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Napier: Series wins for touring South African cricket sides haven’t happened often in New Zealand since unity and on the eve of the second National Bank One-Day International (ODI) in Napier, captain AB de Villiers wants no other result.
It has been three days since the Castle Lager Proteas cruised to a six-wicket win in Wellington, three days of focused preparation for an opportunity only one past squad has achieved.
The match will be the Proteas’ fourth match at 10 000-seater McLean park, where they have won one, lost one and had a no result against the Black Caps. De Villiers described the wicket as the hardest one he has yet to see on tour, a beaming one-day wicket for the batsmen, especially with the shorter square boundaries.
"Every field in New Zealand is different, you get long straight boundaries, then long square boundaries, it’s a bit of an adjustment, you have to be able to adapt and think on your feet. This field will offer us different challenges and once again the team that adapts the quickest will get the advantage early on."
While the batsmen will look to monopolise the favourable batting conditions, de Villiers will also be feeding off the strengths of his varied bowling attack, who held down the home team effectively in the first ODI. Building wicket-taking pressure and limiting the singles is a strategy he feels worked well, together with his unconventional bowling changes.
Graeme Smith (left forearm bruise) is the only injury concern in the squad, and a decision on his availability will be made on Wednesday afternoon.
Kane Williamson's ODI hundreds have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but his next highest score, 55, came against South Africa in the first match in Wellington. Often overshadowed by the openers, Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, Williamson has not had too much opportunity to display his talent and will hope he gets a chance in this match.
New Zealand have left Michael Bates and Doug Bracewell out of their squad. Bracewell has been rested in preparation for the Test series. The No. 5 position will be occupied by either Jesse Ryder or Tom Latham. Ryder has to be managed as he makes his return from a calf injury and may be rested.
Teams from:
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Jesse Ryder, Tom Latham, Andy McKay, Tarun Nethula
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt & wk), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Marchant de Lange, Jean-Paul Duminy, Colin Ingram, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Juan Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Wednesday February 29, 2012 (day/night)
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)
