At times it looked as though South Africa would sneak past New Zealand into victory; then Henry showed his strength.
Left-handed batsman JP Duminy strikes good-length deliveries to the boundary effortlessly and is one of the Proteas’ key assets against New Zealand in their Champions Trophy semifinal, so he will hope to repeat this performance against India. The rivalry of New Zealand national cricket team vs South Africa national cricket team timeline highlights such crucial performances, making every encounter memorable for cricket fans.
Date | Venue | Winner | Margin / Result | Notable Highlights |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 Mar 2025 | Lahore | New Zealand | Won by 50 runs | NZ scored 362/6, SA replied 312/9. (ESPN.com) |
10 Feb 2025 | Lahore | New Zealand | Won by 6 wickets | NZ chased down 304. (myKhel) |
1 Nov 2023 | (Neutral) | South Africa | Won by 190 runs | SA dominated in both batting and bowling. (myKhel) |
19 Jun 2019 | Edgbaston | New Zealand | Won by 4 wickets | Close chase against SA. (myKhel) |
20 Oct 2024 | Dubai | New Zealand (Women) | Won by 32 runs (Women’s T20 World Cup Final) | Amelia Kerr starred. (Wikipedia) |
New Zealand vs South Africa
New Zealand and South Africa’s cricket rivalry has produced many thrilling performances, records, and heartbreaks over time. Both sides have competed fiercely across all formats of play until the very last ball.
It remains one of the most intense and competitive matches to watch – particularly during ICC tournaments – where these sides push each other to their limits by engaging in last-ball thrillers that leave spectators breathless!
In February and March 1932, New Zealand and South Africa battled in their inaugural Test series ever. Both sides were led by Curly Page and Jock Cameron respectively, but it was Curly Page who would ultimately prove victorious against Jock Cameron’s Kiwis, winning both matches to seal the two-match series victory for South Africa.
South Africa are currently enjoying success in the Champions Trophy and will look to continue this streak against New Zealand. Additionally, this game represents an opportunity for South Africa to regain the Freedom Cup, having dropped it twice last year.
South African are feeling confident ahead of this crucial clash against Black Caps despite losing to Kiwis by seven wickets previously, hoping to field an all-star team against them and win this encounter as well.
New Zealand have won two out of their four matches so far in this tournament and despite some early struggles have shown signs of improvement recently.
They aim to take this match and force a decider match which will take place on March 14.
Harare’s pitch will likely favor those who bat first as there’s no rain forecasted to dampen its bounce; fast bowlers should find this helpful with the new ball.
As the game progresses, spinners may exploit its turn and bounce for high scoring games with both sides potentially surpassing 200 runs in score. Whoever wins will become champions Trophy champs!
History
New Zealand national cricket team, commonly referred to as the Black Caps, represent New Zealand internationally in cricket.
Based in Christchurch and overseen by the New Zealand Cricket board, they are widely known for their resourcefulness and ability to “punch above their weight”, despite being one of the least populous Test-playing nations.
Over their long Test history the Black Caps have won two ICC World Test Championship titles as well as reaching three Cricket World Cup finals (in 2015, 2019 and 2021).
The Black Caps’ success in one-day internationals has enabled them to compete more regularly with some of the world’s best sides.
Alongside their excellent batting performance, their bowling attack and fielding unit also impress. Their iconic beige and white uniform has become beloved among fans, and is known by them as the ‘Beige Brigade’.
After an incredible Champions Trophy campaign, New Zealand are in excellent form and aim to make it five wins out of six T20I matches in their most recent run.
They boast a deep squad and will select anyone fit and available; Tim Seifert leads their batting, with Devon Conway serving in middle order while Ish Sodhi, Michael Bracewell, Zakary Foulkes, and Mitch Santner provide extra spin depth.
In their most recent head-to-head match against Australia, the Black Caps prevailed by 21 runs. Tim Robinson scored 75 off just 57 balls while Kwena Maphaka took two wickets during their second innings innings.
