The series so far: New Zealand have remained on the back-foot throughout their home series against the Proteas, not being able to assert any kind of pressure on the tourists. The only match that the hosts won was the opening T20I following which the Kiwis have ended up on the losing side in most of their matches. They lost 2 T20Is to lose that series following which the South Africans blanked them 3-0 in the ODIs. The opening Test was a rain-hit affair and both teams looked in contention to win the match before the weather had the final say and the match ended as a draw. The second Test was more one sided with South Africa winning by a comfortable 9 wickets.
New Zealand: The hosts haven't been up to the mark for the entire series and are now facing the prospect of suffering their fifth Test series loss to South Africa at home. Their main letdown has been in the batting department with most of the batters not being able to come up with a meaningful contribution. The law of averages seem to have caught up with Martin Guptill as the right-hander, after a string of fifty plus scores during the summer, has failed to manage a single half-century in the Test series so far. Rob Nicol too has been a disappointment, failing to reach double figure scores in 3 innings and managing just 19 in one. The middle order has been slightly better as compared to the top - Brendon McCullum managed a couple of half-centuries while Ross Taylor went past 40 thrice in the series . However, their inability to convert the starts to bigger scores and the failure of the rest of the batters has meant that the hosts have been unable to post satisfactory totals. Kane Williamson's hard-fought 77 in the second innings of the 2nd Test is probably a good example for the rest of the batters, who need to show more patience and application.
There is not much to complain about as far as New Zealand's bowling is concerned as the pacers have been doing their job pretty consistently. Doug Bracewell, Chris Martin and Mark Gillespie have all been amongst the wickets with the latter claiming a five wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test. The one concern for the hosts in the bowling department might be the fact that Daniel Vettori has not been picking up wickets although he has not conceded too much either. Skipper Taylor, while hoping for the bowlers to stick to their line and length, will be expecting a better performance from the batters.
South Africa: The Proteas have by far been the better batting unit of the two teams with three batsmen going past three-figure marks while not a single one from the home side could manage it so far. However it also should be noted that all the three centuries came in just one innings apart from which the South African batters have been inconsistent. South Africa's failure has been mainly in the first innings with totals of 238 and 253 coming in the first and the second Test respectively. Graeme Smith is amongst the centurions along with Jacques Kallis and Jacques Rudolph. The skipper has also scored a couple of fifties while Rudolph, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers produced one half-century each. But none of these innings have been instrumental in South Africa putting up a good first innings total and all Smith will be expecting from his batters in the third Test is a good show in both the innings.
South African bowlers have been nothing less than dominating with Vernon Philander leading the way. With fifteen wickets in the series so far, including a ten wicket haul in the second Test, Philander has kept the New Zealand batsmen on the toes. Dale Steyn too has been picking up wickets as have Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir. The bowlers will be expected to deliver again in the third Test as Smith seeks a 2-0 finish.
Team News: After his poor showing in the first two Tests, New Zealand have left out Rob Nicol from the squad and Daniel Flynn will open in his place. Dean Brownlie will return to bat at number six for the Kiwis, having recovered from his finger injury. His return boosts the middle order which will now have Daniel Vettori and Kruger van Wyk drop one place in the batting order. The South Africans, meanwhile, are unlikely to make any changes unless there is an injury to their player just before the match.
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