South Africa Tour Of New Zealand Preview: Young Guns Raring To Brush Aside T20 World Cup Disappointments

The T20 World Cup wounds might still be fresh, when South Africa take the field in and against New Zealand for the first of five 20-over games, starting at the Bay Oval (in Mount Maunganui) on Sunday (March 15).

New Zealand had inflicted heavy damage to the Proteas in the showpiece's semi-finals with a nine-wicket hammering at the Eden Gardens. Aiden Markram's men, unbeaten till that stage, did not know what hit them as a batting collapse was followed by a horror show with the ball to precipitate their exit.

The Black Caps, though were about to receive a taste of their own medicine. The Suryakumar Yadav-led India produced a near-perfect performance in the grand finale to annihilate the Kiwis by 96 runs in Ahmedabad and lift the trophy for a record third time.

The results painfully showed New Zealand and South Africa that recent form often counts for precious little in the T20 format. On top of that, most of the Proteas players had to endure an excruciating wait to return home, as Middle East flight schedules were disrupted following the US-Israel-Iran war. A 29-member South Africa contingent departed from Kolkata on March 12, eight whole days after playing their semi-final encounter.

New-Look Squads For Both Teams

Thankfully for both sides, the team composition is vastly different from that at the T20 World Cup. The extended 18-member squad Kiwis named for the series features just eight members from the marquee tournament, and only three of those who faced South Africa 10 days ago are part of the line-up for the first game. Workload management is the official reason for the transition, even as the Indian Premier League is around the corner.

Devon Conway and Lockie Ferguson join captain Mitchell Santner in the squad for the first three games, whereas Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi are available the entire series.

As for South Africa, Keshav Maharaj will lead them in Markram's absence, and five uncapped players have been named in the 15-member squad. George Linde and Jason Smith are the only members of the T20 World Cup side apart from Maharaj to be picked. The tour will also see Tony de Zorzi make his comeback after injury ruled him out of the World Cup.

The series provides exposure for many new faces, but Maharaj made it clear that development and results go hand-in-hand. “We also want to try and win with a really young side. Shuks (head coach Shukri Conrad) said the other day, what a story it would be to tell when you get on that flight to go back home and be like, ‘wow, that was amazing and special to be a part of’.”

South Africa T20I Tour Of New Zealand Schedule

1st T20I: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, March 15 at 11:45am IST

2nd T20I: Seddon Park, Hamilton, March 17 at 11:45am IST

3rd T20I: Eden Park, Auckland, March 20 at 11:45am IST

4th T20I: Sky Stadium, Wellington, March 22 at 11:45am IST

5th T20I: Hagley Oval, Christchurch, March 25 at 11:45am IST

South Africa T20I Tour Of New Zealand: Squads

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Katene Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver (wk), Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk), Jayden Lennox, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi.

South Africa: Keshav Maharaj (c), Ottneil Baartman, Eathan Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Dian Forrester, Jordan Hermann, Rubin Hermann, George Linde, Nqobani Mokoena, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla, Prenelan Subrayen, and Jason Smith.