The Hindu : Sport : To bat first or not, that's the question

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Saturday, Apr 14, 2007
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To bat first or not, that's the question

Both will be tempted field first to take advantage of early life in the pitch

ST. GEORGE'S: Rival captains Stephen Fleming and Graeme Smith will face a dilemma if they win the toss when New Zealand and South Africa meet in a crucial World Cup Super Eight match at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday.

Both will be tempted to send their opponents in to take advantage of expected early life in the pitch but both have had their tactics backfire spectacularly after calling correctly in recent matches.

The two results in the newly rebuilt stadium will not have helped them make up their minds.

South Africa hammered a massive 356 for four when it was sent in by West Indies on Tuesday, winning by 67 runs, while New Zealand made a disastrous start after Fleming decided to bat against Sri Lanka on Thursday, going on to lose by six wickets.

Opting to bat

Both of South Africa's defeats in the tournament came after Smith opted to field first when it lost by 83 runs against Australia and its shock 67-run setback against Bangladesh.

The pitch for the New Zealand-Sri Lanka match was slower and drier than it was when South Africa played two days earlier, adding to the uncertainty for the captains.

New Zealand was the pace-setter in the Super Eight phase, winning its first four matches and topping the table on run rate before it lost to Sri Lanka.

But it has a tough run-in, with the match against South Africa followed by a clash with defending champion Australia here on April 20, which could mean it gets stuck on eight points.

``We have had a good run so far at the tournament,'' said Fleming. ``Against Sri Lanka was the first time we were really tested and put under pressure and we didn't come through. It is disappointing but we are a better side than that.''

South Africa, meanwhile, will move to eight points if it wins on Saturday but because it has the worst run rate of the semifinal contenders it will probably need to win its final match against England in Barbados on Tuesday to ensure it does not risk being squeezed out in the event of a tie on points.

South Africa's batting was spectacular against the West Indies, with opener AB de Villiers making an explosive 146, backed up by half-centuries by Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher.

Question marks

But there have been question marks about the South African bowling, with opening pair Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini yet to make significant inroads at the start of an innings.

New Zealand's Shane Bond is the fastest bowler at the World Cup and his strike bowling was a key element of his team's success in the opening weeks.

For the rest, New Zealand has steady seam bowlers and the left-arm spin of Daniel Vettori. It is likely that off-spinner Jeetan Patel will come into the side in place of seamer Mark Gillespie.

Fleming said it had been a 50-50 decision between the two bowlers.

Given the way the Sri Lanka match went, and South Africa's perceived weakness against spin, Patel is likely to get the nod.

New Zealand may also ponder whether to pick Ross Taylor or Hamish Marshall to fill the number three batting position. Taylor was the preferred choice but missed three matches because of injury and failed to score on his return against Sri Lanka.

It appears too heavily reliant on captain Fleming and Scott Styris. Fleming has 290 runs from seven games while Styris is on top with 379 runs from as many games. Understandably the two alone have hit centuries in this competition now that Lou Vincent, another centurion, is cooling his heels in New Zealand because of a broken wrist.

Peter Fulton, Taylor, Marshall and Craig McMillan haven't hit straps and in conditions which are overtly in favour of batsmen, it can be a serious handicap.

South Africa's ability to bounce back against the West Indies after losing to Bangladesh gave the side renewed confidence and Smith said after the match that his team had resolved to play positive, attacking cricket after being tentative against Bangladesh.

The teams (from):

South Africa: Graeme Smith (c), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Loots Bosman, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Justin Kemp, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (c), Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Brendon McCullum (wk), Craig McMillan, Michael Mason, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori and Ross Taylor.

Umpires: Mark Benson (Eng) and Darryl Harper (Aus).

— Agencies

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