“I’m not sure where South Africa are with their playing personnel, but what I know is they’re a very dangerous side with quality players.” - New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan gets his clichés in a row
TMG Digital
TELFORD VICE in Birmingham
LUNGI Ngidi’s return to fitness means South Africa will likely field their strongest team of the World Cup so far against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Ngidi, who has missed three games with a strained hamstring, bowled a lengthy spell in the nets and passed a fitness test on Monday.
“If you are not bowling at 100% then you are obviously not ready to play,” Ngidi said. “Today was as hard as I could go; match intensity.”
That’s good news for Faf du Plessis and his team, who must win all four of their remaining league games to keep alive their already slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
They’re in that tight spot because they stumbled to defeats against England, Bangladesh and India and endured a washout against West Indies before coming good to prevail over Afghanistan.
New Zealand have had almost the mirror image experience, beating Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, then falling victim to the weather against India.
Or, more likely, dodging the bullet of a proper contest with Virat Kohli’s crack side.
That means India and New Zealand are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the tournament, but also that Wednesday’s game looms as the Kiwis’ toughest so far.
They will take heart from the fact that they have overcame South Africa in their last four meetings at the World Cup, notably the 2015 semi-final at Eden Park.
A particular reading of the team’s fortunes as World Cup entities would suggest that New Zealand — who lost the 2015 final to Australia — have progressed while South Africa have lost ground, not least because of the retirement of several important players.
Craig McMillan the Kiwis’ batting coach, didn’t see things that way: “We’ve had a lot changes, too, from 2015.
“That’s something teams have to work out post-World Cup — which players will be around in four years’ time and which players might not be.
“That’s something we’ve worked on for the last four years.
“I’m not sure where South Africa are with their playing personnel, but what I know is they’re a very dangerous side with quality players.
Five members of New Zealand’s 2015 semi-final XI, including Johannesburg-born and raised Grant Elliott, who smashed Dale Steyn down the ground for six to clinch victory, are not in the current squad.
Six of South Africa’s side in the semi have survived to be part of the squad four years on.
The absentees are Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Morné Morkel.
It’s a list that won’t make happy reading for South African supporters, but they will be happy to know that the last time they won a World Cup game against these opponents was at Edgbaston in 1999.
If nothing else, that would give them a different reason to remember the ground than the calamity of the tied semi-final against Australia that year that sent Hansie Cronjé’s team home.
Wednesday’s game, then, is an opportunity to scatter those ghosts. Or to set them swirling again.
Who you gonna call?
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