A spokesperson from Sky Sports stated that negotiations will proceed and the New Zealand board stated they might talk about the state of affairs with South Africa cricket and are available to a conclusion.
Advertisement
South Africa’s start was jittery as they lost Morne van Wyk (3) in the third over off a short ball from Mitchell McClenaghan (2-28) which was gloved to the wicket-keeper.
The New Zealand Black Caps beat the Proteas by 32 runs in the second T20 global match.
“We touched on a few areas which we needed to improve on after Durban”.
“We need to see how we think on our feet and whether we are smart enough as a cricket team to turn games around to win them”.
The three-match one-day series between the two teams starts here on Wednesday. Unlike at Kingsmead, South Africa could not find their feet on a surface that appeared stripped of moisture and suited to spin, but surprisingly rewarded use of the short ball.
The Black Caps included two spinners and opened the bowling with Nathan McCullum who finished with 2 wickets as the homeside was restricted to 145 for 8.
Earlier, Martin Guptill’s excellent half-century has taken New Zealand to 177 for 7.
New Zealand spinners Nathan McCullum and Ish Sodhi both took two wickets and were economical on a pitch which Williamson admitted got more hard to bat on in the second innings.
Wiese was the other standout South African bowler, taking one for 26 in his four overs and, had catches gone to hand, he would have had two more wickets.
De Villiers had missed South Africa’s recent tour of Bangladesh owing to the birth of his child, but returned to lead his side – in the absence of injured skipper Faf du Plessis – and score 33 as the Proteas chased down their target of 152 with 13 balls left.
David Wiese assisted by providing more room for Guptill and Worker struck the first six – in the 10th over – when he sent Phangiso over square leg and into the stands.
De Villiers, Rilee Rossouw, Farhaan Behardien and Miller all had the opportunity to put that right but none showed the patience required to do that. De Villiers wants to return to the top of the order to get used to his new role ahead of the World T20, which may not be for too long. We struggled to get momentum on our side.
Advertisement
If a spirited Zimbabwe side gave Kane Williamson’s New Zealand a scare in the ODI series, AB de Villiers’s stronger line-up will pose a much bigger challenge.
