South Africa vs. New Zealand: Winners and Losers from 1st ODI
South Africa and New Zealand kicked off their three-match one-day series with a fairly average match, where the only real highlight was Hashim Amla’s century.
The match epitomised “going through the motions.” New Zealand won the toss, put South Africa in to field and South Africa pottered along at a decent rate before collapsing towards the end.
New Zealand, in reply, got their chase off to a decent start and an up-and-down medley of overs followed. At one stage, New Zealand looked like they might push South Africa close, but wickets at regular intervals meant that it was South Africa who came out top.
The teams now move to Potchefstroom for the second ODI on Sunday, but first, here are some winners and losers from the first ODI. Add your own in the comments.
Winner: Hashim Amla
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There’s no better time for Hashim Amla to hit for again than now. After hitting 48 in the first T20 against New Zealand, Amla notched up a fine century in the first ODI.
It took him to 21 one-day international centuries, meaning he is tied for the most with Herschelle Gibbs. With tough tours against India and England coming up, South Africa need their star players in good form, and they’ll be pleased as punch to see Amla getting back to his best.
Winner: Rilee Rossouw
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Rilee Rossouw has already proven that he can get his eye in almost as quickly as AB de Villiers, but on Wednesday, a different approach was required.
Slow and steady won the race for Rossouw, who took his time to build a partnership with Hashim Amla. Showing how versatile he is will make it very hard for selectors to ignore Rilee Rossouw in the future.
Loser: Martin Guptill
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Martin Guptill had to remove himself from the field after attempting to take a one-handed catch at deep mid-wicket. Before you could say "wicket," Guptill had his wrist wrapped up and had an ice pack on it.
It stopped him from opening, and by the time he walked in at three, he looked a long way off from the player who blasted his way to man of the series during the T20s.
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Winner: Tom Latham
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Forced to open because of Martin Guptill's injury, Tom Latham applied himself more than aptly. He did his job in seeing off the new ball and setting the foundation for New Zealand to launch from. Although he couldn’t see things through, Latham can rest assured that he’s not to blame for New Zealand’s loss.
Loser: David Wiese
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Poor David Wiese had a woeful ODI debut. While he did put in a cameo with the bat, he dropped a couple of catches and got whacked all around the park when brought on the bowl.
Wiese is a talented player and remains a good option for South Africa at number seven, but having a debut like that would have knocked his confidence a little.
Loser: South Africa’s Fielding
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South Africa were awful in the field, dropping catches and missing chances all over the shop. It’s a far cry from the team that has often been referred to as one of the best fielding sides in the world.
South Africa can’t even blame rustiness, as they are fresh off a series against Bangladesh. Save for Farhaan Behardien's catch to get rid of Nathan McCullum, South Africa were very much off the beaten track in terms of their fielding.
Loser: South Africa's over Rate
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South Africa just can't seem to get through a one-day match without struggling to get through their overs. At the time of writing, it wasn't known yet whether there would be punishment this time around, but South Africa were behind on the required rate once again.
They were also acutely aware of it, and deep into the 40-over mark, they refused a round of drinks in an attempt to catch up. The point is, though, they should not still be getting themselves into this situation. They are the only side who manages to do this over and over again.
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