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 Third one-day cricket international
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 2pm Saturday
New Zealand $2.20 South Africa $1.62
(likely): Tom Latham, Dean Brownlie, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.
(likely): Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (captain), JP Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir. 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. With the five-match ODI series poised 1-1 heading into today’s game three in Wellington (2pm start), the Black Caps or South Africa could seize the decisive advantage. We look at the main talking points of this crucial game in a gripping series to date. headache to emerge from a fighting team performance in Christchurch as the ODI wicketkeeping spot continues to prove troublesome.
The not-so-old firm of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi were excellent in Hamilton, and chimed in when needed in Christchurch. Very rarely do New Zealand play two frontline spinners at home and it’s eight Wellington ODIs since Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum teamed up against Australia in 2010. The Westpac Stadium drop-in pitch is quicker and bouncier than it was then, and it might be tempting to recall Matt Henry for Sodhi.
It may well be possible to detect neither of Abraham Benjamin de Villiers’ feet on the ground as he floats to the middle of Westpac Stadium. New Zealand crowds and TV viewers at least get a chance to savour his batting quality before he misses the test series, and it’s a sit back and enjoy situation. As long as he doesn’t bat for too long.
Without Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s bowlers couldn’t exploit a soft pitch in Christchurch and just four New Zealand wickets fell as Ross Taylor led home an imposing total of 289-4.
Rabada is a star in the making at 21, bowls 150kmh from a great height and can win matches. If he fires in tandem with Chris Morris it’s a different game, but Rabada shoulders a heavy burden already as he recovers from a knee niggle.
For the past two home seasons Tim Southee’s provided plenty of head-scratching moments. Will he return to his best of 2012-13? Is he on the slide at international level? There were enough signs in Hamilton and Christchurch, in early and late spells, that Southee still has plenty to offer and can win matches for his country. Off-cutters, changeups, the conventional outswinger and pinpoint yorkers at the death all added up to a crucial win in Christchurch, even if he suffered in one over of Dwaine Pretorius hitting. With injuries aplenty in the bowling ranks, New Zealand need their Big Two Southee and Trent Boult leading the way strongly in pursuit of the coveted ODI and test series double over the powerhouse South Africans.