| An uphill climb |
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| Written by HW Squadstats | ||||||
| Friday, 16 November 2007 | ||||||
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If there ever was a right time to make a comeback, this is it. After facing their worst ever test defeat, New Zealand may look down and out but they would be looking to strike back and level the series. Vettori would also want to rewrite his captaincy records and make them as respectable as his bowling records.
The batting remains the problem area for Vettori and co. with their twin collapse in the previous test turning out to be a key factor in the Africans scoring a landslide victory. Facing a big challenge to save the series against a South African team which is already riding high after the victory over Pakistan, the Kiwis will need some individual brilliance to complement their regular team efforts. Fleming (speculated to come back after an elbow injury), Styris and Oram will hold the key with the bat, and a decent platform provided by any of the openers will help. The South Africans, on the other hand, are looking strong with the bat, and the good work and form of Amla and Kallis, if carried forward to the next test, could well take the match away from the Kiwis, especially with Shane Bond no longer in the equation. However, New Zealand will take heart from the fact that they did manage to keep the South Africans down to 226 in the previous test. With the South African pace battery, led by Steyn who is coming off a match winning bowling performance, looking strong enough to afford to leave Pollock out, it does appear that addressing the Kiwi batting woes will be easier said than done. To even this out, New Zealand will need a strong bowling effort. With Bond out of the attack, this is as good a time as any for Oram to put up a long-overdue contribution with the ball. The onus, however, will lie on Vettori and no one will be more aware of that fact than the skipper himself. That is how it all stands going into the second test. With severe injury problems and out-of-form players to contend with, while a New Zealand win cannot be ruled out, it does seem like it is going to be a trying, testing, uphill climb for the Kiwis.
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