Story ProgressBack to home
S Africa keen to level series
The third Test between South Africa and New Zealand begins tomorrow and the Proteas will be looking to level the series.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:06 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Wellington:
The third Test between South Africa and New Zealand begins tomorrow and the Proteas will be looking to level the series. "Each individual has to look at himself and try to improve by a couple of per cent," said South African all rounder Shaun Pollock. "We need one more last push and the guys are motivated to do that," Pollock added. New Zealand took a 1-0 series lead when it won the second Test at Auckland by nine wickets, after the first match at Hamilton was drawn. The win was New Zealand's fourth in 29 matches against South Africa and followed its 5-1 drubbing of the tourists in the one-day series. Pollock hopeful Those defeats have sapped the confidence of the South Africans. But former skipper Pollock said the series and tour could still be saved. Pollock said South Africa was collectively motivated to make the match memorable for veteran Gary Kirsten, who will play his 101st and final Test in Wellington. He said though South Africa was anxious to improve its record on tour, but there was no need to panic. "We've got to be patient, it's a five-day Test," he said. Kiwis confident Meanwhile, the New Zealanders have promised they will not take a cautious approach to the match, although they need only a draw to clinch a series win. New Zealand has reached record scores of 509 in Hamilton and 595 in Auckland and is confident of its ability to bowl out the South Africans. But they will miss the services of strike bowler Daryl Tuffey, who is out of action due to injury. Chris Martin, who took 11 wickets at Eden Park, will spearhead the New Zealand attack. Either Michael Mason or Kyle Mills will take Tuffey's place in the playing XI. Teams New Zealand (from): Michael Papps, Mark Richardson, Stephen Fleming (captain), Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Chris Cairns, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Michael Mason, Chris Martin. South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Paul Adams, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, David Terbrugge. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.