Captain Kane Williamson saw enough in the Black Caps' six-wicket Twenty20 win over Bangladesh last night to predict a bright future for New Zealand.
Black Caps Tom Bruce and Ben Wheeler. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Williamson's unbeaten 73, and an 81-run partnership with Colin de Grandhomme, got New Zealand home in Napier as they chased down Bangladesh's 141 for 8 with two overs to spare.
But it was the performance of international T20 debutants Tom Bruce, Ben Wheeler and Lockie Ferguson which pleased Williamson the most as the Kiwis refocus for the second match in Mt Maunganui on Friday.
Wheeler finished with solid figures of 2-22 off four overs, while Ferguson's 3-32 included two wickets with his first two balls.
Bruce looked assured at the crease, and was unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a run-out when Williamson slipped turning for a tight second run.
"Guys came in and performed their roles really well, filling in the shoes of some really experienced Twenty20 bowlers that weren't here today.
"There are some really good signs for T20 bowling," Williamson said.
Restricting Bangladesh to 141 on a good surface with short boundaries square was an outstanding effort, he said, but there was plenty of improvement.
Black Caps bowler Lockie Ferguson congratulated after taking a wicket. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Black Caps conceded 18 wides, including five from a Ferguson short delivery which flew high over keeper Luke Ronchi to the boundary.
"You're never happy with that, you always want to be better and that's an area we'd like to tidy up," Williamson said.
"Moving ahead into the first of two games at the Mount, we do want to sharpen up in that area, and in a few areas with the bat."
He said negotiating the change in formats, shifting from one-day internationals to T20, was always tricky as players tried to adapt as quickly as possible.
"I guess with the batting we probably lost wickets at times when we wanted to grab that momentum back.
"I thought there were some good signs but we probably want to be a little bit smarter in general."
The second game is Friday.
-AAP
