New Zealand vs South Africa, NZRSA_2024, Today Match Prediction 04 February 2024

NZ vs RSA Match Prediction & Analysis

With the first-choice test players giving this tour a miss for the domestic T20 franchise tournament, the South African cricket board had to send out a third-string makeshift test squad containing several uncapped players and a few others who couldn’t quite set things on fire in the international arena when they had the chance.

It remains to be seen what this new bunch of cricketers can do to compete with an established test side like New Zealand in their own backyard, given they barely have any experience of playing the toughest form of cricket at the highest level.

South Africa may come into this series as proper underdogs, but New Zealand are not going to take them lightly. The hosts showed no sign of complacency by putting together the same, strong contingent of players given there are crucial world test championship points for the taking.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

NZ

W L W L

BAN

172/10 in 66.2 2.59

BAN vs NZ

New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 4 wickets 06 Dec 2023

NZ

139/6 in 39.4 3.5

BAN

310/10 in 85.1 3.64

BAN vs NZ

Bangladesh won by 150 runs 28 Nov 2023

NZ

181/10 in 71.1 2.54

NZ

209/10 in 53.2 3.92

NZ VS ENG

New Zealand won by 1 run

24 Feb 2023

ENG

483/10 in 162.3 2.97

NZ

306/10 in 82.5 3.69

NZ VS ENG

England won by 267 runs

16 Feb 2023

ENG

126/10 in 45.3 2.77

RSA

L W

RSA

55/10 in 23.2 2.36

SA vs IND 2023

India won by 7 wkts 03 Jan 2024

IND

80/3 in 12.0 6.67

RSA

408/10 in 108.4 3.75

SA vs IND 2023

South Africa beat India by 32 runs 26 Dec 2023

IND

0/0 in 0.0 0

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

New Zealand Preview

Wiith all the incumbents taking their place in the squad, New Zealand have shown they're not going to take a chance. A series win against South Africa (home and away) has eluded them for a long time, and the New Zealanders will believe their chance is now or never—against an understrength Proteas line-up.

As the inaugural World Test Champions, the Kiwis need no reminder of how important each test victory is for them advancing to the final. They will be watchful and do their best to avoid tripping up along the way in what is a season of test upsets. An understrength West Indies shocked Australia to pick up their first win on Australian soil in nearly 30 years, and England put India on the backfoot with a surprise victory at Hyderabad. Kiwis will be on guard looking to counteract any threat that the visitors might pose. They’ll mostly bank on the tried-and-tested strategy at home-  going with a pace-heavy attack with the allrounder offering the lone spin option.

With Henry Nicholls gone, Rachin Ravindra is certain to feature in what will be his first test in two years at home. Glenn Phillips showed us what he’s capable of doing with the ball in the Bangladesh tests, and he’s likely to slot in as the spin-bowling all-rounder ahead of Mitchell Santner.

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee (c), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Neil Wagner.

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell, Tom Latham, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee

South Africa Preview

For the second time in the last 50 years of cricket, a debutant will be captaining the national test team. Neil Brand, 27, with over 4000 runs under his belt in domestic cricket, and takes the helm in the national setup having led the South African A team well in four-day games. Raynard van Tonder, former under-19 Captain of South Africa, is another strong player in the mix, averaging over 40 with the bat in first-class games. Having made it to the extended test squad for a tour to Sri Lanka, this is not his first call up to national side though.

Wicketkeeper batsmen Clyde Fortuin was a part of the under-19 world cup winning group in 2014, which included the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram. Even though he isn’t clearly in their league, he is quite good with the gloves and averages a touch above 27 with the bat in his first-class career so far. Off spinner Dane Piedt, who made his first appearance for South Africa in 2014, is back in the fold 4 years after he last played a test against India in Ranchi.

A skilled seamer with a truckload of wickets in the first-class setup, Dane Paterson, 34, will be a key cog in their wheel. He doesn’t have the frightening pace as the likes of Anrich Nortje, Rabada etc, but he gets the ball to move in and away from the seam and has ample experience to make best use of the conditions to trouble the Kiwi batsmen.

South Africa Predicted Playing XI:

Neil Brand (c), Raynard van Tonder, David Bedingham, Keegan Petersen, Zubayr Hamza, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Dane Paterson, Ruan de Swardt, Mihlali Mpongwana, Duanne Olivier, Tshepo Moreki.

South Africa Actual Playing XI:

Zubayr Hamza, Keegan Petersen, Raynard van Tonder, Neil Brand, David Bedingham, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Tshepo Moreki, Edward Moore

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Summer draws to a close in New Zealand but still more sun is forecast for the duration of the test. With dry, warm days ahead of us, the pitch will wear away and start developing cracks as the match goes on, and that might bring spinners into play especially on Day 4 and 5 if we get there.

NZ vs RSA Pitch Report

This test match is being played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. The last two matches here have been utterly disappointing for the hosts – a 267-run thumping by England last year and a shock defeat to the Bangladeshis in 2022.

Toss: To Bowl

Putting a massive total on board will deter any opposition, more so this understrength SA squad. So the Kiwis will most likely bat first when the conditions are favourable to batting, set a platform for a huge score on Day 1, and cash in on Day 2.