New Zealand face strong South Africa in home WTC stand

Overview
New Zealand v South Africa
1st Test match, World Test Championship 2023
Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 17 February, 11:00am local

World Test Championship action continues in New Zealand with Tom Latham's Black Caps hosting a buoyant South Africa, hoping to continue their climb up the table.

The Proteas come into the series full of confidence after their come-from-behind series win over India, with a number of young players stepping up in a strong display.

> How your team is positioned in the World Test Championship race

For both sides, the series is a test of depth as it is about the execution of plans and skills across the two matches.

Still side-lined by his elbow issues, Kane Williamson will sit out the series, with quick Trent Boult missing the first match for the birth of his third child. The Black Caps said goodbye to Ross Taylor in the long format after their series with Bangladesh, forcing another re-shuffle.

For South Africa, recently crowned ICC Men's Player of the Month Keegan Petersen also misses the series after testing COVID-positive.

Remember the last time

It's been a five-year wait since the teams met in Test action, and it was the Proteas who prevailed, winning the three-match series 1-0, claiming the second Test by eight wickets in Wellington.

For the two captains in the upcoming series, both opening batters, it was a polarising series. Elgar compiled 265 runs at 44, though Latham found South Africa's bowling tricky, making 74 runs at an average of 18.5.

In the face of perceived pace benefits of New Zealand's surfaces, Keshav Maharaj flourished.

The left-arm orthodox spinner collected 15 wickets, three clear of Neil Wagner, who will no doubt hit the pitch hard with his short-pitch quick bowling.

The Teams

While the tourists' bowling attack almost picks itself, the Proteas could well pick Sarel Erwee at No.3 given the absence of Petersen. Ryan Rickelton may also be selected, while Zubayr Hamza has been raced into the squad as a COVID replacement.

New Zealand have been able to call in reinforcements despite the absence of a number of players. Matt Henry looks well-placed to feature for the absent Boult, and Colin de Grandhomme may see a recall to the side led by opener Tom Latham.

**New Zealand:**Tom Latham (captain), Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry

**South Africa:**Dean Elgar (captain), Aiden Markram, Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

What they said

New Zealand coach Gary Stead: "We're under no illusions about what's in front of us, in terms of the battle it's going to be. We have a record that we would like to change against South Africa. We've never beaten them in a series."

Rassie van der Dussen on the Black Caps: "The teams of the past have been really successful over here. The conditions favour seam bowling, and that might be a reason for that. It's a proud record to be part of. It's different in this series. They've been really successful over the last two years. They've played a lot of cricket at home. They know their conditions well and they are quite suited to it.