*Official* South Africa A v New Zealand A 2025

[Kippax]

Tbf they face most of NZ's best fast bowlers in the Cantab nets

I'm not sure there's any raw pace talent silly enough to actually attend those practice sessions with the view that plenty of hostility and puffing one's chest out will make the correct impression!

I think they're all aware that it's now the mildest, most skilful, least macho Zak Foulkes kind of bowler who the establishment is getting pretty smitten with.

 

[Skyliner]

Tom Latham hasn’t scored a test century since December 2022. He played one crucial knock on the tour of India amongst 5 low scores on that tour, and had a best of 63 in the home series against England but didn’t pass 50 in his other 5 innings in that series. He’s the captain so in reality he isn’t going anywhere but if the consensus is that Hay should be in the test side over Blundell based on age and career trajectory then you could probably make a similar case with Mariu vs Latham.
It would be great to see Hay make a really commanding century in the next unofficial test vs SA A and then perhaps he will force the selectors to pick him for the home tests vs the Windies.

 

[RMBolton]

Tom Latham hasn’t scored a test century since December 2022. He played one crucial knock on the tour of India amongst 5 low scores on that tour, and had a best of 63 in the home series against England but didn’t pass 50 in his other 5 innings in that series. He’s the captain so in reality he isn’t going anywhere but if the consensus is that Hay should be in the test side over Blundell based on age and career trajectory then you could probably make a similar case with Mariu vs Latham.
It would be great to see Hay make a really commanding century in the next unofficial test vs SA A and then perhaps he will force the selectors to pick him for the home tests vs the Windies.

Test debut for the two Canterbury boys in the 1st Test at Hagley, anyone?

That's the thing. Conway got the heat off himself a bit with his 150 in Bulawayo, but Latham is the captain.

 

[ataraxia]

Mariu
Latham*
Williamson
Ravindra
Nicholls
Mitchell
Hay +
Sodhi/Foulkes
Jamieson
Henry
O'Rourke

Harsh on McConchie.

 

[Kippax]

Back at Willowmoore Park tonight. Slightly more chance of seeing a new ball spell whizzing through and hitting reverse-cupped gloves hard.

If I'm not seeing the full noise, Wagnerian theatrics from a Gerald Coetzee or similar, I'll be quite disappointed.

 

[Immenso]

Hope SAF have a atronger seam attack this game. Like in the one dayers.

 

[Flem274*]

I think Blundell is so on toast that atm it's not a case of finding the next McCullum/Watling/peak Blundell, but more a case of picking the player who will catch and bat the best.

Conway is such a talent I'd give him plenty of rope still, but Mariu should be in the squad. It will give NZ the chance to evaluate him not just on raw domestic production but on technique against our test bowlers and his work in the small training percentages.

 

[Kippax]

Blundell scored a ton against England, just give him a bouncy challenge and weak spin challenge like the West Indies and I doubt he'd make the selectors rue their extended run of loyalty to him.

 

[Kippax]

Hope SAF have a atronger seam attack this game. Like in the one dayers.

Yes, Kwena Maphaka (fastest teenager in the world) being called away from this 'A' tour for T20Is was a pity. Coetzee was in the red ball squad, may get a run tonight.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Blundell scored a ton against England, just give him a bouncy challenge and weak spin challenge like the West Indies and I doubt he'd make the selectors rue their extended run of loyalty to him.

Not if he keeps dropping catches and keeping sloppily. Batting isn't his only problem.

 

[Kippax]

Yes, true.

NZ can't just keep stacking their teams with front-foot-dominant Cantabs because the average NZ cricket fan is a bit on the spectrum and is therefore very geeked out by Plunket Shield stats and numeracy alone, that's my perspective on it.

Plenty of semi-finals and finals, but the trophy cabinet will remain as underwhelming as it did thoughout Williamson's whole career.

 

[Kippax]

 

[Kippax]

A bit of a sluggish pitch again, the groundsman says it'll be a bit quicker on day 2.

Mariu through a drive too early and dropped on 21 off Cele (third ball of his 5th over).

 

[Immenso]

Commentary on the livestream needs to sort out their shouty volumn v normal talking volume. Scareing my dog.

 

[Immenso]

Interesting that Jacobs batted 3, in red ball. Not seen him do that domestically.

Gee, has anyone had a worse tour since Ken Rutherford in 85, than Jacobs.

 

[Skyliner]

A patient and composed hundred from Heaphy overnight. A very good partnership between him and Hay, who provided momentum to the innings by scoring his runs at a fast clip. Hay would have been disappointed to lose his wicket to the part timer Jason Smith.

 

[NZTailender]

Good from Heaphy. This is a harsh comment but as much as I rate Hay - and acknowledge his role is a wicketkeeper and a batsman - he really needs to make an unignorable century on one of these A tours and not a nice but somewhat forgettable string of fifties.

Interesting Carter hasn't batted yet. Wondering if he's doing something "for the team" to give everyone a decent shout, or he's holding an injury?

 

[Bahnz]

No Fisher again. Fingers crossed it's a case of the selectors deciding they've seen enough of him now to know he's got the right stuff and are trialing other options, and that it's not injury related.

 

[ataraxia]

Good from Heaphy. This is a harsh comment but as much as I rate Hay - and acknowledge his role is a wicketkeeper and a batsman - he really needs to make an unignorable century on one of these A tours and not a nice but somewhat forgettable string of fifties.

Interesting Carter hasn't batted yet. Wondering if he's doing something "for the team" to give everyone a decent shout, or he's holding an injury?

If Hay converted 5 of his fifties into tons (for 6 100s and 10 50s), he'd be averaging 55 ftr. (Assuming he scores exactly 50 more runs in those innings.)

 

[Kippax]

Did they have an alternative to Carter still on tour to captain and bat top order?

Carter must've slipped on the stairs on the way back up to the dressing room from the toss, the way Jacobs was pressed into a career-first of batting at No. 3 about an hour later.