Ahead of Wednesday’s One Day International between the Proteas and New Zealand — the first since the spellbinding World Cup semifinal — Hashim Amla said the heartbreak of that defeat was buried in the past.
That may be so but the tectonic plates shifted beneath the Proteas’ feet when New Zealand knocked them out of a second successive World Cup in February. A rivalry has brewed and New Zealand have become the new Australia.
South Africa play the Black Caps in the first of three ODIs in Centurion on Wednesday carrying a lot of baggage that was left unresolved by the tied two-match T20 series.
“The World Cup is done now…and what’s done is done‚” Amla said.
“The New Zealanders have a new-look team and in some ways so is ours. We are now looking ahead to the Champions Trophy in two years’ time and the captain (AB de Villiers) and coach (Russell Domingo) have been trying to get the right team for that tournament. Losing in Bangladesh was very disappointing but this is a fresh start for everybody.
“The fact that we are at home makes it a lot easier. New Zealand are missing some of their frontline players but we’ve always known over the years that they are the kind of team that has good depth. You can see that from the team they brought here. It’s going to be a good contest.”
New Zealand may have lost the World Cup final to co-hosts Australia but they have replaced their neighbours as the most-feared batting line-up in world cricket — along with India.
Captain Brendon McCullum‚ who isn’t in the country with the visitors‚ has got his team swinging for the heavens from ball one. They also aim to break toes from the first delivery.
To beat the Black Caps 3-2 in an ODI series earlier this year‚ England had to fight fire with fire and adopted the same hair- raising batting approach.
Amla said South Africa would stick to their balance of offence and calculative measure in this series — something he said De Villiers was a master at.
“The brand of ODI cricket we’ve played has a mixture of attack and an element of measure‚” said Amla.
“We’ve got some quality players in our team that can do both‚ like AB and Faf [du Plessis] when he’s available. Morne van Wyk will open the batting and throughout the domestic season‚ he’s been the standout batter who can both attack and bat through an innings.
“I’d like to think that the South African team can be attacking when the need arises and has the ability to be more circumspect when there’s a need to build the game up towards a late surge.”
There are a number of Proteas players with points to prove ahead of Wednesday’s clash‚ chiefly Farhaan Behardien‚ the 28-year-old phantom all-rounder.
The No7 batting spot‚ where Behardien was supposed to provide confidence at the World Cup‚ is an area where the Proteas can easily get ankle-tapped.
There’s no JP Duminy‚ who is on family leave‚ to offer calmness at the back end of innings.
Amla said: “There’s a fantastic opportunity for the guys coming in. Guys like David Miller‚ I would assume‚ would take on a more senior role. Rilee [Rossouw] will play and Farhaan will get an opportunity to show his worth.
“For us as well as New Zealand‚ these types of things are really healthy‚ especially building up to the Champions Trophy and World Cup in four years’ time.
“The best time to have a look at the depth in the squad is probably now. We have very good depth: there are quality players in the SA A side that is in India and we have brought in Dean Elgar into the squad as batting cover for Faf.
“In the bowling department you have guys like Marchant de Lange and Lopsy [Lonwabo Tsotsobe]‚ who are with the A side.” – The Times
Source: RDM News Wire.
South Africa Today Sport – Cricket News