Bangladesh get through the first day of a quick learning process

The first day of Bangladesh's New Zealand education, part of a longer learning process for the newcomers to the class of Test nations, was conducted at Victoria Park, Wanganui today in the fashion of show and tell.

Bangladesh, consigned to the field throughout the day as New Zealand District Association XI won the toss and batted, showed themselves eager learners who watched the home team closely and surmised.

The tourists claimed only three wickets in more than 100 overs and the New Zealand District Association XI, batting at a measured pace, reached stumps at 232/3 thanks to Harley James who, after taking guard in a pool of blood, batted stoicly to make 117 and captain Peter McGlashan who was 59 not out at stumps.

James came to the wicket after a handful of overs to take the place of opener Grant Robinson who had left the field shocked and bloodied after being struck in the face from a top edge while trying to hook. The District Association XI was then only six - Robinson had made one from 22 balls - and James found himself taking guard with his feet astride a deep pool of Robinson's blood.

Robinson was rushed to Wanganui Hospital for a preliminary examination which revealed a broken eye socket among other peripheral damage and was then transferred to Palmerston North Hospital, 60km away, for urgent surgery.

James is a big man and of phlegmatic country stock. He was not one to let such unsettling events distract him. He set about an inning which for its duration and value became the cornerstone of the home team's impressive first day effort.

He shared partnerships with opener Peter Ingram which carried the District Association XI through lunch without loss and to 77 before the fall of Ingram who batted 151 minutes for 31. The central pillar of the innings was the partnership throughout the afternoon of James and McGlashan, his captain, who put on 127 for the third wicket in 180 minutes.

James batted from 11.05am - on Robinson's unfortunate departure - to a few minutes after five o'clock. He raised his half century in 110 minutes from 94 balls and his century in four hours and 25 minutes, from 281 balls.

His total innings lasted 10 minutes more than three hours and he hit nine fours and a six. Nor was this James' first experience of success against a touring team. He has already to his credit a half century for Canterbury against Zimbabwe and he admits, modestly as countryfolk do, that he has learned the craft of playing long innings.

"I've had a couple of knocks against Zimbabwe and I got 50 in each game. I seem to pick my game up a bit against touring sides," he said.

"I walked out there today and there was a big pile of blood right where I was standing. Not a good way to go in but we had to just dig in at that stage and see off the new ball and after a bit of time in the middle the runs came.

"Obviously we would have liked a few more runs but they had a few good spells of bowling at times and made us work hard for the runs. We had to just wait till something came up.

"That's pretty much the way I bat. A lot of people who know me will say I'm pretty happy doing that sort of thing and spending a bit of time about it so it suited me."

James is a big man, tall and broad whose size and posture speaks attack but he curbed any attacking notion today, respected the bowling and accumulated runs with caution and patience. He became a study for the Bangladesh players who found the conditions at Victoria Park - lush and verdant - almost the polar opposite to those they are used to at home.

There was humidity, a legacy of warm showers that swept Wanganui in the early morning, but while the New Zealanders complained of the heat, the tourists politely discussed the cold.

Bangladesh hoped to learn by example and they watched the manner in which the New Zealand District Association players accumulated runs on a slow pitch which demanded watchfulness. They learned, according to their coach Trevor Chappell, of the importance of patience, of playing to a plan.

At the same time, James studied the Bangladeshis and spoke admiringly of a bowling attack which included a left and right-arm new ball combination, an orthodox left-armer on whom much of the bowling responsibility fell, a leg-spinner and a right-arm off spinner.

"They had a couple of pretty handy new ball bowlers," he said. "I was quite impressed with the left-armer (Enamul Haque) who bowled pretty well throughout the day. Every time they came back he was pretty demanding.

"They were hard to get away, putting the ball on the spot all the time. They've got plenty of guys there who can get the arm over and mix it up and keep you guessing.

"They fielded really well all day. They were keen and enthusiastic all day and they made it fun to be out there."

Chappell presides over this early stage of his team's cricketing education and said today was a new and valuable learning experience.

"I guess the pace of the wicket was pretty similar to what we're used to," he said. "It was pretty slow and there was a bit of moisture around in the ground from a fair bit of rain in recent times.

"There was a bit of movement in the wicket early in the day but we didn't make the batsmen play enough at that stage. The bowling wasn't too great but it wasn't that bad either. We didn't bowl a lot of rubbish and we stuck pretty well to the plan of keeping the ball up and making the batsmen play but we didn't look like taking a lot of wickets.

"I was reasonably happy with the way the bowlers stuck at it but we can perform a lot better than that, I'm sure.

"We want to try to get used to these conditions as soon as possible. That was the first day and we need to keep improving every day from now."

Left armer Haque bowled 28 of the day's 100 overs and finished with the wicket of James, lbw, at a cost of 56 runs. Leg spinner Mohammad Ashraful, who bowls an enquiring line and length, took two for 49.