After a crushing defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, New Zealand needs to bounce back quickly to remain in the running for a semi-final berth. Things have not yet become tough for the Kiwis, but their next match is against a resurgent South Africa and it’s not expected to be an easy outing. Stephen Fleming would be worried about the performance of his top order against the Lankans but he will hope to bat second against South Africa considering a battery of pacemen.

For South Africa, team selection will be a bit of an issue with Andre Nel showing form in his last match. But a one-dimensional attack against New Zealand could be trouble and they will want Peterson to play a big part. Graeme Smith was tonked around a bit against the West Indies but that was at the fag end of the match. He will still be looking for consistency and some penetration from his bowlers.

Smith has gone on record to say that he won’t want to worry about net run rate and would prefer to go through with an outright win record, but it’s perhaps not the smartest thing to do. While Smith can ensure his team does their best, he can’t guarantee what happens in other matches. On that front, Stephen Fleming seems to have his plans correct. He is worrying about the net run rate and if not for qualification, it could help ensure they don’t bump into Australia in the semis itself!

The key players for New Zealand would obviously be Scott Styris and Shane Bond while for South Africa, it would be Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock. Similar styles for all opposing numbers and the match does seem like an equal contest on paper. It would finally come down to the planning, pitch and nerves. Who will hold out better?

New Zealand needs this win to ensure they go through while South Africa needs it to keep England away and not make their game against England a playoff. At the moment, it’s just too close to call but one would have to say South Africa; they just seem more aggressive than the Kiwis despite having lost to Bangladesh.