Winning, the hard way

The Chittagong test made painful yet compulsive viewing (Or following, if you had the patience to watch the ball-by-ball updates on Cricinfo, like I did). Just like the one-dayers, the gap between the two teams was wide enough to ensure the Black Caps prevailed in spite of some truly shoddy batting. Full credit to the Bangladeshis for driving the Caps into a wall, but for now Vettori and the younger brigade can toast themselves on a good fightback.

This was an interesting test, not only because of the see-sawing fortunes of the two struggling teams, but because of the aftermath. The basic reaction I got at the end was not one of euphoria, but relief. Sort of like the end of a hard-won war after which the scars of your opponents' outrageous ambush remain. Dan the man must feel like a scarred veteran himself, having pulled his side out of trouble like never before. When the Bangladeshis got the lead over 250, I had contemplated certain defeat and the fact that there were nevertheless some good lessons for us to be learned from this game. Well, some lessons were learned by the final day, it seemed.

In scrapping, bowler-dominated test matches like this, you need a bit of luck on your side to seal victory and admittedly we were lucky the pitch didn't break up on the last couple of days as predicted. The greenhorns Aaron Redmond and Daniel Flynn were able to build innings on patience without having their technique really called into question. In this regard you had to feel sorry for the Bangladeshis. The wicket had variable bounce on the final day, and their slow left armers bowled with great control. But they needed a bit of sharp turn and purchase from the pitch which would have really put doubts in the minds of an inexperienced batting side. They didn't quite get the breaks when it mattered, but the elusive first-win-against-major-opposition should happen soon for the tigers. Hopefully, it won't be in the next game at Dhaka.

Vettori had done enough and more with ball and bat by the end of day four, but the masterstroke of sending himself in as a (recognised?) nightwatchman deserved the man-of-the-match award alone. While it might have been seen as a testament to the much mocked test match abilities of his team mates, he had sized up the conditions while batting in the first innings and realised that a left-hander would be more at ease against the spin duo. The funny thing is, while I've seen him play enterprising cameos and launch counter attacks in the past, I can't recall him playing a slow, grinding knock. His contribution was all the more important given that both McCullum and Ross Taylor were disappointing with the bat. The performance of the rookies Redmond, Ryder and Flynn in the second innings, as well as another blameless effort from the bowlers gave some extra significance to the win.

This performance couldn't disguise our current inadequacies at this level, but it sets a good precedent. After a poor first innings, reminiscent of some of the batting efforts during the England tests, the batsmen were forced to adapt and eventually did so. While the Aussies across the border were struggling to come to terms with subcontinent conditions, relative newcomers among the kiwis were showing a willingness to battle it out and salvage a win through defensive cricket. Despite the obvious difference in the quality of the opposition when you compare those tests, that is a cause for satisfaction indeed.