KEY POINTS:
Winning once with a big late run after trailing for much of a test is one thing; having to do it twice doesn't figure in New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori's planning for the second test against Bangladesh, starting at Mirpur today.
Had it not been for the skipper's sterling allround performance - nine wickets and a batting double of 55 not out and 76 - he might have been preparing to lead his side into a series-saving situation.
Although Vettori was happy his batsmen showed significant improvement in the second innings to chase down 317 at Chittagong this week, he acknowledged it's not the ideal way to win a test.
"It was not exactly the performance we wanted, but I was happy with some of the resilience shown by the guys to get us out of a tricky situation," he said last night.
"It's really important to try and win this game in the first innings. I want us to start a lot better, particularly with the bat. We've learnt a lot about their bowlers and the conditions."
Vettori doesn't expect a repeat of what he suspects undid New Zealand in the early stages of the first test.
"The guys got ahead of themselves and thought they could dominate the Bangladesh attack. If you look at the history of games in Bangladesh they've always played reasonably well."
He hopes that lack of respect has been knocked out of his players and certainly will look for clearer thinking and sensible strokemaking from his batsmen on a pitch he hopes will suit New Zealand's bowlers more than their hosts.
Officials have been trying to stop it drying out too much but Vettori expects there will be crumbling, meaning he and offspinner Jeetan Patel should be licking their spinning fingers by the third day.
Wellington allrounder Grant Elliott comes in for his second test in a straight swap for the injured Jacob Oram in the only change to the side from Chittagong. His only previous test produced a forgettable six and four double against England at Napier in March.
Vettori admitted Oram's time as a genuine allrounder, given his propensity for injuries, might be limited, but hinted that the big man will fight on for some time yet before looking at becoming a specialist batsman.
"I'd hate to see him give up the allround [role] but it's definitely something I know he'll look at if it continues to frustrate him," Vettori said.
"Sometimes when you rehab something five or six times the motivation starts to dissipate, and we all know he's good enough to play that specialist batting role pretty well."
New Zealand's middle order of Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor and Brendan McCullum offers piles of exciting strokemaking ability. The trick is ensuring a dose of solidity with that flair. Daniel Flynn at No 6 is that solid sort of batsman but Vettori is keen to stick with the dashers together, at least for the moment.
"I really think those three are exceptionally talented and have the potential to be a great middle order. At this stage my preference is for that to continue as long as possible."
Vettori suspected Bangladesh were reasonably happy with their first test efforts. A strong familiarity with defeat - one win, 48 losses in 54 tests - meant they tended to bounce back from setbacks and mitigated against the likelihood of the home side lying down tamely.
New Zealand need an authoritative display. The captain led the way in Chittagong.
Now it's up to his players to back him up with a convincing allround effort.
Bangladesh v New Zealand
National Stadium, Mirpur, starts 4.30pm today
* Bangladesh (from): Mohammad Ashraful (c), Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Rajin Saleh, Mehrab Hossain, Shakib al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mahbubul Alam.
* New Zealand: Dan Vettori (c), Jamie How, Aaron Redmond, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn, Brendan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Iain O'Brien.
