New Zealand v South Africa, 4th ODI, Hamilton – Preview
New Zealand would be keen to level the five-match One-Day International series against South Africa, and it has been boosted by the return of Martin Guptill and Jeetan Patel for the fourth game at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday (March 1).
Guptill, out of action with a hamstring injury since the first ODI against Australia late last month, has recovered and is expected to replace Tom Latham. Latham has struggled, scoring 0, 2 and 0 in the three games so far, the last in a big 159-run South Africa victory that took it 2-1 ahead in the series.
If Latham, who kept wicket in the first three games, goes out, Luke Ronchi is likely to return to his usual position on the field.
Ronchi could likely replace Neil Broom, the middle-order batsman who had returns of 2, 2 and 0. Kane Williamson confirmed that “a number of (selection) discussions” were on the cards following New Zealand’s collapse for 112 in reply to South Africa’s 271 for 8 in the third game.
Dean Brownlie, who replaced Guptill for the first three ODIs, has been retained in the squad, while the team has bolstered its spin department by bringing in Patel, the offspinner, in place of Matt Henry, the medium pacer.
Patel, who played his first ODI in seven years against Bangladesh in Nelson earlier this year, was brought in keeping in mind the Hamilton surface, which provided considerable turn in the first game of the series. The squad also has Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
South Africa, on the other hand, would look to stitch things up following a dominant performance in the third ODI, with AB de Villiers leading the way with 85 in 80 balls before an all-round show by the bowlers.
De Villiers confessed to being nervous before coming out to bat following the loss of quick wickets, saying that only a “deep, deep hunger to succeed” helped him get his bearings. He produced an innings during which he became the quickest to 9000 ODI runs. “Looking up at the scoreboard, I thought, ‘Oh my word, we’re looking at 160-180 if we get bowled out,’ which I don’t think would have been enough,” he said after the win.
South Africa has been buoyed by the performance of Dwaine Pretorius, the medium pacer who is the leading wicket-taker in the series with five scalps in the two games he has played. The team would hope for him to continue doing the good work in collaboration with Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo, the frontline pacers, and Imran Tahir.
The batting, meanwhile, has been led by de Villiers and Quinton de Kock, on top of the charts with 194 runs so far. The side would expect the likes of Hashim Amla and David Miller to come to the party quickly too, as it plans to wrap up the series with one game left and cement its place at the top of the ICC rankings.
Teams (from)
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, David Miller, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
