Michael Bracewell admits NZ ‘didn’t time the chase very well’ against Sri Lanka

Online Editor "Valley Vision" 5 days ago

0 3 3 minutes read

New Zealand may have lost the first ODI in Dambulla on Wednesday by a fairly comprehensive 45-run margin, but for a youthful outfit with no less than three debutants in the playing XI, it was an opportunity to grab the “best seat in the house” in terms of learning how to play in unfamiliar conditions.

“I think the experiences that you get in this part of the world, they’re obviously very different conditions from what we face back home in New Zealand,” Michael Bracewell said after the game. “Those experiences you bank and you learn from and hopefully come back better, that’s the true challenge of international cricket.

“So as much as playing against them [Sri Lanka], you sort of watch them with the best seat in the house and see how they go about their business.”

In that context, for around 35 overs they observed a masterclass in how to navigate a sometimes sluggish surface. While rain in the first over of the day had ensured that any dryness in the pitch would be mitigated, this still wasn’t an entirely batter friendly track.

Getting in was crucial, and so proved Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando during a 206-run second-wicket stand off just 215 deliveries, one that effectively took the game away from the visitors.

“It was difficult looking to start on as we saw, because after that big partnership between Fernando and Mendis, it was hard for the guys to come in and score straight away,” added Bracewell. “Partnerships are obviously hugely important and we saw that partnership in the first innings of some 200 runs. I think that’s what changed the game.

“The majority of the time is obviously favourable here in Sri Lanka for spin, but batters can still play well on those wickets and put you under pressure. And I think we probably saw that today. The batters played really well and we’ll have to keep coming up with different answers and throwing different things at the Sri Lankan batters throughout the series, to try to break those partnerships a little bit earlier.”

After Pathum Nissanka fell early, Mendis and Avishka ensured the scoring rate remained stable between five and six runs an over, rotating strike with the odd boundary thrown in. It was only closer to the halfway stage of the innings that they felt comfortable enough to up the scoring.

Between the start of the 23rd over and end of the 28th over, they struck 52 runs, with the 200 coming up in the 35th over. Sri Lanka at this point were well set, but the new batters coming in after both Mendis and Avishka fell struggled to push the score to that 350 mark.

Sri Lanka though, with their eventual 324 on the board, had done enough to ensure that even with a DLS-adjustment New Zealand would have a challenging target of 221 off 27 overs. In their chase, New Zealand got off to a similarly good start, as the opening pair of Will Young and Tim Robinson put on 88 off just 80 deliveries. But once they fell, the innings began to fall apart.

“I think you look at the fine margins of when guys got out in our innings and things like that. And obviously there’s a little bit of scoreboard pressure, so guys coming in had to get going straight away.

“So that that always makes it a challenge, but that’s part of the job of coming in that middle order. And we obviously didn’t get it right. But we’ll come again in a couple of days and we’ll be looking to resurrect that again.”

Among those who perhaps could have done more was Bracewell himself. He remained unbeaten on a 32-ball 34, but with wickets tumbling at the other end he was left ruing over what could have been.

“I think it was one of those ones where to chase to 221 in 27 overs was always going to be a pretty tough ask. I think we gave it a pretty good shot but we perhaps could have fired a few more shots there through the middle as well.

“I’ll put my hand up and and say I could have taken the game on a little bit earlier, but yeah, I just don’t think we quite timed the chase very well.”