Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images
by Firdose Moonda, ESPNcricinfo
David Wiese was handed an ODI debut as South Africa looked for another solution to their all-rounder conundrum as they were put in to bat by New Zealand in the first ODI in Centurion. But that won’t be the biggest problem on the hosts’ hands: their bowling plans were leaked when a document meant for Dale Steyn was sent to another guest at the hotel South Africa are staying in. AB de Villiers shrugged it off and said the bowlers “enjoy being under pressure,” so don’t see it as too much of a bad thing.
The attack is vastly changed from the T20s, with Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir all returning. Kyle Abbott was confined to the bench, as he was during the World Cup semi-final, when these two teams last met.
Both sides wear a different look from that day, with South Africa missing Faf du Plessis through injury and JP Duminy and Morne Morkel, who are both on paternity leave. Rilee Rossouw will bat up the order with Farhaan Behardien, the extra batsman, in the middle.
New Zealand do not have Brendon McCullum or Ross Taylor or their two leading seamers Tim Southee and Trent Boult. They have stuck with the same crop who played in the T20s. Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan were tasked as the frontline seamers with New Zealand opting for two spinners on a pitch that is expected to slow down as the game goes on.
South Africa: 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 AB de Villiers (capt) 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 David Wiese, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn 11 Imran Tahir
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Colin Munro, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 James Neesham, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Ish Sodhi
