Fleming praises repaired squad
Afp, St John's
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming praised his patched-up side after a commanding nine-wicket win over Bangladesh opened up the path to the World Cup semifinals. The Black Caps, who have already lost strike bowler Daryl Tuffey and opening batsman Lou Vincent to injury during the course of the tournament, saw seamers Michael Mason and James Franklin forced to leave the field at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Mason had a leg injury while Franklin suffered a migraine. "The bowling on a good batting track like that was a great effort," said Fleming who hit a century as New Zealand eased to a victory which kept up their 100-per cent record in the competition. "We lost two bowlers and to get them out for 174 was a great effort. It was very impressive. The players who have been in form continue to be in form." Scott Styris collected four wickets, Jacob Oram three with Shane Bond finishing with 2-15 off 10 overs. "Shane gets wickets when he comes back on, Scotty and Jacob also bowled well. It's all working well for us at the moment. "When we batted it was nice to be able to put the hammer down and think about the run rates. We could capitalise on our strong position." Bond, who was named man of the match, said he was enjoying the challenge of pitting his pace against the slow Caribbean pitches. "Things are going well for us at the moment. The challenge will be to keep it going until the business-end of the tournament," said the former policeman. "The wickets are different every time you turn up so it's a question of adjusting every time and using your variations. The other guys also do a good holding job which makes my work easier. "Guys like Shaun Pollock and Glenn McGrath are the ones you strive for and even though I'm a quick bowler, on these kind of wickets, I still need to put the ball in the right areas and I've managed to that so far."
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