Bangladesh’s young guns have dismissed rumors that Hagley Oval would be a graveyard for visiting teams ahead of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday. The Black Caps see the picturesque city center as a safe haven and point to an impressive test record of six wins, one loss and one draw on the oval. The emerald wicket matches their swing and seam attack and they expect to make up for their shock loss to the tourists in the first Test. But Bangladesh national team manager Russell Domingo said his side had the confidence of the youth and was not impressed by Hagley Oval’s reputation.
“They want to try to do what no other side of Bangladesh has done before and that is win a series in New Zealand,” he said.
“They are halfway there, the work is not done yet, but they are very driven to achieve something very special,” he added.
In the first Test at Mount Maunganui, which Bangladesh won by eight wickets, seven New Zealand members were over 30 and only two – Kyle Jamieson and Rachin Ravindra – were under 28.
On the victorious side of Bangladesh were eight players under 28 and Domingo said that was a crucial element in their preparation.
“It’s a young squad, so they don’t come here with all the scars that some older players have suffered from playing against New Zealand so much,” he said.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said he expected Bangladesh to be confident but insisted the Hagley factor would favor New Zealand.
“It’s a very different surface to the Mount and we know we’ve played very good cricket here in recent years,” he said.
“With the extra pace and execution here, it suits our bowlers,” he added.
Latham added that New Zealand had the added incentive to give a victorious farewell to senior batsman Ross Taylor, in his final Test before retiring from international cricket.
“Hopefully we can celebrate a great Test victory and of course a great career,” said the captain.
But Domingo warned New Zealand not to believe they were the only team to take advantage of a green wicket.
promoted
“We have some quality fast bowlers at the moment and it’s not often that Bangladesh can say they’re really looking forward to bowling on a wicket with a bit of grass on it,” he said.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. You have confidence, you play well and you have a good balance by your side at the moment and the circumstances, crazy as it may sound, could really suit us.” ,” he added.
Topics mentioned in this article
