CRICKET WORLD CUP: SA v NZ warm-up fixture preview
October 2, 2023
New Zealand and South Africa will contest a warm-up fixture before the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts. The Proteas and Black Caps currently occupy fourth and sixth position, respectively, in the International Cricket Council’s rankings for ODI teams.
The Kiwis beat Pakistan in their first World Cup warm-up fixture, while the South Africans shared a washout with Afghanistan. Let’s see what the betting markets and cricket odds have in store for this match between NZ and SA in India.
New Zealand
The Black Caps deployed as many as eight bowlers during the win over Pakistan. Half of those were spinners – and only Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry offered genuine pace. Henry extracted some steep bounce on occasion and Ferguson entered the attack late as NZ’s sixth-change option. This offered insight into how they might use their bowlers during the Cricket World Cup.
Batting-wise, New Zealand’s middle order looks all the more formidable with Kane Williamson’s return. He hit a half-century against Pakistan and was impressive during a big partnership with all-rounder Daryl Mitchell. Rachin Ravindra, meanwhile, seemed entirely composed en route to 97 against Pakistan and could capitalise on that momentum against South Africa.
South Africa
South Africa would have hoped to have gone into this fixture shortly after beating Afghanistan. But that match was washed out without a ball bowled. The personnel combinations and experimentation that was going to happen against the Afghans has had to wait for this match with New Zealand.
The Proteas will remain without captain Temba Bavuma. He has headed home briefly – and will be back after his team’s World Cup warm-up matches. Aiden Markram will continue to captain the XI in Bavuma’s absence. Fast bowlers Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortje have been ruled out of the whole tournament.
Markram, of course, is in the team primarily as a batter. He can bowl some decent spin, though. Like New Zealand have done with Glenn Phillips and Australia Glenn Maxwell, South Africa might want to squeeze some early overs out of Markram to further understand the extent of their back-up spin resources alongside specialist spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
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CRICKET WORLD CUP: SA v NZ warm-up fixture preview
New Zealand and South Africa will contest a warm-up fixture before the 2023 Cricket World Cup starts. The Proteas and Black Caps currently occupy fourth and sixth position, respectively, in the International Cricket Council’s rankings for ODI teams.
The Kiwis beat Pakistan in their first World Cup warm-up fixture, while the South Africans shared a washout with Afghanistan. Let’s see what the betting markets and cricket odds have in store for this match between NZ and SA in India.
New Zealand
The Black Caps deployed as many as eight bowlers during the win over Pakistan. Half of those were spinners – and only Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry offered genuine pace. Henry extracted some steep bounce on occasion and Ferguson entered the attack late as NZ’s sixth-change option. This offered insight into how they might use their bowlers during the Cricket World Cup.
Batting-wise, New Zealand’s middle order looks all the more formidable with Kane Williamson’s return. He hit a half-century against Pakistan and was impressive during a big partnership with all-rounder Daryl Mitchell. Rachin Ravindra, meanwhile, seemed entirely composed en route to 97 against Pakistan and could capitalise on that momentum against South Africa.
South Africa
South Africa would have hoped to have gone into this fixture shortly after beating Afghanistan. But that match was washed out without a ball bowled. The personnel combinations and experimentation that was going to happen against the Afghans has had to wait for this match with New Zealand.
The Proteas will remain without captain Temba Bavuma. He has headed home briefly – and will be back after his team’s World Cup warm-up matches. Aiden Markram will continue to captain the XI in Bavuma’s absence. Fast bowlers Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortje have been ruled out of the whole tournament.
Markram, of course, is in the team primarily as a batter. He can bowl some decent spin, though. Like New Zealand have done with Glenn Phillips and Australia Glenn Maxwell, South Africa might want to squeeze some early overs out of Markram to further understand the extent of their back-up spin resources alongside specialist spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.