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South Africa vs New Zealand: A contest worth a semi-final

New Zealand have better spinners but South Africa have evened the contest with their middle-order batting

Heinrich Klaasen is determined to prove he is "the best in the world" after leading the Proteas to a commanding seven-wicket victory over England on Saturday.

Klaasen missed South Africa's opening match of the tournament due to an elbow issue, but he continued his excellent form in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against England in Karachi. He scored his fifth consecutive half-century in ODIs, playing freely from the number four position as South Africa chased down their target of 180 runs in just 30 overs.

In an interview with Sky Sports after the game, Klaasen revealed that, alongside head coach Rob Walter, he had set an ambitious goal for himself to establish himself as the world's top player throughout the Champions Trophy.

"I set a challenge for myself with Rob Walter on this trip: I want to be the best in the world," Klaasen shared. "But I want to be the best in the world, and I know I can handle tough situations well. For me, it's about continuing to hit the ball on the ground as consistently as I can, like I did tonight. I'm really happy with my performance today. (I scored runs) by standing still and trusting my technique. I know my swing is in good shape, so as long as it clicks, I'm content."

To emphasize his point about hitting along the ground, Klaasen struck 11 fours and no sixes before being caught at short third while attempting to hit the winning runs off Adil Rashid with just six runs needed. "I feel like jumping off a building the way I got out tonight," he joked, but added that he was pleased with his recent form. He also mentioned that he has kept his training routine simple since recovering from his elbow injury.

"I feel very fortunate with my game at the moment and my understanding of it," he explained. "I'm not the type of player who faces all our seamers in the nets. I just focus on a few drills and face some spin. Right now, I'm meeting the ball well from the middle of the bat. That's my key, and as long as my technique is solid, I'm happy."

Klaasen, 33, has been in the best form of his career since turning 30, and he said he's focused on keeping things as straightforward as possible, reacting to each ball rather than overthinking it. "It's about standing still," he said. "It was about three years ago that I really started working hard on just staying still, not overthinking the game too much."

Aiden Markram, who captained South Africa in place of the ill Temba Bavuma, praised Klaasen's form: "It's always fantastic to see him out there. He's been in unbelievable form for many months, and for him to return after a little niggle with his elbow and look like he never missed a beat is a great sign for us."

 

 Bowling battle crucial between South Africa and New Zealand

  No excuse for SA, skipper says

It begins with a football match. The players stand in a circle keeping the ball up, excitement building as the rally lengthens. Then, a slightly wayward tee-up from one of the players puts Tabraiz Shamsi in a tricky spot. The eye test suggests he's one of the less technically gifted football players; the rally is destined to end there. Soon after, the group disbands, and the South Africans begin to get into position for a conventional cricket training session.

With a quick turnaround and a flight back from Dubai, New Zealand did not put their bowlers through much of a workload, Mitchell Santner saying New Zealand just needed to make sure they were ready. South African captain Temba Bavuma sees the bowling battle between the two sides as pivotal.

"New Zealand's bowling is formidable," he said. "Quite a disciplined bowling attack. Up front the guys with the new ball don't give you much to score from. You've got to be decisive as an opening batter, and then in the middle, you've got guys again who are able to squeeze the game and force you to make mistakes. We know as batters we're going to have to work hard. We're going to have to bat ourselves into a position where we can make the play against them."

Bavuma's respect is borne out by the numbers. Aside from India, who played their games at the less scoring-friendly Dubai, no team has sent down more dot balls this tournament than New Zealand, and none boasts a tighter economy rate. For games played in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, three of the top four bowlers to have produced dot balls are from New Zealand - Michael Bracewell, Will O'Rourke and Mitchell Santner.

Bavuma, though, rates his own bowlers, highly, too. "We're also quite confident in our bowling. It'll be a good show on offer between the two bowling attacks. I don't think there's a lot between them."

Unlike New Zealand's bowlers though, South Africa's went through a full workload, training later than usual, between 7 and 10pm on the eve of the game.

Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder went through extended periods of bowling. Kagiso Rabada's workload was lighter, largely confining himself to fielding drills and the odd spurt. South Africa, after all, flew from Karachi to Dubai on Sunday in case they needed to play the first semi-final, only to fly right back to Lahore on Monday when it emerged they would play the second semi-final instead.

Bavuma said it couldn't be an excuse for his side, though. "Logistically, things could have been more efficient," he said. "Having said, that the boys did enjoy the time to gallivant in Dubai. Some of the boys played some golf, some went sightseeing. So it was a bit enjoyable, some of them used the time to recover. Guys made use of it as best as they could."

Three weeks ago, these two sides played a game in Lahore that could not be further removed in terms of importance. It was the second game of the tri-series, a day game starting on a cold February morning. It was a flat surface, with a second-string South African side posting 304 before an unbeaten century from Kane Williamson, who has "always been a thorn" guided New Zealand to a comfortable win.

Bavuma said the differing stakes and circumstances of that game did not mean there was nothing to pick up from it. "It gave us a look at that New Zealand team," he said. "That team we played against - I don't think it'll be too far to what they'll put out tomorrow. We have different members obviously. I guess there's a difference there. When we played, it was a good wicket, but the last game here, between Australia and Afghanistan, the ball swung quite a bit.

 

"Rabada and Mulder stand for catching practice under the lights, sharing a joke and a laugh. Ryan Rickelton whips Jansen into the onside; he looks the best batter at the practice session, the sound of the middle of his bat hypnotically echoing into the void of the empty stadium.Dale Steyn, in Lahore as a broadcast commentator, briefly goes to the practice pitches and has a chat with a couple of players. It is, as Jansen says, "just another game", and South Africa are trying their best to treat it as just another training session.These two sides, full of golden talents but achingly missing silverware, know better than most that yearning for glory does not garantee it. So Rabada takes a sharp catch, Rickelton creams one back down the ground, and Jansen bowls at full pelt. And then they do it all over again. As South Africa and New Zealand always do.