Batting woes in Melbourne not a concern, says Kasperek

• The White Ferns were shaken in Melbourne as Bangladesh bowled them out for 91 in 18.2 overs
• Rachel Priest (25) top scored with the bat, with Sophie Devine (12) and Suzie Bates (15) struggling to hit for a second successive game at the Junction Oval
• Kasperek (three for 23) and Hayley Jensen (three for 11) helped complete an unlikely comeback to set up a must-win against Australia on Monday

The White Ferns were given an almighty scare when Bangladesh bowled them out for 91, their star-studded top order of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest all falling for low scores for the second time in the tournament at the Junction Oval.

But Kasperek (three for 23), who combined with the impressive Hayley Jensen (three for 21) to steer her country to a tremendous comeback, believes their form in the last two fixtures is nothing but a blip and expects to see them fire New Zealand to victory against Australia.

“I don’t think it’s a cause for concern,” said Kasperek. “They’ll probably be a little bit disappointed in how they’ve gone but they’ve been hitting well in training and we’re lucky we’ve got the number one and number two batters in the world.

“I think the very fact that against both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka we’ve managed to get over the line proves that. Other people have been stepping up.

“You want your big players to step up in big games, so hopefully they can do that against Australia on Monday.

“We learnt a lot from how Bangladesh bowled in their innings. We went out there and tried to keep it as simple as possible, bowling straight to hit the wickets.

“Hayley and Sophie [Devine] did that really well, so credit to them. When you’re defending a small total, you have to switch on more than you ever would normally and do anything you can to defend it.

“I think we were always confident we could defend it if we got them above six an over. Once we did that, we could relax a little. We had a plan and stuck to it really well.”

The White Ferns were left quaking after a superb stint from Ritu Moni, but her first four-wicket haul was not enough to steer Bangladesh to an historic victory in Group A.

Her four for 18 figures were the best of the Women’s T20 World Cup so far, and skipper Salma Khatun kept things tight with three for seven.

Ritu admitted it was gutting to see her side throw away such an impressive start but is confident the lessons learned will stand them in good stead to pick up points in their final game against Sri Lanka.

“That was really a poor performance from us,” said Ritu. “Credit goes to New Zealand for the way they bowled.

“The coaches always emphasise bowling in the right spot on the right line. I’ve worked hard on that and I’m pleased to pull it off.

“After the first innings we had no plans to bat quickly, we wanted to go calm and quietly, but unfortunately we weren’t able to do it well.

“Our fielding was better. Over the years we’ve improved a lot.

“We need to play regular cricket series with the top-ranked teams as that is the best way to help us improve.”