The ODI series between New Zealand and Bangladesh continues in Nelson on Wednesday over in New Zealand but late into the evening here in the UK as both sides begin to look to reshape their side after the World Cup.
I think we can tell by the fact that neither side have picked their strongest squad for this series just where it stands in their overall list of priorities but with some T20 matches to come next week this is a good chance to prove their form ahead of that for those who could be involved.
New Zealand
New Zealand won a rain affected opening match of the series so they go into this second match knowing that if they win it they will have the series won with a match to spare. That will be a good effort for a Kiwi side which is very much second string and missing a host of big names, the ones which came good on the way to them reaching the semi-final of the World Cup last month. They will need to go well here though because you sense Bangladesh could be competitive.
I think the question over New Zealand here will be to do with their bowling depth. It is with the ball that the majority of star players are missing so if they can find some hidden gems from within their bench then that is going to create plenty of competition for places as we head towards the Champions Trophy in just over 12 months. By and large New Zealand are solid enough with the bat, especially in their home conditions and you would expect that to be the case here too.
Bangladesh
When you consider that the conditions got a little greasy and tricky in the opening game, Bangladesh gave a pretty good account of themselves. I think we’ll get a clearer picture of where they are in this match as we should get an even game where the team who plays the best will win. This is a perfect chance for a fairly young Bangladesh side to show they have it within them to conquer alien conditions and build up a head of steam to take towards the Champions Trophy.
As ever when an Asian side hits this part of the world the first question that needs to be answered is how well they cope with the bat. To be fair to Bangladesh they batted pretty well in the first game of the series and if they can repeat that and just add a little extra quality on top then they are going to be right in the game. That is because they look to have a bowling attack which can be more than competitive in these bowling conditions.
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Team News
We know that New Zealand have rested a number of star names with the likes of Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Trent Boult and Tim Southee all rested so rising stars such as Rachin Ravindra and Will Young will get a chance to shine.
There is no Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah or Taskin Ahmed for Bangladesh in this series so they too have some youngsters who will be looking to show their worth on this stage. They include Towhid Hridoy and Hasan Mahmud.
Betting
The Saxton Oval is generally a high scoring ground and there have been scores well in excess of 300 made on this ground and I am expecting a high scoring game here too with the New Zealand attack very much at second string levels rather than being anything at full strength. Both teams showed in that rain-affected opening match that they can get on top and dominate the bowling and in better batting conditions I expect much more of the same here.
With that in mind, I am a little surprised to see a boundary line for this match of just 56.5 here. If New Zealand bat first they could knock a significant portion of this total off but there was enough in that opening game to suggest that Bangladesh will more than hold their own in the boundary hitting department. With T20 cricket very much in the minds of cricketers around the world at present I expect the bat to dominate the ball so I like over on that boundary line.
Tips
Back Over 56.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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