New Zealand’s batting will be led by Seifert and Devon Conway, both of whom have been performing spectacularly recently. They will be supported by Colin Munro, Kane Williamson, and Ross Taylor who have all shown outstanding form this year.
The Black Caps possess a strong bowling lineup with Jacob Duffy, Matthew Henry, Zakary Foulkes and William O’Rourke forming part of their seam attack; Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner will provide depth on spin bowling while Mark Chapman and James Neesham make up an unstoppable duo in lower order batting positions.
Prediction
South Africa and New Zealand’s rivalry is always thrilling and dramatic, providing countless memorable moments during every game they meet. Both teams tend to be unpredictable and play every game aggressively regardless of what situations arise during a contest.
Even though they lost, South Africa can gain much from this final and will look to build on it going forward.
They had it under control at various points during their batting innings before some outstanding death bowling from Bracewell and Mitchell turned the tables and delivered New Zealand their much-deserved win.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was delighted by how his team persevered and emerged victorious from their thrilling win on a tough surface. Although they would have liked a few extra runs, Santner is proud of how his side managed the pressure of chasing a target and is looking forward to the remaining matches of this series.
The Kiwis boast an excellent mix of experienced and young players in their squad, which is evident in the final squad chosen to represent New Zealand in South Africa for three one-dayers and two four-day matches.
Daniel Flynn will lead them under coach Bob Carter and Graeme Aldridge with support from Northern Districts assistant coach Daniel Flynn of Northern Districts as an advisor.
Both teams will aim to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the tournament. South Africa currently lies second with nine points while New Zealand are in third with eight. Whoever emerges victorious will advance to semi-finals against Australia and face them next.
New Zealand’s young squad was impressive in their 82-run triumph against South Africa in the Tri-Series final, led by Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra who both scored centuries for New Zealand.
Bevon Jacobs and Rhys Mariu also made their BLACKCAPS debuts, showing their batting ability throughout. These youngsters will certainly make waves for New Zealand cricket.
Schedule
New Zealand cricket team, commonly referred to as the Black Caps, represents their nation in international cricket competitions.
Twice they have made it to the ICC World Cup final without winning it; nevertheless they remain one of the premier teams globally; being second-ranked in both Test Championship and T20I Championship respectively.
Richard Hadlee made his debut and transformed New Zealand’s bowling during the 1970s. He recorded 374 wickets over 86 Test matches – still an astounding world record! At the same time, Martin Crowe and Jeremy Coney emerged as outstanding batsmen for New Zealand while John Wright, Bruce Edgar, Jeff Crowe, Andrew Jones, Geoff Howarth, Lance Cairns all contributed significantly towards New Zealand innings.
One-day cricket allowed the Black Caps to regularly challenge some of the premier sides in the world, giving them greater access to one-day internationals and competition against top teams around the globe.
In this form of the game, all team members must contribute towards victory – so with strength and confidence increasing on an annual basis came an increasingly competitive one-day side from New Zealand.
The Black Caps finished as runners-up of the 1999 ICC KnockOut Trophy and advanced to the quarter finals of the 2000 ICC World Cup, where they faced Pakistan – who had defeated them earlier – at this stage of competition in 1998.
After an anxious opening round against Pakistan, New Zealand eventually recovered their composure and progressed further until eventually reaching semi-finals of this World Cup tournament.
New Zealand in the 1980s had outstanding players across both tests and one day internationals (ODIs). The Black Caps won five of seven test matches in 1985, including an extraordinary win at Melbourne Cricket Ground where Martin Crowe scored an astonishing 188 and Richard Hadlee took 10 wickets; additional contributors to their victory included John F Reid, Bruce Edgar, Edgar Coney and Ewen Chatfield – to name but a few!
Due to the Twenty-20 Indian Cricket League (ICL), New Zealand cricketers were forced to choose between playing for their country and earning big money through this lucrative format – leading to popular names such as Shane Bond, Lou Vincent, Hamish Marshall and Andy Adams leaving New Zealand in order to pursue it as a career.