In New Zealand, Rob Walter will face a familiar foe on Wednesday.
The Proteas head coach worked in that country for six years before returning to SA at the start of the year.
Walter left SA, after a successful stint with the Northerns Titans, to coach Otago and the Central Districts provincial teams, and in 2022 he also took the New Zealand A side on tour to India.
That team included one of the breakout stars of the 2023 World Cup, Rachin Ravindra.
“I have a bit of inside information on them, so we’ll see how that stacks up on Wednesday,” Walter said.
The Proteas have had a couple of days off in Pune after their win against Pakistan in Chennai last Friday, and like other South Africans, some were nursing Bok-induced sore heads this weekend.
But the focus will switch back firmly to their own World Cup, in which they have given themselves an excellent platform by winning five of their first six matches.
They will finish off the round-robin phase against New Zealand, then play India in Kolkata on Sunday and wrap up against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad next week.
“It’s a really cool opportunity over the next two games to play the other two top teams in this competition so far and see how our game stacks up against theirs,” Walter said.
Proteas coach cautions of dangers of New Zealand
Walter’s inside info can help SA against Black Caps
Proteas coach’s six years of experience in NZ could count for a lot in World Cup encounter
In New Zealand, Rob Walter will face a familiar foe on Wednesday.
The Proteas head coach worked in that country for six years before returning to SA at the start of the year.
Walter left SA, after a successful stint with the Northerns Titans, to coach Otago and the Central Districts provincial teams, and in 2022 he also took the New Zealand A side on tour to India.
That team included one of the breakout stars of the 2023 World Cup, Rachin Ravindra.
“I have a bit of inside information on them, so we’ll see how that stacks up on Wednesday,” Walter said.
The Proteas have had a couple of days off in Pune after their win against Pakistan in Chennai last Friday, and like other South Africans, some were nursing Bok-induced sore heads this weekend.
But the focus will switch back firmly to their own World Cup, in which they have given themselves an excellent platform by winning five of their first six matches.
They will finish off the round-robin phase against New Zealand, then play India in Kolkata on Sunday and wrap up against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad next week.
“It’s a really cool opportunity over the next two games to play the other two top teams in this competition so far and see how our game stacks up against theirs,” Walter said.
New Zealand, who started their tournament with four wins out of four, have lost their last two matches, to India and Australia, the latter in the last over in one of the games of the tournament so far.
And while SA have recovered well from the shock defeat against the Netherlands, winning their next three matches, the Proteas will be under no illusions about the difficulty of the task that awaits them against the Black Caps.
“I don’t see many holes in their makeup,” Walter said.
“There is a lot of depth in different positions.
“For the most part, they have a lot of cricketers who have played in World Cup finals, in different formats, and they understand how to win.”
New Zealand have played in each of the last two ODI World Cup finals, and featured in the semifinals of 2007 and 2011 tournaments.
They have also beaten the Proteas in each of the last six tournaments.