The match has now been reduced to 49-over a side due to wet outfield.
New Zealand's Kane Williamson during the first warm-up match between India and New Zealand at the Kennington Oval, London on May 25, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to field against South Africa in their ongoing World Cup league match at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, on Wednesday. The match has now been reduced to 49-over a side due to wet outfield.
South Africa started slowly and were 71 for 2 after 19 overs at the time of writing. Trent Boult sent Quinton de Kock (5) back to pavilion cheaply. After this, captain Faf du Plessis (23) stitched a 50-run partnership with Hashim Amla for the second wicket before falling prey to a Lockie Ferguson-yorker.
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While New Zealand remain unchanged for the clash, South Africa replaced Beuran Hendricks with pacer Lungi Ngidi.
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The Black Caps are unbeaten in the tournament till now and will be looking to continue their winning streak. With 7 points in 4 matches, they are at the 3rd position in the points table. South Africa, on the other, have managed just one win from five games and are strangling at no. 8th position.
Speaking at the toss, Williamson said: “We are going to bowl. Same side for us. The guys are ready to go. We thought about Sodhi, but stuck to the same team for this game. The past record against South Africa is irrelevant.”
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said: “We would have bowled as well. There is a bit of blue sky, hopefully the ball will come on nicely to the bat. The previous game was really good, there was real intensity from the team. Hopefully we can do something similar today. Lungi (Ngidi) is back for us. It’s another big game for us.”
Here are the playing XIs of both the teams.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (Captain), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (Captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicket-keeper), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
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