Coach Mike Hesson believes passionately that the culture of aggressive, entertaining excellence, which grabbed his countrymen’s interest like never before en route to the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, can be inculcated into the next generation and then sustained.
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New Zealand hope their player depth is up to one of the great challenges of worldwide cricket when their limited-overs tour of South Africa begins on Sunday.
For the home contingent this series will be somewhat emotional as they would love to knock over their opponents to avenge their world cup 2015 loss at the hands of kiwis which denied them the crown for another four years.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Doug Bracewell, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Ben Wheeler, George Worker.
New Zealand v South Africa.
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But they have issues of their own to confront, with the absence of senior men Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee and Trent Boult placing some inexperienced stand-ins in the spotlight.
“Now the World Cup’s over, that’s cool, and we are still looking to improve”.
But the story that may capture the imagination is the return of 36-year-old Morné van Wyk to the ODI side, where he will open the batting and keep wicket while Quinton de Kock attempts to rediscover some form with the “A” side in India and AB de Villiers concentrates on captaining and marshalling the middle order.
The team look ahead to Melbourne, still glowing from their thrilling win over South Africa. Overall the African giants have a better record at home versus the blackcaps as they have won four out of the six T20 encounters played here.
Meanwhile, Williamson said he was enjoying his stint as captain.
“The World Cup semifinal was a big game, but you saw the respect the teams had for each other at the back end of the game. It was a lovely surprise, but I know what I can do, and it will be fantastic to be out there again wearing the badge”. They are impressive young players from the circuit and performed exceedingly well in the recently concluded series against Bangladesh. There are plenty of examples in sport of players who defy convention by keeping themselves in good condition.
“My focus is contributing playing a role that I’m given and if you are able to pass milestones along the way, that’s great”.
David Wiese was the pick of the bowlers, taking two for 24, while Kagiso Rabada and left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso also took two wickets apiece.
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South Africa: AB de Villiers (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (captain), Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Eddie Leie/Aaron Phangiso.
