Wounded New Zealand desperate to turn their form around

Two games, two losses. Sophie Devine’s introduction to captaincy hasn’t been a good one, with New Zealand suffering their first-ever ODI series loss to South Africa— at home at that.

Both games were a case of the hosts being thoroughly outplayed by a well-oiled unit. South Africa, who came in to the series as marginal favourites, have steamrolled New Zealand to achieve a historic win – one that has allowed them to inch closer to the possibility of direct qualification to the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. They have proven to be miles ahead of the hosts in all three departments – no longer only slightly ahead, but head and shoulders above the competition.

In game one, when their batters came together to post a competitive total of 259, their bowling came a cropper, allowing the visitors to run away to a seven-wicket win. In the second ODI, it was the batting that let them down – Marizanne Kapp ripping through the line-up to keep New Zealand to a meagre 115 all out in 36 overs. In defense of a small total, the hosts showed some fight with the ball, picking up two wickets to reduce South Africa to 57 for 2 before Sune Luus and Mignon du Preez combined to take them home.

So far, New Zealand have played nowhere near their best, both departments unable to fire in tandem. However, to make matters worse, they have struggled for a large part to execute their basics consistently. Commentating for Radio Sport NZ, Maia Lewis, former New Zealand captain, said the difference between both sides was the “execution of the basics.” Lewis admitted that South Africa had done the simple things right – bowled more balls at the stumps, hit better lengths, took all their catches, kept out the good balls and put away the bad ones.

While New Zealand's batting is clearly over-reliant on the duo of Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine, the bowling has largely looked toothless in the absence of Lea Tahuhu. In stark contrast, each one of South Africa’s bowlers has found a way to make an impact through the series, while the batting has been largely untested.

Another major difference between both sides has been how unsettled the hosts have looked. First, with their team selection, and next in terms of clarity of roles.

For starters, Rachel Priest’s return to the set up came with much hope and expectation. Most believed she would slot in at the top of the order alongside Bates, providing both power and experience to a batting line-up that appears slightly light on both those aspects. However, in the first game, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter walked in to bat at no.5, scored a 22-ball 21 to help lift the tempo of the innings, and was then dropped for the next game, making way for Katie Martin.

The inexperienced duo of Lauren Down and Rosemary Mair also featured only in the first game of the series and were then left out for Maddy Green and Jess Kerr. Not one of the quartet was able to put in a notable performance, making one wonder which of them, if any, will make the final XI for the third ODI.

Of course, the last thing the hosts will want at the moment is for panic to rule their decision-making. New Zealand are a proud team with a proud tradition, and they will want nothing more than to turn their form around. While the series is gone, they do have one final ODI to play at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday (January 30).

It was at the same venue that the hosts managed to turn around what was a similarly disappointing beginning to their limited overs series against India around the same time last year. Having been thrashed in the first two ODIs of the series, New Zealand mounted a comeback on the back of stellar performances from their bowlers led by Anna Peterson. The off-spinner, who is yet to make an appearance in this series, may be handed the opportunity to help her team turn their form around.

South Africa, on the other hand, will be keen to carry on their stupendous form, securing two more points to ensure a top four finish in the ICC ODI Championship table. While they may like for their middle order to get a bit of a hit before the T20I series, they will be more than happy to complete a historic whitewash.

At full strength after more than a year, South Africa have proven what a dangerous unit they really are. However, they will still be wary of New Zealand come the third and final ODI on Thursday. After all, following the two wallopings they endured, the only direction New Zealand can move now is up.

Squads:

New Zealand: Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest.

South Africa: Dane van Niekerk (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee, Mignon du Preez, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune, Trisha Chetty, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine De Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Marizanne Kapp.