Broom aims to make impact

Neil Broom knows he needs to make a statement in the next two games if he wants to extend his international career.

Thrown an unlikely lifeline by coach Mike Hesson, the 33-year-old has returned from a six year absence eager to make the most of the second chance in a Black Caps jersey.

But he is well aware that he needs to be posting better figures than the 22 off 33 balls he scored during their series opener against Bangladesh in Christchurch on Monday.

So, with the wicket at Saxton Oval in Nelson traditionally favouring the batsmen, it’s now or never to prove he’s more than just a temporary fill-in for Ross Taylor in New Zealand’s middle order, hoping to put his hand up for test selection as well.

‘‘It’s nice to be given a chance at this late stage in my career. I never thought it’d happen again but I don’t want to look back with any regrets this time. I just want to play my game and I thought I didn’t really do that at Hagley Oval, so I have two games left to just play the way I do, so here’s hoping,’’ Broom said.

Having not played an ODI since 2010, Broom’s return to the international stage was the best Christmas present he could have wished for.

‘‘It felt really good to put on the black shirt again. It’s a good six or seven years ago and I’ve played a lot of cricket since then, but it felt pretty special.

‘‘I wasn’t as nervous as I was when I played for the first time all those years ago, I’m a bit older now at 33, and I’m looking at each game as if it’s my last to stamp my mark on the time.’’

Having only hosted the first of its seven international games in January 2014, Saxton Oval is still very much a baby. So when scouring through the records and

statistics from previous games played at the boutique cricket ground in Nelson, you only have a small sample to work with.

However, if there’s any piece of recent history that Bangladesh can cling to as they look to significantly step up from their 77-run defeat in game one, it’s the fact they have the highest score recorded on the ground and might be the motivation they need to beat New Zealand on our shores for the first time in nine ODIS.

But that score of 322-4 was against Scotland, and Broom said the Bangladesh bowlers don’t have enough pace to scare him on a ground that is very much a batsman’s playground.

Only once has a team snared all 10 tickets in a single innings at the venue, New Zealand doing that against Sri Lanka on January 20, 2015, while the lowest score in a game that wasn’t affected by rain is 276.

The best bowling figures from an individual is 3-42, while Tim Southee is the only Black Caps bowler to collect three wickets at the ground.