New Zealand may be No.2 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings since the latest update, and they’re set to take on No.9-placed Bangladesh in a Test series, but Kane Williamson isn’t letting that gulf in rankings distract his side from the task at hand.
Bangladesh have never won a Test match on New Zealand soil, while Williamson’s men are chasing their fifth Test series win in a row. It makes the hosts firm favourites to take the series, with the first Test starting on Thursday, 28 February, but their captain was wary.
“Every team in international cricket is a threat,” he warned on the eve of the first Test.
Looking at the Test results around the world in recent times, his caution is wise. Recently, Sri Lanka completed a historic sweep in South Africa, while the Windies unexpectedly upset England, bringing them back down from a high of comprehensively beating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
“There have been some upsets for some very strong teams,” Williamson said. “They’re all very, very talented. We saw Sri Lanka over in South Africa, which was a fantastic effort. It’s hard to beat a side like South Africa anywhere – let alone in their backyard. [It shows] anybody can beat anybody.”
“I guess if you can sit down at the end of the season and look back, then it [rising in the rankings] might be something you look back fondly on. But there’s a lot of tough cricket between now and the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s stand-in captain for the first Test, admitted that “conditions would be tough” for the visitors, but urged his side to approach the series with the right attitude.
