Perhaps motivated by that that theory, the Black Caps did not waste valuable time and trained yesterday on what would have been the fifth and final day of the first Test against Bangladesh.

Instead of resting in the comfort of their hotel rooms after thrashing the home side by an innings and 99 runs inside three and a half days, Stephen Fleming's men returned to the Bangabandhu National Stadium for a strenuous practice session in the morning.

"Coming to this part of the world from New Zealand, it is tough work to counter the heat and making adjustments. I've learned from my first tour to the sub-continent in 1995 that the key to success here is to play a lot of spin (bowling) and be cautious against pace bowlers who can reverse swing the ball in these conditions," said the premier Kiwi batsman after a net session.

"You have to take your time and can't rush," added Astle who has nine Test hundreds from 63 matches.

Astle, who has had many ups and downs in a career spanning nine years, believes that every cricketer has more bad days than good ones.

"It is part of the game. My come back and playing for the side has given me the confidence about my place in the team."

Astle, who holds the record for the fastest double century in Test cricket said that 222 against England remains the highlight of his career.

"That was an innings of a lifetime. A century in my first World Cup match (in 1996) is also a memorable one for me."

The 33-year-old from Chris-tchurch added that he never sets specific targets going into a match but he wants to achieve two more things before he calls it a day: To play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup and score some more runs for his country.

Astle started off as an opener but later established himself as a middle-order batsman. He was also a bowler but nowadays does not use his torturous gentle medium pace anymore.

"That was in the good old days. But I have bad knees, which does not permit me to bowl," admitted Astle Who has 36 Test wickets to his name.

Astle observed that Bangladeshi batsmen were too impatient in the first Test that led to their downfall.

"They lack patience. Their shot selection was poor also and they let the opposition dictate the terms. They should have realised that one has to keep the scoreboard ticking too. They can take lessons from the way (Brendon) McCullum and (Jacob) Oram did the job for us," said Astle.