CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand —
New Zealand and
South Africa are focusing on the notoriously green Hagley Oval wicket as they
draw up battle plans for the first Test starting in Christchurch on Thursday.
اضافة اعلان
New Zealand are desperate for a first series win
against South Africa and to prove they can still muster a winning combination
despite missing 273 Tests-worth of experience with the absence of
Ross Taylor
(retired), Kane Williamson (injured) and Trent Boult (paternity leave).
South Africa are thirsting to lift both their world
ranking (fifth) and to boost their
World Test Championship standing, with the
chance to move up to second if they sweep the two-Test series.
But the main talking point for New Zealand captains
Tom Latham and South African counterpart Dean Elgar on Wednesday was the
bowl-first reputation of the lush Hagley Oval surface.
It will be South Africa’s first outing on the
Christchurch strip where both Tests of the series will be played.
New Zealand boast an enviable record of seven wins,
one defeat, and one draw on a wicket that always seems to suit their swing and
seam attack.
“It presents opportunities to score runs but also
presents opportunities for bowlers with a bit of pace and bounce and a bit of
assistance off the wicket,” New Zealand skipper Latham said.
“We’ve played some really good cricket at home now
for a long period and I know if we can adapt to the wicket, adapt to the
surface, then hopefully we’ll give ourselves a good chance of being on the
right side.”
New Zealand go into the Test on a high after
thrashing Bangladesh by an innings and eight wickets on the same ground a month
ago and Latham said they have been focusing on their poor record against South
Africa who they have beaten just four times in 45 Tests.
South Africa’s preparations for coping with the
Hagley Oval conditions have been meticulous, right down to pinpointing the best
time to score runs.
“Sometimes you can get carried away when you see
green grass. You might not execute your skill or line and length because you
think the grass is going to do everything,” Elgar said.
“From a batting point of view we have to be very
strong in our defense and strong in our leave and we’ve got to set up our
batting innings in order for us to score runs later on in the afternoon.
“From what I’ve experienced in the nets we’ve had
it’s been a pretty good competition between bat and ball.”
Like New Zealand, South Africa are without key
players with Keegan Petersen (
COVID-19) and Anrich Nortje (injured) absent.
Elgar indicated Sarel Erwee is in line to replace Petersen,
batting at number three for his Test debut, while they have six quick bowlers
in their squad to ensure adequate cover for Nortje, with
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi
Ngidi and Marco Jansen likely to lead the attack.
Read more Sports
.jpg)
.jpg)
