South Africa vs. New Zealand, 1st ODI: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

After finishing the two-match T20 series all square, South Africa and New Zealand shift gears to a three-match ODI series beginning in Centurion on Wednesday.

Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion

Date: Wednesday, August 19

Start time: 12:30 p.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. BST

Live on: SuperSport and SABC (South Africa), SkySports (New Zealand and UK), TEN Sports (India) and Willow TV (USA) 

Weather: No problems with the weather in Pretoria this time of the year. It might still be winter, but according to AccuWeather.com, it's going to be a balmy 27 degrees Celsius during the day, cooling to 11 degrees Celsius in the evening. 

Overview

What exactly the point is of this one-day series between South Africa and New Zealand, nobody will ever really know. The next World Cup is still a full cycle away, and both sides have already qualified for the next Champions Trophy. Thus, we have a three-match jamboree, which doesn’t even feature some of the best players from either side. Still at least it will be good fun if AB de Villiers gets going.

The two teams kick things off at Centurion, the same venue where the final T20 was played. If that match is anything to go by, the pitch is going to be flat, and if the chasing team stays calm, even big scores will be attainable.

South Africa are likely to have to make do without Faf du Plessis, who missed out on the T20 series with an injury. Farhaan Behardien will have to fill the void with David Wiese likely to slot into an “all-rounder” role at seven. Quinton de Kock is still away with the A-team in search of form, so Morne van Wyk will continue to open and keep wicket.

Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn both return to the side after sitting out of the one-day series in Bangladesh, while JP Duminy and Morne Morkel are away on paternity leave. It means South Africa can tweak and tinker the rest of the bowling attack as they see fit, with Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada both offering a third-seamer option, while Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso make up the spin options.

New Zealand, meanwhile, are likely to field a similar team to the one they used against Zimbabwe in the ODI series across the border recently. A large number of their big names are being rested for this series, so those who might be on the fringes of the team have a chance to prove themselves.

With the pitches dry and flat, batsmen such as De Villiers, Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill can really get stuck in. South Africa have the more experienced bowling lineup, but they will be severely tested in this series.

Key players

South Africa

No matter against whom or where South Africa play, AB de Villiers will always be a key player. He had a slight hiccup in the second T20, but he has a chance to put things right in the first T20.

New Zealand

Martin Guptill won the man of the series award in the T20s and has found some good form between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Opening partnerships are a key part to success in the one-day format, and Guptill has proven that he is a key figure in helping set the foundation.

Squads

South Africa

AB de Villiers (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Morne van Wyk (wk), David Wiese

New Zealand

George Worker, Grant Elliott, Matt Henry, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Ish Sodhi, Ben Wheeler, Doug Bracewell, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Kane Williamson