Dress-up Day
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Weren’t Bangladesh meant to be rubbish?
They are missing three of their best players, had only one day’s cricket as preparation, and historically don’t travel well. They have yet to draw a test in New Zealand let alone win one.
The concept of “winning sessions” is not the perfect indicator of how a test match is progressing. But it’s fair to say that Bangladesh have won the last 4 of the 6 sessions to date.
Mahmudul Hasan Joy had played in one test before this one, with 6 runs at 3.00 to his name. Here he provided some nominative determinism to his team, and apart from an LBW shout that should have been reviewed, never really looked in trouble.
Shanto was the much freer of the two in their record partnership (second wicket v NZ). It was that freedom that got him in the end; slashing at a wide one from Wagner.
However, what should be remembered is how well the Bangladesh bowlers stuck to their tasks on Day 1. At 189/2 New Zealand was on its way to a very large score against as attack the seemed a bowler short. But they kept at it, and New Zealand did that thing that England has been so proficient at in the Ashes in losing a wicket on the last ball of the session.
With the exception of Nicholls they never got going today and ended up with a score well below par. They lost their last 8 wickets for 139, and Nicholls scored 75 of those.
There is a lot more cricket to come in tis test, but The World Test Champions have one hell of a scrap on their hands.
The concept of dress-up day worked well despite the heat. You would imagine the person dressed in the full Ronald McDonald suit will be looking forward to his hot bath.
And it seemed fitting that people dressed as traffic cones should win the competition for best dressed at an event at The Mount. It looks like this promotion will be around for a while yet.
The question that must keep those running the Bay Oval awake at night would be “How long does a Pohutukawa tree take to grow to a height from which it can provide shade?”
There are plenty of trees planted all round the ground, but nature is nature, and you can’t hurry up the shade providers. It is the one aspect missing at this ever impressive ground.