HAMILTON (New Zealand), Dec 22: New Zealand pace bowler Chris Cairns snatched seven wickets as the home team beat Bangladesh by an innings and 52 runs in the first Test here Saturday.

Cairns took 5-7 Saturday morning to end with figures of 7-53 off 18.2 overs as Bangladesh were bowled out for 108 following on in their second innings.

It took the New Zealand bowlers just 45 minutes to wrap up the Test on the final day after the first two days were lost to rain. The match lasted just 181.4 overs.

Bangladesh resumed on 90 for four Saturday under sunny skies but lasted just 13 overs as Cairns ripped into the Bangladesh batsmen.

Their big hope Al-Shariar lasted just one ball when Cairns enticed an edge to wicketkeeper Adam Parore off the seventh ball of the day. Opener Al-Shariar faced 103 balls for his 53.

Then in Cairns’ third over of the day he had captain Khaled Mashud caught at first slip by Stephen Fleming for six, and next ball Khaled Mahmud was snapped up by Mathew Sinclair at second slip.

It left the tourists 98 for seven after 30 minutes play, and Cairns and Shane Bond quickly wrapped up the tail.

Cairns’ best bowling figures were on the same ground two years ago when he took seven for 27 against the West Indies.

His efforts here, in his 53rd Test, were the 12th time he had taken five wickets or more in an innings.

It wasn’t enough though to secure him the Man-of-the-Match award which went to opener Mark Richardson for his 143 in the first innings.

The result was Bangladesh’s fourth innings loss in their eighth Test and to rub salt into their wounds match referee Barry Jarman of Australia fined them five percent of their match fee for slow over rates.

The second Test starts in Wellington Wednesday, with New Zealand confirming Saturday that batsman Nathan Astle would miss the match with a fractured bone in his right hand suffered while batting here.

Auckland opener Matthew Horne will replace him in the only change to the side.

Astle suffered the injury while batting Thursday and didn’t take the field Friday. X-rays confirmed the fracture Saturday morning.

The injury however isn’t expected to affect his chances of making the New Zealand side for the one-day tri-series against Australia and South Africa in Australia in the New Year.

It does though signal a reprieve for No 3 Mathew Sinclair who was expected to make way for Horne in the second Test.

Horne will return for his 30th Test after scores of 178 against Bangladesh for Auckland and 49 and 127 against Otago this week.

Opener Lou Vincent was Friday cleared of any serious injury after dislocating a little finger in the field Friday.

Cairns had a serious knee operation earlier this year and did not bowl a ball in anger until the tour of Australia in November.

He appeared to struggle at times in Australia but did pick up a five-wicket haul in the first test in Brisbane.

“I thought I’d be able to bowl just the same after the operation but it was plain that I couldn’t,” said Cairns.

“I lost my rhythm and things just weren’t right but today things seemed to click and it was a great feeling.”

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said the pivotal wicket was that of Aminul Islam for a duck.

Islam was deceived by Cairns’s slower ball and played back expecting it to bounce, but it kept low and bowled him.

“Once he got that slower ball working, I knew he was back to his best,” Fleming said.

Fleming had some complimentary things to say about the opposition, particularly their positive approach, but Bangladesh coach Trevor Chappell was not quite so generous.

“They were bloody pathetic,” said the Australian. “They just surrendered. They had no guts and it’s bloody heart-breaking.

“Our aim was to get to 300, which was going to be difficult, or at least make them [New Zealand] bat again.

“But they got out to balls they didn’t need to play. We batted reasonably well in the first innings but today it was dreadful.”

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 365-9 dec (M.H. Richardson 143, C.D. McMillan 106).

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 205 (Habibul Bashar 61; S.E. Bond 4-47).

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 90-4):

Javed Omar lbw b Martin 15

Al-Shariar c Parore b Cairns 53

Habibul Bashar c Parore b Cairns 1

Aminul Islam b Cairns 0

M. Ashraful c sub (Drum) b Bond 6

Sanwer Hossein b Bond 12

Khaled Mashud c Fleming b Cairns 6

Khaled Mahmud c Sinclair b Cairns 0

Mohammad Sharif not out 4

Masrafe bin Mortaza c Vincent b Cairns 2

Manjural Islam c Fleming b Cairns 1

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-4) 8

TOTAL (all out, 46.2 overs) 108

FALL OF WKTS: 1-39, 2-42, 3-42, 4-68, 5-90, 6-98, 7-98, 8-104, 9-107.

BOWLING: Cairns 18.2-2-53-7 (4nb); Bond 15-4-28-2; Martin 4-1-6-1; Vettori 9-4-17-0.

RESULT: New Zealand won by an innings and 52 runs

UMPIRES: A.L. Hill (New Zealand) and D.L. Orchard (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: D.B. Cowie.

MATCH REFEREE: B.N. Jarman (Australia).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mark Richardson.

SECOND TEST: Wellington, Dec 26-30.

—AFP/Reuters