Black Caps allrounder Dean Foxcroft banishes bad Bangladesh memory in ODI win
Sunday, 19 April 2026
Dean Foxcroft knows plenty about disappointment and perseverance.
The allrounder made his best score yet for the Black Caps in their 26-run win against Bangladesh on Friday night, while also impressing with the ball.
That all helped the 27-year-old shrug off the memory of his ODI debut at the same venue.
“Yeah, I got a first-ball duck on my previous visit,” Foxcroft laughed after NZ’s fightback win in oppressive conditions in Mirpur.
Batting at No 3 in September 2023, the right-hander’s golden duck occurred when left-arm pace bowler Shoriful Islam bowled him “through the gate”.
Shoriful was again a handful for the hosts in the first game of NZ’s tour, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is. He took 2-27 from 10 overs, meaning Foxcroft’s 59 from 58 balls at No 6 was incredibly important as the Black Caps reached 247-8 batting first.
“Today's wicket was nice for the seamers at the start,” Foxcroft said.
“Their seamers bowled pretty well in the powerplay, and we knew their spinners were going to play a big part in the middle phase.”
Utilised as opener, Henry Nicholls looked in good nick after a superb domestic season and hit nine fours in his 83-ball innings of 68, but Foxcroft had plenty of work to do when he came to the crease to replace the left-hander with the visitors 131-4.
His four other international appearances saw him tally 88 runs in T20Is, but the right-hander crafted a composed and controlled innings that then allowed the bowlers a chance to secure victory.
While Blair Tickner (4-40 from 10 overs) and Nathan Smith (3-45 from 9.3) led the response, Foxcroft took 1-25 from his six overs of off-spin, with coach Rob Walter keen to utilise him as an allrounder.
He got extravagant turn to bowl key middle-order batter Litton Das, who made 46 from 68 balls.
“My first bowl in international cricket, so very happy with that,” he said.
Bangladesh lost their last six wickets for just 37. NZ had initially put pressure on their chase with some tight bowling through the middle overs from spinners Jayden Lennox and Foxcroft, after attacking from the start with their quicks.
Opener Saif Hassan was given a let-off when dropped on one by Nicholls at slip from Smith’s bowling.
He went on to make 57 from 76 balls and a third-wicket partnership worth 93 with Litton Das.
Towhid Hridoy (55 from 60) and Afif Hossain (27 from 49) took Bangladesh to 181-4 with 10 overs remaining to be favoured to get their side home. But Lennox got the breakthrough and with the required run-rate rising, Tickner finished off most of the rest.
Born in Pretoria, Foxcroft represented South Africa at the under-19 World Cup in 2016 before moving to Napier to play club cricket for Taradale.
He made his Central Districts debut in 2018/19 and was quickly recognised as a batter with huge potential, before shifting to Otago.
But when New Zealand closed its borders in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, Foxcroft was left stranded in South Africa, and was unable to get a visa extension to return to here, eventually missing two seasons.
Game two is at the same venue on Monday, starting at 5pm (NZ time).
1st ODI, Mirpur: New Zealand 247-8 (Henry Nicholls 68, Dean Foxcroft 59; Shoriful Islam 2-27) beat Bangladesh 221 all out in 48.3 overs (Saif Hassan 57, Towhid Hridoy 55; Blair Tickner 4-40, Nathan Smith 3-4) by 26 runs. Click here for full scorecard.