Early arrival in Bangladesh will help NZ - Oram

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has said the team's early arrival in Bangladesh will help the players get used to the humidity and the pitches. The New Zealand team arrived on September 30 in the days leading up to Eid celebrations in Bangladesh.

"We had the Champions Trophy postponed which means we didn't have any cricket after the England tour which finished in June," he said. "We came over here earlier than the original schedule only to get used to the conditions".

Oram believed that it would be a tough series for them despite the fact that they have an excellent record against Bangladesh and won all Tests and ODIs when the two teams last played in New Zealand in 2007-08.

"We are here to win. But it is going to be a lot tougher than it was back in New Zealand. The conditions are so different. In Tests, I think it's about which side has flexibility and depth in different conditions," he said. "Maybe the Bangladeshis did not do that when in New Zealand, so we have got a challenge here. The wicket is probably drier, flatter, slower and probably going to assist the spinner more."

Oram said Bangladesh's batting would present a challenge despite the fact that they had lost a few players to the ICL. "I think they have some very exciting players. They showed in New Zealand that they could play all the shots. They had us under pressure a number of times. Tamim (Iqbal) is a very good player as is (Junaid) Siddiqui, (Mohammad) Ashraful at the top of the order. The guys play all the shots, more shots than us, but may be too many shots."

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, meanwhile, said it would be a mistake to underestimate the hosts. "We know how good they can be. If we are not on top of our game we can get upset and that's the thing we are trying to avoid."

He said not only would Bangladesh enjoy the home advantage but would be buoyed by a formidable bowling attack. "Look at their bowlers; they have (Shahadat) Hossain, (Mashrafe) Mortaza and (Abdur) Razzak. They are going to be formidable opposition for us."

New Zealand will be playing three ODIs and two Tests on their tour to Bangladesh, with a warm-up game scheduled for October 7 against a yet-to-be-named side, followed by the first ODI in Dhaka on October 9.