Black Caps too hot

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

HOMETOWN HERO: Daniel Vettori gets another wicket in the Twenty20 cricket match at Seddon Park.

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Bangladesh may have talked the talk, but stumbled like a newborn foal when it came to walking the walk last night.

The visitors were humbled by a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of the Black Caps in their series-opening Twenty20 cricket match at Hamilton's Seddon Park.

The minnows of elite level international cricket had been making sounds about upsetting their hosts during their visit, which also features three one-day internationals and a sole test at last night's venue.

But their performance yesterday immediately saw them tagged with the label "can't bat, can't bowl, can't field".

The tourists were dismissed for 78 in the 18th over and New Zealand responded by reaching their meagre target in 8.2 overs, with Brendon McCullum hammering 56 off just 27 balls, including seven fours and two sixes.

Hometown hero Daniel Vettori ripped through the visiting batting line-up, taking 3-6 off his four overs, and not surprisingly later expressed himself "really happy with how the guys played".

"At the start of the game we were conscious that the guys needed to bring their game from the domestic Twenty20 and I really couldn't have asked for more."

Vettori had been singled out this week by Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons as the one Black Cap his side was constantly troubled by and his analysis was spot on.

The left-arm spinner made an immediate impact, picking up two wickets in his first over and had his opponents in constant strife before finishing his spell with a wicket-maiden.

Fellow spinner Nathan McCullum nabbed 2-15 off four overs as only Tim Southee missed out on capturing a wicket. Four bowlers – Vettori, McCullum, James Franklin and Jacob Oram – took a wicket in their opening over among the sixth-lowest batting tally in the short history of international Twenty20 cricket.

"I think it was a good wicket to bowl on – a little bit tacky and held a bit," Vettori said.

"Because of the work done earlier on, particularly by [Daryl] Tuffey, it allowed Nathan and myself to come in and attack."

Visiting skipper Shakib al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat and when promising opener Tamim Iqbal went after Southee in the second over there were some threatening signs that the minnows could provide New Zealand with a stiff target.

But that rapidly vanished as they slumped to 43 for five at the end of the eighth over and the steady procession of wickets never ceased.

Bangladesh further blotted their copybook with some shoddy fielding as Mahmudullah Riyad dropped McCullum, Iqbal shelled a simple chance off Ingram and the visitors conceded five from an overthrow as New Zealand strolled to victory.

Shakib said his side paid the price for a lack of patience.

"We didn't assess the wicket really well," the skipper said.

"I thought we should have taken some time on the wicket, like seven or eight balls ... we played too many early shots and I think that was our downfall. It's obviously not the way we wanted to start ... but I believe we're a very good side, we can come back strongly in the one-day matches."

He acknowledged their fielding needed vast improvement.

"We've never been a good fielding side. We are improving but when the catches are coming I think we are a bit conscious that we might miss the catch."

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