ESPNCricinfo
New Zealand’s record of one win in their last ten bilateral matches in Bangladesh will be their biggest motivating factor, according to quick bowler Hamish Bennett. The 34-year-old is an elder statesman in the squad as he is the only one in the touring party to have played in Bangladesh previously.
Bennett, on his first tour since the pandemic, said that the lack of big names in the side was another source of motivation as everyone wanted to do well, particularly in the subcontinent. Bennett said that they are braced for a tough prospect after seeing the way Bangladesh dismantled Australia earlier this month in a 4-1 win in the T20Is.
New Zealand, who arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday, are currently in a three-day room isolation before hitting the nets on Friday. They are set to play five T20Is starting September 1.
“We have come together as a group and do a job for the country,” Bennett said. “I have come to Bangladesh before and got beaten 4-0. We haven’t had a lot of success here, so it is a huge motivating factor for us. We’d love to go back to New Zealand and say we won a series in Bangladesh, especially when you see what happened to Australia and other top teams who have struggled in Bangladesh.
“It was fun and games [against the Australians]. I assume it will be the same. We are thankful for that Australia series to know how Bangladesh will approach us. But it is one thing knowing how they will approach us, and another thing playing in those conditions. We have four or five days of training to find out if our game plans will suit these types of wickets.”
New Zealand also received a big blow of Finn Allen testing positive two days after his early arrival in Dhaka. Allen is now in hotel isolation in Dhaka, and being taken care of by his team doctor.
“We were gutted for him,” Bennett said of Allen. “He had a big winter away, playing in the IPL, the Blast and the Hundred. Everyone was looking forward to his show of skills, so it is a real shame. Thankfully, he is feeling better in his isolation in the other side of the hotel.
“He is upbeat though. He is in good health and good spirits. We will support him as much as we can. Once he is cleared, hopefully he can play a couple of games. I think everyone was prepared for someone to get Covid.”
The rest of the New Zealand squad arrived to nearly the same protocols that Australia had recently. They flew on a commercial flight, but were taken through the VIP terminal and straight to their hotel and didn’t have to stand in any queues at either the airport or the hotel.
“It was a tough long flight but getting off that plane, we were very fortunate that we are very well looked after,” Bennett said. “I can’t thank their cricket board and government enough for what they did, to get us as safe as possible.
“The plans and process that BCB put in for us, has been amazing. They have done a superb job of minimising those risks.”
