Bangladesh real threat to Black Caps
It is the unbeaten run the Black Caps want to end.
The hosts for Friday’s World Cup match against Bangladesh will seek their sixth successive victory of the tournament – but to do so they will have to stop a seven-game losing slide against their rivals.
New Zealand have not beaten Bangladesh in a one-day international since February 2010, and will attempt to knock over a side coming off a stunning triumph as they eliminated England from the tournament with a victory in Adelaide on Monday that also pushed them into the quarterfinals.
‘‘They’ve been playing some good cricket,’’ Black Caps wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi acknowledged.
‘‘I think they’ve only lost one game so far in the World Cup, so they’ve . . . been consistent.
‘‘We’ll have to be on the money to beat them.’’
That is something the Black Caps have not achieved in seven outings – but all those defeats have come in Bangladesh.
Ronchi believes some home cooking could be the recipe to alter recent results, with Bangladesh’s spin attack likely to be less effective on Seddon Park.
‘‘It doesn’t turn as much here as it does in Bangladesh,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s still a force for them but it’s not as big a force when you play in New Zealand.’’
Ronchi said the team have had a batting meeting to see ‘‘what they’ll [Bangladesh] do at different times of the game, to try and work out what we want to do when we play them’’.
He said players like explosive opener Tamim Iqbal and classy all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan were key figures to watch.
‘‘There’s a few guys you’ve got to keep a close eye on,’’ Ronchi said.
‘‘But then also you don’t want to just home in on two or three people – other batsmen can make runs, other guys can get you out.
‘‘As long as we do our job, we should be OK.’’