NZ training halted by rain

The New Zealand cricket team players had to leave early from their first day of training in Bangladesh due to a drizzle in the afternoon.

Friday was the first day of training, and the Blackcaps were allotted the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Academy ground, where they trained during the hot and humid autumn noon, which is the scheduled time for the five matches.

The first day of training for a young Kiwi side was a bit tough, especially for the bowlers as they were sweating hard in the hot and humid conditions, and they were running to the temporary shade at the edge of the ground for some fluids with a reddish face.

But their struggle did not last long as the rain came around 4:30 PM, and then they decided to pack it up for the day.

The visitors have called a replacement for Finn Allen, who was found Covid-19 positive upon his arrival in Dhaka from the UK where he was playing in `The 100’, but the team has changed their strategy which brings in a bowler Matt Henry in his place. “Matt’s clearly not a like-for-like replacement for Finn, but he expands our selection options and, in the current circumstances, is the best equipped to join the side at such short notice”, said New Zealand’s head coach Gary Stead from Christchurch.

The pacer was startled after getting a call for replacing Allen in Bangladesh.

“I just got a phone call from Steady informing me of the situation. It is a great opportunity for myself. I haven’t been to Bangladesh. It is my first time for me there. I have experience in sub-continent conditions so I am going there with a lot of confidence,” Henry said on Friday.