Wisden
Tour review

New Zealand v South Africa, 2011-12

Neil Manthorp

Test matches (3): New Zealand 0, South Africa 1
One-day internationals (3): New Zealand 0, South Africa 3
Twenty20 internationals (3): New Zealand 1, South Africa 2


Vernon Philander appeals for a wicket, South Africa v India, 2nd Test, Durban, 4th day, December 29, 2013
No sign of peaking yet from Vernon Philander © Associated Press
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One-sided contests can deaden even the most ardent enthusiasm, but New Zealand's demolition of Zimbabwe in the month before South Africa arrived had the opposite effect. It may have been a limp appetiser to the main course of the summer, but New Zealand devoured it with such ease and conviction that most believed they would be able to handle the South Africans - and maybe even upset them.

A great deal was made of the random structure of the Future Tours Programme: South Africa had not visited for eight years. The optimistic saw this as an opportunity to prove New Zealand's worthiness of more tours by the major nations, and they looked vindicated when their team won the first Twenty20 international convincingly. But once they handed the third, in barely credible fashion, to their guests, they did not win another day's play until the last of the tour, when they drew the Third Test with pride partially restored. What made it worse for New Zealand was that they had chances - and plenty of moments when the scorecard suggested they were on top. But the batsmen fell time and again in the no-man's-land between a start and a score, and the bowlers lost discipline when it mattered. Paradoxically, it might even have been less frustrating for them if - like Zimbabwe - they had been demolished.

South African coach Gary Kirsten, who had played the last of his 101 Tests in Wellington on the previous tour, inadvertently upped the ante by admitting that he viewed New Zealand as "very good preparation" for the trip to England later in the year, and suggested he would be looking for "the right combinations across all three formats" It was a comment that invited embarrassment but proved an accurate prediction, particularly with the emergence of Twenty20 debutants Richard Levi and Marchant de Lange, and a fine one-day series from Faf du Plessis.

Vernon Philander was the main talking point before the Tests, having collected an astonishing 30 wickets in his first four. Nobody doubted he would have some success in New Zealand, but most were expecting some sort of comedown. Instead, Philander nabbed another 21 with his right-arm seam at an average of 15, making him the joint-second-fastest to 50 Test wickets - at the 19th-century average of 14 runs apiece.

New Zealand gambled in batting Daniel Vettori at No. 6 for the first two Tests, but the balance never looked remotely right. It was a brave move and should be remembered as such, but their desire for sufficient bowling resources left them short of batting depth.

Events off the field also gave cause for concern. The tension between the Australian director of cricket, John Buchanan, and the Kiwi head coach John Wright was simmering through the cracks, and later led to Wright's resignation. At least the tour was well attended and comfortably maintained its presence in the public domain, despite the start of the Super Rugby season in a country only too happy to trumpet its sporting priorities.

Had South Africa enjoyed more luck with the weather, meanwhile, they might even have finished the tour ahead of England at the top of the Test rankings: rain deprived them of the chance to win at Dunedin and Wellington, and thus of the necessary 3-0 margin of victory. Their ascent would have to wait.

Match reports for

Tour Match: Canterbury v South Africans at Christchurch, Feb 15, 2012
Report | Scorecard

1st T20I: New Zealand v South Africa at Wellington, Feb 17, 2012
Report | Scorecard

2nd T20I: New Zealand v South Africa at Hamilton, Feb 19, 2012
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3rd T20I: New Zealand v South Africa at Auckland, Feb 22, 2012
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1st ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Wellington, Feb 25, 2012
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2nd ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Napier, Feb 29, 2012
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3rd ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Auckland, Mar 3, 2012
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1st Test: New Zealand v South Africa at Dunedin, Mar 7-11, 2012
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2nd Test: New Zealand v South Africa at Hamilton, Mar 15-17, 2012
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3rd Test: New Zealand v South Africa at Wellington, Mar 23-27, 2012
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