmen who could not cope with the situation, but New Zealand, the dark horse in the competition, relished the same. New ball bowlers Allott, Cairns and Nash sent down a terrific line and length, which made life miserable for batsmen.The Bangladeshis enjoyed tremendous support from immigrants to this country, but crowd backing alone cannot win matches. What they lacked was the required technique and experience to make an impression in thematch, and folded up without a semblance of a fight.I feel their Board should have organised more games for them against international teams as part of their build up. It would have helped them gain in experience and improve their skills. For, unless you play regularly against international teams, your progress is bound to be delayed.Besides, there's no substitute for match practice and that too against recognised teams, if one is to raise the standard of one's game. No doubt, they do have inter-club matches at home in which a lot of players from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are contracted to play as professionals, but it is not quite the same.Not surprisingly, they found the New Zealand openers too hot to handle, and even Larsen too bowled his cutters effectively, hitting the seam to derive movement off the wicket.The New Zealanders, underrated as they always are, find themselves under less pressure compared to other teams in the fray. They have, nevertheless, a team that can surprise the bestin the business. Their attack has depth and variety and is nicely backed up by outstanding fielders. Their batting is well looked after by skipper Fleming, MacMillan, Astle, Parore, Horne and, of course, some hard-hitting all-rounders. In fact, they have top-class all-rounders in Cairns, Harris and Nash, who can be termed as potential match-winners.The young Craig MacMillan possesses the ability to win matches from hopeless situations, and he had showed his worth when India toured their country recently by playing some great innings.To their credit Bangladesh performed with more discipline while bowling and made the Kiwis work hard for their runs by claiming four wickets. Their total, however, was far too little for them to dream of creating any upset of sorts.
