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Untitled Document
 Fleming heaps praise on bowling attack
3rd Apr 2007 12:07 IST
Agencies
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming heaped praise on his bowling attack for laying the foundation for a comprehensive nine-wicket win against Bangladesh in a Super Eight match of the World Cup at St. John’s in Antigua on Monday.
The Kiwi attack skittled out Bangladesh for 174 runs in 48.3 overs to set the tone and it was even more laudable as they did it without full service from the pace duo of Michael Mason and James Franklin.
"The bowling on a batting track like that was a great effort. We lost two of our main strike bowlers Michael Mason and James Franklin to injury but to get them out for 174 was a great effort. It was very impressive," Fleming said after the match.
Mason limped off the field with a calf strain and Franklin sat out major part of the innings with a migraine.
New Zealand had already lost bowler Daryl Tuffey and opener Lou Vincent to injury during the World Cup.
Naturally, Fleming was happy with the way other bowlers chipped in.
"Shane (Bond) gets wickets when he comes back on, Scotty (Styris) and Jacob (Oram) also bowled well. It's all working well for us at the moment," Fleming said.
Scott Styris and Jacob Oram shared seven wickets between them, while Man of the Match Shane Bond finished with 2/15 off 10 overs.
Bond, on his part, said now the challenge would be to continue the good work.
"Things are going well for the moment but the real challenge is to keep it going. The wicket was difficult and you had to adjust as fast as you can.
"The entire bowling unit has been doing well and that makes my job easier. On these sort of wickets, I need to keep putting the ball in the right areas and I feel I have done that so far," he said.
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar was left to rue that the total of 174 was just not defendable.
"This score was never going to be enough. All four top batsmen of my team got the start but they could not go on and that cost us the match. It was a good batting track and we let ourselves down.
"It could have been a good match had we managed 240-250," he added. |
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