‘Get Kane’ to make SA able

Keen to set up win, the Proteas will target the Black Caps captain in the windy second Test

Faf du Plessis admitted that both teams had waited for the other to make a mistake during the Proteas’ hard-fought first Test against New Zealand last week, but said the caution had been the result of a slow pitch on which it was all but impossible to score quickly or even fluently.

Ultimately, the match in Dunedin was decided by the South Island weather, which washed out the entire fifth day just as the teams were finally set for a fourth-innings run chase. At the time, the tourists were 191 runs ahead with four wickets in hand and hoping to set an achievable target to keep the home side interested — and therefore vulnerable.

Du Plessis said before the second Test started at Wellington’s Basin Reserve that if the series remained difficult to crack open, he would be prepared to lose it to win it. In his words, he would “make a play” in search of victory even it meant giving the Black Caps a chance of winning it for themselves.

“Obviously, we would have liked to win the first Test because now that it’s effectively a two-Test series you have to be pretty street-smart. If you set the game up to try to win but then lose it, there’s no coming back from that,” Du Plessis said.

“But I will take a chance, yes. I’d weigh up how far I can push the boundaries. The first Test was a good example. It was very difficult to score runs quickly but the chance of bowling a team out was pretty good, so a declaration of something like 220 in 50 overs might have been a nice challenge.

“So we’ll play this Test like every other and try set it up for the win. And if the opportunity presents itself later in the Test match, then I’ll definitely do whatever I can to give us the chance of victory.”

The loss of middle-order stalwart Ross Taylor and the leader of the Black Caps attack, Trent Boult, has seriously hurt captain Kane Williamson’s chances of becoming