Bangladesh Started Net Practice

Getting used to a sleeping routine is the first adjustment the Bangladesh team has to make here. Hamilton is seven hours ahead of Dhaka and by the time the eyes start getting dozy all of a sudden you realise that it’s time to train.
The Tigers practised in two groups on Friday. The first group of players left their hotel by the Waikato River for Seddon Park at 9:20am local time (2:20am BST) while the second followed an hour and a half later and most of them spoke of some degree of difficulty getting a decent sleep the night before. But training can’t wait and there were three separate nets, one with the new Bola bowling machine the Tigers have carried to New Zealand, at Seddon Park’s practice area ready for the batsmen. Also there were local net bowlers some of whom may feature in the Northern Districts team that will play two practice games on Sunday and Tuesday against the tourists.
‘The practice wickets are good. They are a bit on the slower side but have even bounce,’ said Aftab Ahmed after his first hit in the nets.
‘I pulled a lot of deliveries today and it felt pretty good because the timing was there and balls were hitting the right areas of the bat. If the centre wickets are similar in character then we should not have too many problems adjusting,’ said all-rounder Sakib al Hasan who also found a bit of turn while bowling his left-arm spinners.
The pacers too enjoyed the natural zip when balls pitched on a length. There was also fielding drill side by side with the nets and after lunch the day’s programme rounded off with a gym session.
The weather in Hamilton has been warm lately, unlike the southern parts of the country and the skies are expected to stay clear over the weekend which means Bangladesh’s first warm-up game on Sunday is not under any direct threat from elements.
Today the team will train at Seddon Park from 1:55pm and later in the afternoon the team for the practice match is expected to be named.