New Zealand opener Finn Allen wants to bat in his own aggressive way despite having seen how the Bangladesh spinners operate on the slow pitches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium without much pronounced bounce. Allen, who joined the team’s quarantine after ten days in isolation having tested positive for Covid-19 on August 22, was delighted to link up with his team-mates on his first tour with the senior side.
The visitors went down by seven wickets in the opening game, having been bundled out for just 60, their joint-lowest T20I score. Allen was sorely missed, as he offers big hitting coupled with good form from the Vitality Blast and the Hundred in the last couple of months.
Allen said he followed the first game from his room, and that he wasn’t ready to give up his aggressive style although he has considered options in his shot-making.
“Watching the game was pretty helpful,” Allen said. “I saw how they go about things. How I want to do things. I want to use these few days to train and prepare. I don’t think I will change my intent too much. I will continue to stick with it. I have been thinking about options. I think I have had pretty good preparations over the last few months for this tour. I have played in similar conditions in some places. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.”
Allen will be at the ground in Dhaka on Friday, for his first training session, ahead of the second T20I later in the day. He hopes to suss out the conditions quickly, although getting back to fitness remains his first priority.
“It is good to be in fresh air, and looking forward to the game today. I hope to do a run around and hopefully have a hit to get familiar with surroundings and conditions. I want to get the fitness back up again to push forward to play pretty soon,” he said.
Allen said that his time in isolation was difficult, but he tried to make the best of the situation. “It is never nice. I almost finished my seven-day period when I got here. I realised I was going to be in here a bit longer. Not seeing the boys was pretty devastating. NZC and BCB were really good to me. They helped out a lot. Made it easier for me.
“I had some symptoms so I was pretty much in bed. Keeping in touch with people back home, and a few mates in the UK. I couldn’t do much anyway. I was clocking Netflix to begin with but it got boring. I tried to find new ways to entertain myself. I did a bit of exercise towards the end,” he said.
Allen believes New Zealand would be able to bounce back from their heavy defeat in the first match. “It was so good to get into the quarantine to see them all. It is a pretty awesome group of guys here. Everyone is buzzing. Fizzing around the hotel all the time. Table tennis is out. It’s good. It is nice to be around everyone. It is an environment to thrive off,” he said.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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