Not much on cricket lately, so as we in the southern hemisphere dust off bats & balls, I thought I’ld point out that the plucky fellows of Bangladesh almost toppled NZ in the first cricket test!
For those familiar with the long struggle Bangladesh have had getting up to test status, this is stunning, and good news for global cricket. Granted, NZ are ranked 7th of the 8 major test teams, and have lost several core team members to retirement or the ICL or IPL recently, but so too have Bangladesh lost players to the ICL.
On home wickets, Bangladesh had good spinners (as usual), but also put up a reasonable pace attack and batted to a respectable score. Leaving 317 for NZ to get in the 2nd innings should have seen a hometown win, but Dan Vettori stepped up with the only fine performance throughout the test from NZ; 9 wickets bowling and 2 half-centuries batting.
Sadly, the second (and final) test has already lost 2 days to rain, so may not get a result… Hopefully, Bangladesh will take heart from this (and an ODI win) for the future, and we can only hope NZ selectors will learn their lesson (seems not – they picked all-rounder Grant Elliot to replace injured Jacob Oram, instead of picking a decent quick bowler to replace the woeful Kyle Mills).
Square Drive 