South Africa win battle of the fresh faces

Cricket365
December 21, 2012

South Africa's new-look Twenty20 International unit outgunned a New Zealand XI lined with four debutants in Friday's one-sided series opener at Kingsmead in Durban.

The fixture brought as many as seven new caps, with the hosts blooding fast bowler Chris Morris, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock and opener Henry Davids – and the hosts fielding all-rounders Jimmy Neesham and Corey Anderson, batsman Colin Munro and seamer Mitchell McClenaghan.

A clash scheduled for about 240 minutes needed a mere 150, with the Proteas comfortable winners by eight wickets, with a whopping 47 deliveries to spare, in front of a 17,000-strong crowd.

Fans were robbed of a contest, instead finding solace in the utter dominance of the South Africans after being resigned to the downright disappointing performance of the Black Caps.

Slipping to 27 for four, 54 for seven and finally 86 all out in 18.2 overs, the Kiwis failed to make their choice to bat first after winning the toss count. The pitch, which brought considerable bounce, and the opposition attack, which combined to near perfection, truly troubled captain Brendon McCullum and company.

Munro's 23-run cameo was as good as it got in the team's third lowest T20I total, which would have read entirely worse were it not for tail-ender Doug Bracewell's innovative 21 not out.

Seamer Rory Kleinveldt finished the pick of the bowlers thanks to figures of three for 18, and was named Man of the Match, while Morris, pace ace Dale Steyn and spinner Robin Peterson secured a brace each.

Morris bowled with pace and aggression, but was unable to complete his allotment after sustaining a quadricep injury. Peterson, meanwhile, secured the most economical figures by a South African in T20I cricket – two for eight in four tight overs.

The Proteas' reply was swift enough, though the hard-hitting Richard Levi's shaky position at the top of the order continued on the back of a five-ball duck – the form found at domestic level certainly evaded him on the big stage on Friday.

The right-handed Davids was fluid in his maiden international innings, and looked good for more than his 20 until an attempted lofted drive off spinner Ronnie Hira amounted to a toppled off-stump.

De Kock and skipper Faf du Plessis were left to seal the deal, and did so with dillgence and flair en route to 38 not out and 28 not out respectively. Their unbroken 42-run alliance needed less than seven overs, milking the last from a listless visiting attack.

One-nil down in a three-fixture affair, the Black Caps will demand a quick turnaround ahead of Sunday's East London. South Africa, meanwhile, can rest easy in a job well done by their new coach, captain and other fresh faces.