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New Zealand expect stiffer challenge from South Africa
- Updated: August 18, 2016
New Zealand cricket’s core has become so keenly introspective that neither the exclusion of AB de Villiers nor the inclusion of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander to South Africa’s Test XI will affect their approach to the upcoming series. Or so they say.
“It doesn’t change the way we approach this match. We want to focus on how we play our best cricket,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said. “Any team that did have AB de Villiers and now doesn’t, it’s not a great thing for them. He’s the best player in the world so for them it’s a bit of a loss but at the same time they’ve got a lot of depth. There’s so much talent in this country. Whatever team they pick will be a good team.”
In reality, the personnel New Zealand are up against will very much determine their strategy. They will know that the batting line-up – which includes two senior players in Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy who were both dropped last season – can be broken through more easily without de Villiers. They will also know that it will not give way like Zimbabwe’s did, when all it took was one short-ball barrage in the first Test and a fair amount of persistence in the second.
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