New Zealand will be without injured skipper Brendon McCullum as they desperately seek to avoid a 0-3 humiliation in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh at Fatullah today.
McCullum was ruled out with a sore back, an injury which also eased a selection problem, with the 32-year old struggling with his form throughout the series.The position of McCullum in the New Zealand line-up has been questioned after his yet another failure in the second one-day international, which saw him getting lbw off part-time spinner Mominul Haque for 14.
This came on the back of 22 and 21 in the first Test, 11 in the second Test and a first-ball duck in the first one-day international.
Speaking to the press ahead of the third one-day international, Ross Taylor, McCullum’s predecessor as New Zealand captain, refused to provide any further details about the injury.
‘Brendon is not playing tomorrow (Sunday] because of sore back,’ said Taylor, adding that Kyle Mills will replace him as captain for the match. Taylor, however, could not name his replacement player.
Luke Ronchi, who came in as replacement for Kane Williamson, is expected to take the place of McCullum in the Kiwi line-up, according to some reports.
McCullum, Taylor and Mills are among the few surviving members of the squad that suffered a 4-0 defeat against Bangladesh in October 2010.
With New Zealand facing similar humiliation, Taylor was understandably very disappointed.
‘Anytime we lose two in a row is always disappointing and your confidence obviously takes a little bit of a hit,’ said Taylor. ‘There’s one more game to go in the series. And obviously we want to make it 2-1 which sounds a lot better than 3-0.
‘But now we have to play a lot better than what we’ve been playing at the moment,’ he said.
One of the major concerns for New Zealand is unfamiliarity with the ground, which will host its first match in eight years.
‘This will be the first time I will play international cricket where I turn up to a ground on the day of the match,’ said Taylor.
‘I’ve talked with Jacob Oram before. And he played a club game there a couple of weeks ago,’ said Taylor referring to the Kiwi all-rounder Oram, who is playing for Gazi Tank Cricketers in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.
‘He said it will be very low and slow. I think they batted first and got 180 and the second team in the afternoon might have gotten 130-140 so we’ll be expecting the pitch to be low and slow again,’ said Taylor.
Oram’s all-round ability is what New Zealand have been badly missing in the series, said Taylor, adding they were expecting a similar contribution both with both bat and ball from Corey Anderson and James Neesham.
Anderson is one shinning light in New Zealand team throughout the series, while Neesham made his presence felt with back-to-back four-wicket hauls, though he could do little justice to his reputation as a marauding batsman.
‘We’ve been screaming out for a genuine all-rounder since Jacob Oram retired,’ Taylor said. ‘Corey has showed it on this tour so far.
‘He’s been very consistent in the way he plays and Jimmy [Neesham] has obviously got a lot of potential.
‘He hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked but he’s bowled very well and I’m sure with this continued progression he will get better with both bat and ball and be a force to be reckoned with.
‘Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham in the middle order will be an exciting time for New Zealand cricket,’ said Taylor.
Broadcast
BTV & GTV
9:30 AM Live Bangladesh v New Zealand 3rd ODI
ESPN
5:00 PM Live La Liga: Gatafe v Valencia
7:30 PM Live Premier League: Everton v Tottenham Hotspur
10:00 PM Live Premier League: Cardiff City v Swansea City
STAR SPORTS2
7:00 PM Live Formula One –Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2:00 AM Live Serie A: Torino v Roma (Monday)
STAR CRICKET
8:00 PM Live Serie A: Udinese v Inter Milan
STAR SPORTS
10:00 PM Live La Liga: Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao
-With New Age input
