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Christchurch: New Zealand has the unenviable task of stopping the South African juggernaut when the teams lock horns in the second One-Day International in Christchurch on Wednesday.
South Africa, which came into the five-match series with 11 ODI wins on the trot, equalled its national record of 12 consecutive wins - set in 2005 - following a rusty four-wicket victory in the first ODI at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Though South Africa has forged one of the most successful limited-overs sides in world cricket, it will not take its foot off the accelerator, not with only a handful of one-day games left before the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England in June.
New Zealand’s recent record in the 50-over format hasn’t been too bad either. The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy title victory with a 2-0 win in the three-game series against Australia, and the 3-0 win over Bangladesh in the earlier one-day series.
With the first ODI out the way, New Zealand will hope for a better show from its batsmen. Save for Williamson, much of the batting unit has left a lot to be desired. The skipper will expect more from the experienced top-order trio of Tom Latham, Ross Taylor and Neil Broom.
As far as its bowling is concerned, New Zealand is packed to the brim with quality. Trent Boult will be raring to go on a pitch that is expected to assist seamers. Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme too should benefit on this strip.
The only dilemma for New Zealand in terms of selection would be to assess if it requires the services of both its spinners, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, or if it should bring in Lockie Ferguson, the 25-year-old, as another seaming option.
New Zealand have previously played Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi together at Hagley Oval - against Sri Lanka in 2015-16 - although they were barely needed.
South Africa’s bowling looks well settled with Kagiso Rabada and Morris up front forming a potent combine. Rabada will be training his eyes on maximum purchase at a venue where there should be plenty of movement and bounce for the young South African quick.
South Africa will also have to decide whether to retain Tabraiz Shamsi or return to another of their allrounders, either Wayne Parnell or Dwaine Pretorius who is now available having arrived following the birth of his child.
Teams from:
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, David Miller, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Wednesday February 22, 2017
Start time 11.00am local (2200 GMT -1d)
