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Williamson frustrated after warm-up game abandoned

Kane Williamson expressed his and New Zealand's disappointment after the practice match between New Zealanders and Bangladesh Cricket Board XI was abandoned due to a very wet outfield

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
05-Oct-2013
Rain did not allow any play on the first day, BCB XI v New Zealanders, 1st day, Chittagong, October 4, 2013

New Zealand's tour match was abandoned due to a wet outfield  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kane Williamson expressed his and New Zealand's disappointment after the practice match between New Zealanders and Bangladesh Cricket Board XI was abandoned due to a very wet outfield.
"It is very frustrating," Williamson said. "The boys have come off quite a bit of cricket, they have played a bit in Sri Lanka previously. It would have been really nice to play the match but it wasn't to be."
The umpires made the decision to call of play at 9.45am local time, 15 minutes after play was scheduled to start on Saturday at the MA Aziz Stadium, after bouts of overnight and early morning rain had submerged parts of the ground. The BCB XI squad left a few hours later, while the visitors had to shift base to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium's indoor facilities once again.
"It is not ideal. It is a shame not to get a practice match, but we have a few days to train and prepare accordingly. You get thrown these curve balls at times, but you have to deal with them. It is no excuse for us. We have to prepare well in the next few days."
Williamson, who scored for 403 at an average for 50.37 for Yorkshire in the County Championship's First Division, is one of the three members of the New Zealand ODI side that lost 4-0 to Bangladesh in 2010. He was one of their better performers, scoring his first international century during the series.
"It was nice to spend some time in the middle there. But having said that, I haven't played a Test series here and neither have a lot of the boys. So it will be a good experience.
"We have been doing a lot of talking, particularly about the opposition and conditions over here. We are trying to simulate all those things and move our game forward.
"It is a tough place to bat, and something that I have to get used to. I am touring the world, playing in all different types of conditions. Bangladesh is certainly different than what we are used to."
That difference in playing conditions will take a little more time to adjust as it is likely that they will continue to train indoors for another day. The relayed surface at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium is undergoing last-minute work, and as a result, they have been given just a short period of time to warm-up at the first Test venue.
Head curator Zahid Reza Babu has prepared two wickets for the Test, and both haven't had a ball bowled on them after the relay. The previous Test played here was in December 2011, after which the ground went for a complete overhaul of its outfield and playing square.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. He tweets here