Kane Williamson had his first tryst with captaincy, which began with a hiccup but his New Zealand side bounced back will during their tour of Zimbabwe and won the ODI series and the solitary T20. “We hadn’t won a series in South Africa and we were under-strength, so to win that was a big achievement for us”, said Hesson.
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A spokesperson from Sky Sports said that negotiations will continue and the New Zealand board said they would discuss the situation with South Africa cricket and come to a conclusion.
Let’s all be clear about one thing – if there is any insouciance floating around about New Zealand’s whistle-stop tour of South Africa that gets under way with the first of two T20 Internationals at Kingsmead on Friday evening, it is not coming from the players of either side. If du Plessis does not recover in time, de Villiers will still not be able to do that, and Morne van Wyk will get another chance to stake a claim for the World T20 spot.
South African T20 captain Faf du Plessis was a late withdrawal because of a knee injury, with De Villiers, the one-day captain, taking over.
Rossouw (38, 20 balls) skied a shot with less than 10 required for the win as New Zealand were gifted a wicket.
South Africa started steadily reaching 15 after three overs. The rivalry will resume on the shores of South Africa as the two teams start off with a two match T20 series this weekend. Van Wyk, making his comeback after being left out of the Bangladesh series, gave himself time to settle in before announcing himself off Mitchell McClenaghan.
De Villiers became George Worker’s maiden wicket but South Africa were looking in control by then, with 67 required from 55 balls. Phangiso’s first over ended with the wicket of Williamson, who admitted he was hoping to take on the spinner but could not.
The kiwis on the other hand will be showcasing plenty of new talent and inexperienced players as they are without the services of their flamboyant skipper Brendon McCullum and ace fast bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult.
Phangiso, who finished with 2 for 29 in four overs, was also pleased with the show of confidence from his captain.
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Adam Milne (1-23) was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers along with Bracewell, the former generating some serious pace close to 150kph.
