Being "aggressive" is easier said than done. New Zealand found out the hard way at Kingsmead
on Friday. It was a risky approach from a side fielding four debutants.
They wanted to make a statement with a positive approach with the bat,
but by the end of nine overs, six were back in the pavilion. Brendon
McCullum, the captain, admitted it was a flawed approach, and that New
Zealand needed to respect the fundamentals first and earn the right to
be aggressive. The cricket was of low quality, compounded by shambolic
fielding. That South Africa won with 47 balls to spare only highlighted
the gulf between the two sides. South Africa too went in with an
experimental line-up with three debutants, but they weren't tested. With
just 87 to chase, the South Africa captain-coach duo of Faf du Plessis
and Russell Domingo couldn't have asked for an easier beginning to their
new leadership roles.
McCullum said the pitch at Kingsmead was two-paced, with the odd ball
keeping low. It needed some patience from the batsmen before launching
their shots. The teams will hope for better batting conditions at East
London. New Zealand have shown the resilience to bounce back after a
horror defeat - most recently in the Test series in Sri Lanka - so South
Africa should guard against complacency. From New Zealand's
perspective, they would want to wipe the slate clean and treat this as
the first game of a two-match series.
Form guide (Completed games, most recent first)
South Africa WLLLW
New Zealand LTLTL
0 comments:
Post a Comment