Bangladesh down, but not out

Trevor Chappell, the Australian-born coach, was not reading the riot act to his batsmen after the Bangladeshis scored a disappointingly slow 120 from 61 overs in the first innings of their four-day match against Auckland on the Eden Park Outer Oval today.

Chappell said his batsmen were under orders to bat with patience, especially after being put in to bat on a greenish pitch which may have been slightly suspect after so much recent wet weather.

"Actually our opening batsmen did a good job for the ball was swinging about. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens with these players, they lose patience. Some of them were out to very good balls, others out to bad shots."

Chappell said there was nothing wrong with his players' spirits.

"They have taken some beatings in recent times and feel a bit down after a loss. But they are a fairly happy lot, quite upbeat about their cricket."

However, Chappell said the loss through rain of two of the three days of the New Zealand District Association XI match at Wanganui over the weekend, was a major setback in preparation for the first test at Hamilton next week.

"We badly needed some batting against the District XI bowlers, and have only this Auckland game to adapt to the new conditions."