Nz vs SA   NZ beat SA by 134 runs warm up match report

ICC World Cup Warm-up Match: New Zealand (NZ) vs. South Africa (SA)

The warm-up match between New Zealand (NZ) and South Africa (SA) took place at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, in preparation for the ICC World Cup in 2015.

New Zealand had a strong performance with the bat, posting a formidable total of 331 runs against South Africa. The opening pair of Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum got NZ off to a decent start. Guptill scored 26 off 36 balls, while McCullum played aggressively, contributing 59 runs off 45 balls. Kane Williamson provided stability in the middle order with his 66 off 53 balls.

Ross Taylor chipped in with 41 runs off 48 balls, and Grant Elliott added 24 off 30 balls. Corey Anderson made a quick 21 off 20 balls, Luke Ronchi scored 19 off 18 balls, and Daniel Vettori contributed 27 runs off 30 balls. Nathan McCullum played a fiery cameo, scoring 33 runs off just 19 balls. Impressively, all NZ batsmen reached double figures, with Ronchi being the lowest scorer with 19 runs.

The South African bowlers struggled to contain the New Zealand batsmen. Wayne Parnell was the most successful among the bowlers, taking 2 wickets for 52 runs in his 7 overs. Aaron Phangiso claimed 1 wicket for 43 runs in 6 overs, and Jean-Paul Duminy took 1 wicket for 35 runs in 6 overs. Imran Tahir went wicketless, conceding 52 runs in his 7 overs. Vernon Philander picked up 2 wickets for 59 runs in his 8 overs, while Kyle Abbott also took 2 wickets, giving away 35 runs in 6 overs.

In response, South Africa found it challenging to chase down the target set by New Zealand. The SA team was all out for 197 runs in 44.2 overs. Jean-Paul Duminy was the top scorer for South Africa, playing a patient innings of 80 runs off 98 balls. Vernon Philander contributed 57 runs off 84 balls.

However, the rest of the South African batsmen struggled to build substantial partnerships. AB de Villiers scored 24 runs off 28 balls, Quinton de Kock made 11 runs off 12 balls, Rilee Rossouw managed only 2 runs off 8 balls, Faf du Plessis scored 8 runs off 15 balls, and David Miller added 4 runs off 4 balls.

Trent Boult emerged as the hero for the New Zealand bowling attack, taking 5 crucial wickets for 51 runs in his 9.2 overs. Tim Southee picked up 1 wicket for 29 runs. Daniel Vettori also contributed with 2 wickets for 29 runs in his 7 overs, while Mitchell McClenaghan claimed 2 wickets for 23 runs in 8 overs.

Trent Boult’s impressive performance with the ball was a major factor in New Zealand’s victory over South Africa in this ICC World Cup warm-up match.