http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 pacer Tim Southee could be a thorn for South Africa’s top order in ICC World Cup quarter-final
New Zealand will be up against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 in the third quarter-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at Mirpur on Friday.
The Proteas would start as the favorites for this encounter considering their recent performances in international cricket, but it’s a big match and anything can be expected from the Black Caps who are known to make it count in the crunch matches.
The biggest challenge for the Kiwis would be to restrict the strong South African batting which has a nice blend of batsmen who can stay at the crease for long hours and players who can increase the run rate at any given time.
Almost all the Proteas batsmen have found form in the showpiece event but http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 has been the standout performer with a magnificent hundreds and a half-century to his name. However, he missed the last two group matches with an injury. Meanwhile, Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori is fit once again and he will lead the New Zealand bowling in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Tim Southee has performed exceptionally well in international cricket since last couple of months and has become the most potent bowler in the Kiwi ranks. He is the main strike bowler for the Black Caps and can play a big role if his team is to do well against the hot favorites of the mega event. He will take the new ball for the Kiwis which could be the deciding factor in the match, as he is a brilliant exponent of the new ball and can swing it both ways which might trouble the South African top order.
The majority of the swing bowlers are usually not that sharp, but Southee has a huge advantage for he is quick and can swing the ball with express pace. He crosses 135 KM per hour often and movement at that pace can test even the best batsmen in the business. He is usually an outswing bowler but does nip one in regularly to surprise the opposition. His ability to swing the ball away makes the batsmen commit outside the off-stump and that’s where his in-swingers come into play. This is the reason why he does trap a lot of batsmen in front of the wickets.
Although South Africa have a lot of class at the top of the order but Graeme Smith and company would have to unsure that they see off the initial burst of Southee. If the Proteas are able to cope with the swing of Southee, it would become very hard for the Black Caps to stop the South African onslaught.
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