Black Caps defending fortress
When the February sun warms the Wellington air it’s not too far a stretch to cast your mind back two years.
On a similar cloudless afternoon, 30,148 people roared, chanted and revelled in Tim Southee’s career-best 7-33 against England in a World Cup demolition at Westpac Stadium, which sent New Zealand hurtling towards the tournament decider.
Today’s opponents are much tougher and the stadium won’t quite heave as it did then, but this third one-day cricket international has the feel of a big stage knockout match, the series beautifully poised 1-1 with three to play and the Black Caps breathing again after winning a heart-stopper in Christchurch.
After delivering a mixed bag this season, Southee showed signs in games one and two of the form that made him and Trent Boult the best one-two punch in world cricket a few seasons back.
It nearly slipped away in Christchurch thanks to a Dwaine Pretorius batting blitz but Southee’s pinpoint eighth and 10th overs helped close it out in some cool-headed death bowling, along with Boult and Ish Sodhi as they got home by six runs.
‘‘It’s great to be involved in games that go down to the wire and as a death bowler it’s something you look forward to. Not every time it’s going to come off but when it does it’s very satisfying. It just shows the evenness between two quality sides both going at it,’’ Southee said.
Southee’s ridden the rollercoaster that is death bowling this summer; bashed by Marcus Stoinis in Auckland before producing the key yorker that led to the winning dismissal, then bowling some unplayable off-cutters in Hamilton before AB de Villiers and Andile Phehlukwayo snatched the game back.
With a fine, breezy day forecast for today, Southee returns to a ground where he’s New Zealand’s most successful ODI bowler with 23 wickets at an average of 14.52. Before the England seven there were hauls of 4-36 against Australia in 2010 and 5-33 against Pakistan in 2011.
Southee took 1-64 last time they faced South Africa in Wellington, in 2012, and the Black Caps have won four of their last six at the stadium since. A dead rubber against Sri Lanka in 2015 and a Mitchell Marsh-inspired fourwicket loss a year ago when they couldn’t defend 281 against Australia were the blemishes.
Southee expected a good drop-in surface in the stadium’s first cricket match in over a year, and hoped for minimal wind to enable swing for him and Boult up front. The long straight boundaries help the death bowlers go full and attack the stumps.
Opposition skipper AB de Villiers is again the prized wicket in a stellar batting lineup befitting the team’s ranking as world ODI No 1 with their winning streak of 12 now at an end.
In Hamilton de Villiers was 37 not out off 32 balls then let Phehlukwayo blast them home, then in Christchurch he played a rare false stroke to Boult and was gone for 45, the vital scalp that helped New Zealand believe. If ever one batsman’s dismissal can determine the course of a match, de Villiers is it, such is the esteem he’s held in.
Said Southee: ’’He’s a worldclass player and world-class finisher. There’s two guys in world cricket you don’t rest until you get them: him [de Villiers] and Virat Kohli have proven for a number of years that as long as they’re at the crease anything is possible. There’s guys around AB that can do the job as well. It’s a dangerous line-up and bats very deep.’’
South Africa look likely to recall fast bowler Kagiso Rabada after he missed Christchurch with a knee injury. New Zealand will be tempted to go unchanged from Hagley Oval, although if the dropin pitch looks quick they may recall Matt Henry or Lockie Ferguson for legspinner Sodhi.
With the bat New Zealand face a tougher task against Rabada but look for more of the same, with Kane Williamson and recordbreaker Ross Taylor anchoring and the heat on opener Tom Latham to break out of his slump ahead of the test series.