Bangladesh paceman Masrafee bin Murtaza looks ahead to the first match of the ICC WT20 against New Zealand: The strengths and weaknesses of the first match opposition
It is difficult to say exactly. They seem to be evenly balanced in bowling and batting. Maybe there are areas in individual techniques that we could work on but you have got to remember that New Zealand always do well in world tournaments and they are formidable. We have to concentrate more on bringing our best game on that day.
The opening match
Probably it is the most important game for us. Over the last few months all our preparations have been centred on the two group matches and this one in particular. We have played a good number of Twenty20s and there have been a lot of positives that have come out. I firmly believe that if we execute our plan right and every player play at least at 70 to 80 percent of their capability then we would be a very tough opposition to beat.
Whether he is concerned at the lack of impact his fellow pacers are making at the other end
Not really. In this version this can happen. You cannot be certain that a bowler who has done well in a match would repeat the performance in the next. We are all trying. Maybe my experience has been a factor in certain cases as I have managed to keep my concentration going. I am sure the others will have their moments too sooner or later. Also,
when you have such high quality spinners like Sakib (Al Hasan) and (Abdur) Razzak then it allows the others to regroup and come back.
Preparations
Obviously if you consider the last practice match against Ireland then I would say it was very disappointing to lose. However, that is a wakeup call and a chance for us to fine tune the areas where we need improvement. Overall the preparations have gone well. Our players appeared in the IPL, BPL and SLPL and the national team played in Zimbabwe, Ireland, Holland and Trinidad. Maybe the opposition we faced were not close to the standards of New Zealand or Pakistan but the good thing is that we have had excellent match practice.
Whether this is the best Bangladesh Twenty20 team
I think it has a more settled look. We are mostly playing the same set of players. There is depth. Some new players like Zia (ur Rahman) and Md Elias have come in and have done well. The experienced members are performing. I don’t like to make comparisons but this team has definitely played more games and has more Twenty20 experience.
-With New Age input
