Injury clouds still loom over Tim Southee and Henry Nicholls ahead of the Black Caps world cup clash with Bangladesh
By Niall Anderson in London
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes has revealed that his side have spotted some notable weaknesses in the Black Caps during preparation for their Cricket World Cup clash tomorrow morning.
Coming off a stunning opening victory against South Africa at The Oval on Sunday, Bangladesh are back at the same ground, and believe they're ready to repeat their performance.
Rhodes pointed to Bangladesh's preparation as one of the reasons for their 21-run win over South Africa, having analysed every ball of South Africa's opener against England as part of his scouting.
Now, having done a similar reconnaissance of what to expect from New Zealand, Rhodes is similarly optimistic about being able to expose the Black Caps as well.
"We know that New Zealand have a couple little chinks in their armour as a 50-over side.
"We have had a very good team meeting back at the hotel before we arrived here, and we came to try and maximise those weaknesses. Every team's got weaknesses, and we have, too, and they know them and they will be trying to expose our weaknesses.
"I'm not too worried about the weather coming into play or anything like that, but I just thought that we can get in a situation where we can expose their Achilles heel."
They couldn't do that in New Zealand, thumped 3-0 in their ODI series earlier this summer, but Rhodes believes his side are much better placed to triumph tomorrow.
"New Zealand are one of those sides where they gave us a decent hiding. We are in better shape, taking them on this time around.
"But they are a tough opposition, like many of the top four or five teams in the world, and it will be difficult."
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes. Photo / Getty
Bangladesh have toppled New Zealand at a major tournament before – their famous five-wicket win at the Champions Trophy in 2017 – and Rhodes is hoping to tap into those experiences to produce another upset victory, this time on the world's biggest stage.
"Thankfully we've got quite a few players who were involved in that day, so they will share those memories with the other guys.
"I think it's good memories and [those] memories are good for your confidence. A lot of them will be repeating that day."
Despite his confidence in his side, Rhodes acknowledges that the Black Caps still pose a serious challenge – and believes they will be tougher opposition than South Africa.
"It will be a really big challenge tomorrow against New Zealand on a fresh pitch, and a more difficult challenge than South Africa was.
"They have got some wicket-takers throughout the innings with the ball, and they are an excellent fielding side. They are playing in a nice, relaxed manner with confidence. Trent Boult has been very good with the new ball. So he's a guy that we need to have a good day against, but we are capable of doing that with our batting lineup."
And while Rhodes understandably didn't want to reveal what he views to be the Black Caps' specific weaknesses, he was happy to point out the players that Bangladesh will need to restrict to claim victory.
"Their batting, someone like Kane [Williamson] is important to them. He's the glue that holds the innings together. And also, their attacking players at the top of the order, and around Kane Williamson, those are the type of guys that would like to try and take the game away from the opposition."
