SPORTS REPORTER

Undeterred by the defeat to England from a commanding position, Bangladesh are turning their focus to today’s ICC Women’s World Cup clash against New Zealand in Guwahati, boosted by confidence from their fight against a vastly superior opponents following a win over Pakistan.

Bowling has been their primary strength, and pacer Marufa Akter, who suffered cramps in the last match, is expected to recover fully. Spinner Nahida Akter informed in yesterday’s pre-match press conference that Marufa “is doing well” and the team hope she is “ready” for their third contest in the eight-team tournament.

It is the batting department where improvements could really produce dividends. Rubya Haider Jhelik and Sobhana Mostary provided solid starts, while Rabeya Khan was the latest to impress with a fiery knock in the lower order. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, along with Shorna Akter and Sharmin Akter have misfired, but Nahida opined the batters have “maybe collapsed a bit in a few areas”.

The England loss, sealed after Heather Knight was reprieved by inconclusive TV replays, is behind them. “What happened is already in the past,” Nahida said, adding that the Tigresses feel secure in the plans they made.

“Every World Cup match is challenging. Nothing comes easy. We are preparing with that mindset. I feel if we play a little better than we did in the last game, we can do something significant.”

The Kiwis, on the other hand, despite losing their opening matches, feature in-form Sophie Devine -- who followed up a 112 against Australia with an 85 against South Africa -- and the explosive Suzie Bates. All-rounder Amelia Kerr acknowledged Bangladesh’s bowling attack is capable of troubling teams.

“I think, apart from the opening bowler [Marufa], they’re a spin-heavy attack, and they’ve had a lot of teams in trouble as well throughout this tournament we’ve seen,” Kerr said.