Well, being beaten by Bangladesh is not going to help New Zealand's odds at the TAB, and it does serve to remind us of our potential weaknesses, namely a brittle top order and a largely toothless attack. However, we needn't panic over the result.
It was after all only a warm-up. While the Black Caps were probably playing the game like they would any other (i.e. they weren't experimenting), the pressure to win would not have been as high and the conditions may still have been somewhat unfamiliar. Or maybe that doesn't make a difference, perhaps I'm just finding excuses. It is however important to realise that Bangladesh is not a terrible team and losing to them is not a disaster, certainly not as bad as being restricted to under 200 by Ireland.
I think many people still measure Bangladesh by their last World Cup appearance. They have really improved since then and have now registered wins against most of the test-playing nations (namely Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – unfortunately for them, this win against New Zealand isn't official).
More than anything else, this result shows that we should be watching Group B for a possible upset.
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
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2 comments:
Of more concern is that Mark Gillespie is apparently coming home with a viral infection that has led to partial paralysis of his neck and shoulders.
if Mark is coming home then send over Chris Martin. He should have been there anyway. As for the result, jesus. Its a little disconcerting but then, the Africans were awful too. Actually, come to think of it - i always have a good feeling abotu teams who do badly JUST before a WC. Eg: Brazil in the soccer WC in Korea and Pakistan in the 92 cricket WC. heres hoping its a wakeup call.
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