Guptill unfazed by pressure
Watching Martin Guptill at McLean Park on match eve you’d think he barely had a care in the world.
Trotting around after oneyear-old daughter Harley, as wife Laura conducted a television interview in the Harris Stand, it showed there are far better things for top cricketers to occupy their time with than stressing about a lean series against India.
It was only a question from the media gaggle about batsmen coming to Napier to ‘‘resurrect their careers’’ that saw Guptill play something akin to a rash shot.
‘‘Is my game under question, is it,’’ he shot back, with a laugh.
Not quite, for someone with an ODI career average of 42.3, but a big score or three from the Black Caps opener in this three-match one-day series against Bangladesh, starting in Napier at 2pm today, would go a long way to easing top-order angst.
Guptill, who will partner Henry Nicholls in his 167th ODI, returns to the scene of the India series opener which began a sequence of scores of 5, 15, 13 and 14. Seamers Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were outstanding with their line and length as the New Zealand innings stuttered, then was spun out.
Then Guptill missed game five in Wellington when tweaking his back at training as the tourists sealed it 4-1. He also sat out the three T20s before being passed fit for Napier.
It meant a very un-Guptill-like run of six scores of 15 or under since his stunning 138 off 139 balls against Sri Lanka at Mount Maunganui in January, his 14th century in his first ODI in nearly 10 months.
‘‘It happens in cricket; you have good innings, then a wee trough,’’ he said.
‘‘It [back injury] wasn’t ideal timing, the day before a onedayer. You’re bound to get injured at some point but unfortunately for me it’s been quite a lot the last couple of years.’’
With this series the final three ODIs before the Black Caps assemble in England in late May for the World Cup, the most pressing issue is establishing an opening combination.
Colin Munro, fresh off a confidence-booster in the T20 decider against India, was sent back to play for the Aces in Friday’s elimination final amid his own ODI slump.
Bangladesh arrive as the world No 7, having lost all 10 ODIs against the Black Caps in New Zealand and missing their star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan (broken finger). But they beat New Zealand in their last two ODIs, in Dublin and Cardiff in 2017, and retain the bulk of that side under veteran skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. At a glance
What: New Zealand v Bangladesh, first one-day international Where: McLean Park, Napier When: 2pm today TAB odds: NZ $1.21, Bangladesh $4.45