Dawdling in Dhaka

You'd expect a few things to be different when you arrive in Bangladesh, but the sight of the home crowd cheering a defensive shot from one of their top-order batsman wouldn't be the first thing on the list.

It's not quite as simple as that, however, because each such cheer tended to follow a considerably louder outburst for a stunning six from the blade of the star of the day, Mohammad Ashraful. Strange it may seem, but it is merely reflective of the Bangladesh fans' appreciation of all good cricket, be it runs, wickets or just sound judgment and discipline.

Hannan Sarkar, Bangladesh's opener, was sadly lacking in judgment, however, as his expansive cover-drive off the third ball of the match ended in the safe hands of Stephen Fleming at first slip. And Javed Omar was also culpable: he could have also left alone the full-pitched ball that he dragged onto his stumps.

So Bangladesh slumped to 5 for 3 in the seventh over - just a regular day at the office, it seemed. It was a nervous start, although it must be said that the bowling, Jacob Oram in particular, was relentless early on. The fact that Ashraful and Rajin Saleh then denied New Zealand further success for another 49 overs on their way to a stand of 115 spoke volumes of their courage.

Just 21 runs were scored in the opening 20 overs, but then Ashraful's hook for six off New Zealand's quickest bowler, Ian Butler, changed both the tempo of the innings and the mood of the crowd. This was what they had come to see and when James Franklin served up a couple of wide ones just prior to lunch, two exquisite drives from Ashraful reached the cover fence.

That was just the entrée. Resuming on 21, Ashraful cut Daniel Vettori's first ball after lunch for four, and the boundaries continued to flow. With Saleh at the other end looking assured, Bangladesh were doing a fine job of working their way back into the match.

Ashraful slog-swept the offspinner, Paul Wiseman, for four, then hoisted him for six to bring up his half-century, before following up with a classical on-drive to welcome Butler to a new spell.

But just when it looked as though New Zealand would go wicketless in the second session, Selah fell to Franklin, the fifth bowler used by Fleming after lunch. It was a cruel blow for Bangladesh as they were unable to regain any sort of momentum for the remainder of the day, adding just 44 runs in the final session.

It was a surprisingly small crowd for a Test, perhaps due to the lack of shaded areas on a typically sultry day. But both sides enjoyed their moments in the sun.