Black Caps still seeking first test series win over South Africa

Thursday, 1 February 2024

Daryl Mitchell was grateful to have become the second-most expensive Black Cap picked up at an Indian Premier League player auction.

First test:** Black Caps v South Africa; Where: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui; When: Sunday–Thursday, 11am daily; Coverage: Live on TVNZ Duke; live updates on Stuff**

For a brief moment two years ago, it almost looked inevitable.

The Black Caps had just beaten South Africa by an innings and 276 runs in the first of two tests at Hagley Oval in February 2022.

The absences of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult had not hurt as they registered their eighth win in 10 tests at the Christchurch venue in emphatic fashion.

It seemed as though they were well-placed to win again in the second test and claim their first series win over the Proteas at the 16th time of trying.

South African captain Dean Elgar and his fellow tourists had other ideas, however, pulling off a 198-run win to keep New Zealand waiting.

Not for long, though, as the World Test Championship schedule-makers have brought the two countries together again, just shy of 24 months later.

The first test at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui starts on Sunday, February 4, with the second at Seddon Park in Hamilton to follow from Tuesday, February 13.

The Black Caps celebrate a Matt Henry wicket during their win over South Africa at Hagley Oval in 2022.

Elgar is no longer at the helm of the Proteas, having retired after their last test series, a 1-1 draw with India at home that ended at the start of this year.

The rest of the visiting team will be largely unrecognisable, as Cricket South Africa has prioritised its fledgling domestic Twenty20 franchise competition, SA20, and selected a makeshift squad.

As a result, there are set to be 10 changes when they take the field in the Bay of Plenty this weekend, with batter David Bedingham the only player in line to back up.

New captain Neil Brand is set to be one of several debutants, with the 14 players selected boasting a meagre total of 51 test caps between them.

But there will be little chance of the Black Caps taking their opponents lightly, especially after an understrength West Indies team stunned Australia in Brisbane last weekend.

They have, after all, only managed five wins in 47 meetings with the Proteas – two on tour during the 1961-62 summer, one on tour in 1994, one at Eden Park in Auckland in 2004 and the one at Hagley Oval in 2022.

The drawn series between the Black Caps and South Africa two years ago came 18 years after their previous 1-1 stalemate, which was also on New Zealand soil.

Before that, you have to back to 1964, prior to the Proteas’ 20-year ban from international cricket during the apartheid era, when a three-match series in New Zealand ended in three draws.

South Africa walk off the field at Hagley Oval after securing a series draw with the Black Caps in 2022.

Earlier, there was a 2-2 draw in South Africa in 1961-62, while the other close contest between the two countries was in South Africa in 1994, where the hosts came from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

Black Caps v South Africa

The four drawn test series

2022 – drew 1-1 in New Zealand

The Black Caps won the first test by an innings on the back of Matt Henry’s 7-23 and Tim Southee’s 5-35, but South Africa hit back to win the second thanks to centuries from Sarel Erwee (108) and Kyle Verreynne (136no).

2004 – drew 1-1 in New Zealand

Chris Martin took 6-76 and 5-104 in his first test in almost two years, having been recalled to target South Africa’s left-handers after a first-up draw.

Big innings from Scott Styris (170) and Chris Cairns (158) helped the Black Caps register their first home win over the Proteas in the second test, but defeat in the third meant a series win remained elusive.

1964 – drew 0-0 in New Zealand

The two teams played out three draws in Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland. It was the visitors who came closest to getting a result, scoring 42 when 65 were required in 27 minutes in the second test, then reducing their hosts to 191-8 in the fourth innings of the third test before rain ended the action 13 minutes early.

1961–62 – drew 2-2 in South Africa

Three years earlier, New Zealand’s first test wins on foreign soil meant they took a share of the spoils from a five-match series in South Africa. The visitors lost the first test narrowly, falling 31 runs short of their target of 197, but after drawing the second test, they bounced back to win the third, taking the last six wickets for 20 runs once South Africa were 93 away from their target of 408.

The fourth test resulted in a South African win by an innings inside three days, but New Zealand responded to level the series in the fifth, bowling their hosts out 41 runs shy of their target of 314.