New Zealand head coach Rob Walter believes his side will benefit from the experience gained despite losing the ODI series to Bangladesh, after initially taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match contest. The series was played in demanding conditions, with the final matches held in the heat of Chattogram.
With several senior players unavailable due to commitments in the IPL and PSL, New Zealand fielded a less experienced squad. Walter emphasised that the exposure for fringe players in such conditions would prove valuable in the long run.
“There’s no downside to that type of experience for the players – whether they do well or poorly,” Walter said. “Because there’s so much to learn from it. So the skills get put under pressure by a good team. You either find your way through or not…but whatever happens as long as you’re learning individually and as a collective, there will definitely be some massive learnings around those guys who have sat in the wings or waited for opportunities and then exposed to a quality opposition in testing conditions.”
O’Rourke’s Return a Key Positive
Walter highlighted Will O’Rourke’s performances as one of the major positives from the tour. Returning after an eight-month injury layoff, the fast bowler impressed, particularly in the third ODI in Chattogram, where he removed Bangladesh’s top three batters inside the powerplay while maintaining speeds close to 140kph.
“We’ve seen some nice performances – Will O’Rourke back on the field and bowling well again,” Walter said. “He got better and better with every game that he played.
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“We were managing him as best as we can. We had a sort of how many overs we wanted him to cover in this period. Obviously, the heat was a factor that we were aware of, but you can’t quantify it, really. So, it was being aware of how we wanted to use Will with a far bigger picture in mind. So, it was a massive victory given the injury he has come back from and given the way he bowled.”
Kelly Impresses with Bat
Nick Kelly, selected ahead of younger opening options, made the most of his opportunity with consecutive half-centuries. In the third ODI, he scored 59 off 80 balls while chasing 266 on a challenging surface before being dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman.
Walter was encouraged by Kelly’s composure and noted areas for improvement.
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“Often the early parts of the innings are tricky when there’s bounce or lateral movement, so being strong technically and mentally is important. Nick has been a strong performer and has scored Ford Trophy hundreds as well,” Walter said. “He’s been a strong performer for a couple of years. It’s been difficult to get opportunity and good when these ones present themselves. Then you see how guys are challenged. He was challenged and I thought he managed himself pretty well, given the physical toll of batting in these conditions and he will walk away going: ‘I’ve got areas in my game that need to be better at international level for me to be able to attack the game earlier potentially’.
“It wasn’t through lack of intent. There were parts in the powerplay where the guys were showing intent and using their feet. We missed out on a couple of wide ones – not that we left them. We tried to put them away, but the variable bounce got us.”
Building Squad Depth
Walter also pointed to the broader benefits of the tour, noting that New Zealand currently has a large group of players competing across Asia, including A tours and franchise leagues. He believes this period offers a chance to strengthen the player pool ahead of future assignments.
“There’s no downside to strengthening the group of players that you can select from,” Walter said. “The national team will be put under pressure for varying reasons from a selection point of view and saying having guys who have got international experience under their belt is critical.
“I joked last night in the team meeting that in your team photo we have someone with four caps sitting in the front row. So, that would be a first, I think so. So, we keep building experience and it’s never nice to lose. But if we sort of park the result on the side and we are walking away stronger for it for sure.”
Managing Challenges and New Opportunities
Despite dealing with injuries during the tour, New Zealand continued to test new players. Blair Tickner missed the final ODI due to an ankle niggle, while Ben Lister, his replacement, picked up two wickets. Kristian Clarke was also unavailable after suffering a hand injury during the A tour in Sri Lanka.
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In Clarke’s absence, Wellington allrounder Muhammad Abbas was given an opportunity and showed promise. Abbas will remain with the squad for the T20I series, while Ben Sears is set to join after completing his PSL commitments.
“It was good that he got a nice run with the ball yesterday and again five overs on the trot was a good test in the heat,” Walter said of Abbas. “But I thought he bowled really well and sort of managed to restrict the guys relatively well in a phase they were starting to find some momentum.
“From a batting point of view, we’ve seen Mo at domestic level and we know that he’s a guy of high potential. The last two knocks that he’s been exposed to would have really given him some great information from his own game point of view as to where he might need to stretch it and improve and grow. Allrounders who are genuine allrounders give you flexibility in the way that you line them up and balance. For him to keep developing both sets of his skills will be critically important to the Black Caps.”
