South Africa and Zealand have together been to 9 semi-finals in all the World Cups played so far. But have never got beyond that. So no matter which team wins tomorrow’s Big Match at the Eden Park in Auckland, one thing is for sure – history will be made. And the winner will book a spot at the final of the ICC World Cup 2015, at the biggest stage of them all, the MCG in Melbourne!
Who are the favorites for tomorrow’s clash? Well, South Africa have a more talented bunch of cricketers, man-to-man, but arguably, New Zealand are the better team. Also, New Zealand are unbeaten in this World Cup, even having beaten arch rivals Australia. South Africa have already lost twice – to India and Pakistan.
But all of that counts for nothing, because tomorrow, whoever gets that extra bit of luck on the day will emerge victorious. As New Zealand’s inspiration captain, Brendon McCullum says, “Any game you play, some get more nervous than others but the general feeling is that we can’t wait to get out there and test our skills against a very good South African team and in a crunch game. The way we dealt with the expectations of the last game should hold is us in reasonable stead.”
For South Africa’s captain, the supremely talented AB de Villiers, who is easily the greatest batsman in the modern game today, it cannot get bigger than this. Says AB about his rivals for tomorrow’s match, “It would be silly to focus too much on the cricket they’ve played. They’ve played really well but if we play to our full potential, no one is going to stop us. I need to make sure they are confident mentally and fresh physically.”
South Africa have had the advantage of 3 extra days of rest, a luxury which New Zealand does not have, having only played their quarter-final match on Saturday. So, one may expect the South Africans to be fresher. New Zealand have suffered a serious blow, having lost fast bowler and the effective third seamer Adam Milne to a heel injury. Milne will be replaced by Matt Henry, who has been called just for this game. He might get to play instead of Mitchell McClenaghan, who failed to impress against Bangladesh.
South Africa will decide between Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott on the final day. Abbott has been fast and furious, but Philander offers an extra batting option.
The Teams
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry/Kyle Mills, 11 Trent Boult
South Africa: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 Rilee Rossouw, 6 David Miller, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Vernon Philander/Kyle Abbott, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir
Match conditions
The Eden Park at Auckland has short boundaries, but that hasn’t always led to high scores. As New Zealand planter Grant Elliot says, “Players can get sucked in by the short boundaries and scores have tended to be lower.” The surface at Eden Park always plays true, with a little help for seam bowlers and no help whatsoever for spinners. Forecast for Tuesday is a little dicey, as occasional showers are expected. It is hoped that we don’t have a rain curtailed match.
Watch New Zealand take on South Africa in the first Semi-Final of the ICC World Cup live on Star Sports at 6:30 AM tomorrow!
