New Zealand v South Africa, 2014-15

	Hashim Amla enroute to his 16th ODI ton in the second ODI © Getty Images Enlarge
Related Links Series/Tournaments: South Africa tour of New Zealand [October 2014] Teams: New Zealand | South Africa

One-day internationals (3): New Zealand 0, South Africa 2
There can be few more peaceful locations in which to plot world domination. The holiday haven of Mount Maunganui, on the northern tip of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, was a launch pad for South Africa's 2015 World Cup buildup, and a pipe-opener for New Zealand after three idle months.

The South Africans, coming off a tri-series win over Australia and hosts Zimbabwe, arrived with a full-strength side, and meant business - with some leisure thrown in at the team's beachfront lodgings. International cricket had rarely been played in the New Zealand spring - and never in October - so the first two matches were given to the venue with the most reliable climate.

Back in January, it had become the country's 16th international ground, during the Associates' World Cup Qualifier. Now, for the first time, it hosted New Zealand. South Africa, who recalled Vernon Philander to a world-class pace attack, dominated both games at the Bay Oval, and took charge in Hamilton before rain: a 2-0 victory was enough to reclaim the No. 1 one-day ranking from Australia.

New Zealand needed to have all their best players available - and on top of their game - to beat opposition this good. Instead, they had a solitary one-day match against Scotland to prepare, which they won by one run. Brendon McCullum was coming off a Champions League victory with Chennai Super Kings, but many others had not played competitively since early July in the Caribbean, and it showed. Without Ross Taylor, recovering from a strained calf, and Kane Williamson, suffering from a torn ligament in his left wrist (and banned from bowling with his right), New Zealand were obliged to experiment with their batting, but came out of the series with more questions than answers.

They slumped to 68 for five and 69 for five in the first two games, before Luke Ronchi twice shone at No. 7. There was some good news, though, as former captain Daniel Vettori played his first one-day international since the 2013 Champions Trophy. He had largely been confined to Twenty20 cricket since, due to Achilles and back injuries, but he bowled tidily and, at 35, made clear his desire to play in the World Cup.

Match reports for

1st ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Mount Maunganui, Oct 21, 2014
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Mount Maunganui, Oct 24, 2014
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: New Zealand v South Africa at Hamilton, Oct 27, 2014
Report | Scorecard