NZ vs Ban, 2nd Test: Have to live to fight another day, says Ashwell Prince
Jan 10, 2022
Christchurch [New Zealand], January 10 : Bangladesh batting coach Ashwell Prince said he knew that New Zealand will bounce back with more urgency as the hosts dominated the visitors on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh here at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
Tom Latham's 252-run knock backed up by a dominant bowling performance helped New Zealand dismantle Bangladesh on Day 2.
"Of course, we are disappointed [with the top five in the first innings]. It was a massive effort last week. We played 173 overs against a quality bowling attack. I think it is fair to say that we expected NZ to come back with a lot more urgency in this game. If you compare the two games, you can see that it is really difficult to fight your way back, even if you are the No. 1 team," said Ashwell Prince as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"Last week, we managed to get ourselves ahead of the game. In this game so far, they started really well yesterday, continued it this morning. They also started well with the ball. They made it tough for us to get back into the game. We have to live to fight another day," he added.
The batting coach also praised Yasir Ali for his style of batting and said that he was solid in defence and decisive in the attack.
"Yasir was solid in defence and decisive in the attack. I think it is that type of pitch. You have to leave the ball with confidence. You have to be decisive playing a defensive or an attacking shot. The keyword is decisive with whatever option you will be taking," said the batting coach.
"At tea time, we identified the pitch was quite good for batting. There was value for shots off the surface. The outfield was nice. If we could hang in a little bit, we could get a partnership going. The movement happened a bit quicker off the surface today," he added.
Earlier, resuming Day 2 at 349/1, Devon Conway brought up his century but after a knock of 109, he was sent back to the pavilion via a run-out. Wickets kept falling, but skipper Tom Latham remained firm at one end.
Latham went on to play a remarkable knock of 252 runs off just 373 balls with the help of 34 fours and 2 sixes. Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell also chipped in with an unbeaten knock of 57 as New Zealand finally declared their innings at 521/6.
