New Zealand aspire to rise from the ashes when they begin their Bangladesh tour with the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong today.
The Kiwis were buried during their last visit to Bangladesh three years ago, when the home side defied all odds to post a 4-0 win in the One-Day series – a result that created a cricketing tsunami in the Pacific island.
While some players said that the result was in the past and that they have come a long way since the humiliating series loss, skipper Brendon McCullum disagreed and said that it still haunts his side.
‘It’s something we need to forget,’ he said in his press conference on Tuesday. ‘It was obviously a very tricky time for everyone involved in that series.
‘The pain that was inflicted on the guys’ careers and also on this cricket team is something we won’t forget.
‘But at the same time we think that we are a different breed of players and we’ve got a different management set up and a different playing group and we are going to learn our lessons from that series.
‘But we won’t let that worry us when it comes to play,’ said McCullum.
McCullum said that New Zealand had underestimated Bangladesh’s strength before their visit in 2010 and received their due in what turned out to be a very embarrassing series.
He said that they were not ready to commit the same mistakes again and underwent enough preparation to avoid a similar beating during the two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and the one-off Twenty20 International.
‘The last time we were here was incredibly tough for us. I think the preparation for us was not how it should have been and we were caught on the hop a little bit by a very good Bangladeshi team in their own conditions,’ said McCullum.
‘We tried to mitigate against that by preparing properly for this tour. Some guys played in Sri Lanka right before this series and some other places in the sub-continent as well, so I think they are a lot better prepared than before,’ he said.
McCullum added that the young players they have in this tour have all the qualities to be successful against any opponent in any conditions, and it was evident in their recent performances.
‘The beauty is that we have got a lot of fresh faces and our guys have begun to do well,’ he said.
‘In recent times, our game has gone up as well. We’ve got a better understanding of how we want to play as a team.
‘We know Bangladesh can be extremely difficult in their own conditions and they are very smart with their own tactics.
‘We are going to try and make up for what happened a few years ago and also help in the development of the team,’ he said.
-With New Age input
