Published: Mar 07, 2017, 06:36 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 07, 2017, 06:38 PM (IST)
The last time New Zealand faced South Africa in whites was back in August 27, 2016 in South Africa where the hosts managed to win by 204 runs, clinching the two-game series by 1-0 (the first was a rain washout). Since then, both teams have exhibited the best of their performance in Test cricket. Moreover, this period saw Dale Steyn getting injured and benched for around six months after breaking his right shoulder in South Africa’s last Test encounter against New Zealand, Ab de Villiers stepping down from Test captaincy and Ross Taylor, the Kiwi veteran, had surgery to remove a pterygium, or growth, on his left eye that had affected his vision. Full Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs South Africa, 1st Test at Dunedin
But now when they meet each other in the first Test of the three-game series at Dunedin, visitors will have the momentum on their side with the recent victory in One-Day Internationals (ODI).
Since the last encounter between these two teams, South Africa have been a busy team playing both away and at home. Out of these 6 games they played in total, South Africa have played 3 away and 3 at home. They first played against Australia in Australia, defeating the Steven Smith side 2-1 in one of the most emphatic manners. This series victory was later followed by a win over Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series at home by 3-0.
Dale Steyn got injured against New Zealand and the woes for a lethal pacer emerged in fast pacey tracks of Australia, but Kagiso Rabada came out. When it came to batting, Quinto de Kock (QDK) was always there to go after the bowlers irrespective of his batting position. There were apprehensions if Faf du Plessis would fill in the boots of de Villiers, but he lead his team from the front and brought some unexpected results.
In all these happy factors, South Africa saw Kyle Abbott say goodbye to South Africa cricket opting for a Kolpak deal to play English County cricket.
But still, the Proteas have not choked. Yet!
They have been right on the money when it came to assaulting the opposition which has played pivotal role in putting their team in No. 3 position in Test rankings.
New Zealand, on the other hand, were the home giants until recent run of eight consecutive ODI series wins at home was halted by South Africa with a 3-2 win!
Since their last defeat against South Africa, Kiwis have played 7 Tests in total; losing all three away games but winning the rest 4 games in convincing manner.
They first played India in India losing 0-3 in as many Tests. Then they went back home and defeated Pakistan 2-0 against the run of play. Pakistan were considered heavyweights having given England a tough fight in four-game Test series (2-2). But the Kiwis utilised their home advantage to the best of their ability and romped Team Misbah in an emphatic manner. This victory was followed with a win over Bangladesh (2-0) at home later to keep their winning run going.
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But now, when Kane Williamson and du Plessis locks horns, the latter’s bulls will have an upper hand. South Africa have been bestowed with some the best pacers in the recent times. Rabada, Vernon Philander along with the latest addition of Morkel along with Keshav Maharaj’s wily spin and unplayable bounce can be baffling for the Kiwi batsmen. The visitors will definitely miss the services of de Villiers who has opted to stay away from Test cricket for a certain period, but with the return of Philander and Morkel, South Africa are bolstered for sure. Morkel recovered from a career-threatening back injury while Philander was dealing with a nagging ankle problem.
But now with their first team fully fit, the visitors would be itching to make their mark here in New Zealand followed by very important tour of England.
Amidst all this, Temba Bavuma has been a little on the lower side. He made his entry in the longest format of the game with a bang; but his gun has gone cold since then. He was in an impressive form in Australia scoring 162 runs in 3 games, but at home he managed to score 21 runs in 3 games. So his form is vital as he forms the core of South Africa’s middle order.
For New Zealand, the probing factor is the petty form of opener Tom Latham. To highlight his recent form he scored 2 in the first 3 ODIs against South Africa, eventually getting dropped. Prior to this dip in form, Latham averaged 100.66 in just 2 games amassing 302 runs in 4 innings against Bangladesh.
Basically every Kiwi batsman was in great touch against Bangladesh. Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Taylor, Mitchell Santner all averaged above 50. But Kiwi top order is not experienced one as Jeet raval has played just 4 Tests so far. He has shown the grit and hence a long innings can be expected from him soon and this series will just serve him the right opportunity.
When it comes to bowling, the pace trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner did all the damage managing 33 wickets out of 40 in between them against Pakistan. Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham too have been great for their team and hence Williamson and management are likely to have conundrum over selection.
Look out for
Both teams have three lethal pacers, but the competition between Rabada, Morkel/Philander against out-of-form Latham and Raval in swinging conditions will be worth witnessing.
Pitch Report
Dean Elgar has termed the pitch good for batsmen, there might be enough movement on offer for pacers as the days go by.
Head to Head
If we look at past records, South Africa are already the winners because New Zealand have never won any Test series against South Africa, irrespective of home or away conditions.
This is going to be the16th bilateral series between these two nations since 1932, out of which South Africa have won 12 times and the rest 3 were drawn.
Both teams have played each other 42 times in Tests in which South Africa have won 24 times while New Zealand have managed to win just 4 times, while the rest of the games have ended in draw.
But, New Zealand have the worst record against South Africa at home. At home, New Zealand have played 17 Tests against South Africa winning just 1 while the visitors have 7 in their kitty.
But as I had mentioned earlier, New Zealand defeated strong looking Pakistan against the run of play. New Zealand had never won a Test series against Pakistan since 1985, but they did win recently. So South Africa cannot take New Zealand lightly as hosts are enough capable to turn the tides in their favour taking full use of home advantage.
(Stats input from Abhishek Kumar)
The records are vast but from the past.
But going by the odds this time it’s Africa!
Teams:
New Zealand: Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, BJ Watling (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, James Neesham, Jeetan Patel
South Africa: Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Duanne Olivier, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Theunis de Bruyn
