Cricket World Cup 2019: Blackcaps braced for Bangladesh 'brotherhood'

United by their Christchurch ordeal three months ago, a new Bangladesh "brotherhood" have unfinished business to resolve against the Blackcaps in their Cricket World Cup clash on Thursday morning.

In March, the third and final test between the two sides was called off, after the city's tragic mosque shootings.

The Bangladeshis narrowly escaped the atrocity, which claimed 51 lives. They had attended the Al Noor Mosque earlier in the day to pray, before leaving for a nearby press conference.

The team was on a bus back to the mosque, but fled the scene when the shooting started.

Their London encounter will be the first time the teams have met since that day, adding a sombre edge to the build-up.

"They've got some sort of brotherhood there now," says coach Steve Rhodes. "They've shared with other Muslims who sadly perished that day, but with the experience they went through together on that [bus], I think it’s somehow gelled them."

While the smiles are now back on their faces, especially after an impressive opening World Cup win over South Africa, Rhodes wondered whether they'd ever be able to rebound from the harrowing experience. 

"Going back to that day in Christchurch, I was thinking, 'How do we get a team back together after this?', but they've done it."

Rhodes has been impressed with how his players have stuck together.

"They've actually got solace from each other and they've tried to help each other through it. I've got a lot of respect and admiration for the way they've pulled through."

Rhodes says the end of Ramadan has also been "tough" for many of his team, serving as a reminder of their New Zealand ordeal.

Their rapid exit from the country meant the Blackcaps didn't get the chance to farewell their rivals properly.

"It'll be great to see them tomorrow," said New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Latham. "They left pretty quickly obviously, after what happened.

"I'm sure both sides are looking forward to getting out there and getting back to the cricket field, around what we love doing."


Join us at 12:30am Thursday for live updates of the Blackcaps v Bangladesh Cricket World Cup clash