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We soaked up the pressure well - Greatbatch

The New Zealand coach has praised the way his players overcame pressure situations to beat Bangladesh by 146 runs in the first one-day international in Napier

Cricinfo staff
06-Feb-2010
Mark Greatbatch on Jacob Oram: "If we can him back to where he was 12 to 18 months ago, he's going to be a big help to our unit"  •  Getty Images

Mark Greatbatch on Jacob Oram: "If we can him back to where he was 12 to 18 months ago, he's going to be a big help to our unit"  •  Getty Images

New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch, in his first series in charge, has praised the way his players powered to a 146-run win in the first ODI in Napier , after Bangladesh had them under pressure early on.
New Zealand lost two wickets at 19, and stumbled to 135 for 5, before Jacob Oram and Neil Broom hit attacking half-centuries to lift the score to 336 for 9. Peter Ingram, on debut, made 69 as an opener and a brisk 32 by the captain Daniel Vettori also aided New Zealand's late assault. Oram was particularly brutal, smashing five sixes and eight fours in his 40-ball 83.
"I thought Bangladesh, for probably 20 overs of the game - bowling and batting - put us under pressure but we soaked that up," Greatbatch told Press Association. "We probably lost a couple of wickets too many in that middle stage but they kept playing positively and that set us up to get to 330."
Greatbatch singled out Broom and Oram for praise. They added 123 in 11.1 overs for the seventh wicket to take the initiative away from Bangladesh. "Neil was exceptional because it was a mature knock for a guy who hasn't really had a lot of success in one-day cricket," Greatbatch said. "I thought Jacob Oram's all-round performance, particularly his batting, was exceptional.
"He's been working hard over the last three or four months and yesterday we saw a guy that, if we can get him back to where he was 12 to 18 months ago, he's going to be a big help to our unit."
The New Zealand bowlers hit back after a strong opening stand of 71 to bundle out Bangladesh for 190, but Greatbatch felt there was room for improvement. "We need to bowl a bit fuller," he said. "Even if we do get hit down the ground, we're giving ourselves opportunities to pick wickets up early. I though Andy McKay had a really good debut, showed good pace and he came on when we were under the pump, so he was probably under extra pressure and was able to soak that up.
"Ian Butler may come back in, so that may mean a rest for one of the bowlers, that's probably where we're heading."
The second ODI will be played in Dunedin on Monday.