Daily Times

They would also have had the time to assess whether they have gleaned anything from their experimentation and probably found an equal number of solutions as problems. South Africa still have the No. 7 problem after David Wiese struggled but at least they know Morne van Wyk’s days are over. New Zealand have seen Tom Latham and George Worker come good but may be concerned about whether Colin Munro has a long-term future. Those are issues to mull over later – on Wednesday, it’s about claiming a series.

In the spotlight: Rilee Rossouw has looked the most in-form batsman among his team-mates, although he does not have the numbers to show for it, and could use a big score to cement his position in the team in the near future. When Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy return, South Africa’s line-up will be crowded and Rossouw could be relegated to the reserves. A reminder of what he has to offer would be timely. With scores of 7, 29, 5, 6 and 1, it’s fair to say Luke Ronchi has not made a major contribution on this tour so far. He does not always get the opportunity to do so with New Zealand’s top order regularly leaving him with little time in the middle. However, like any good wicketkeeper, he is hardly noticed behind the stumps which means he is doing a fairly good job, but he will hope for the chance to bat a little longer or at least pull off a stunner behind the stumps.

Team news: Kyle Abbott is the only member of the ODI squad who has not played yet and South Africa may choose to give him a run on his home ground. With Vernon Philander bowling well, it may be a choice between Abbott and Kagiso Rabada with Aaron Phangiso likely to sit out in favour of Imran Tahir. Although Morne van Wyk has misfired, South Africa do not have another reserve batsman unless they choose to play Dean Elgar, who was included as cover after du Plessis was injured. A trio of tweaks to their starting XI saw New Zealand win the second game and they may be tempted to keep their victorious team but conditions could dictate otherwise. Two specialist spinners could be a luxury in Durban so Ish Sodhi or Nathan McCullum may have to make room for either Mitchell McClenaghan to come back in or Matt Henry to get his first opportunity. Munro and James Neesham could still compete for the No.6 spot.

Probable squads:

South Africa:

Morne van Wyk (wk), Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers (capt), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada/Kyle Abbott, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.

New Zealand:

Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (capt), George Worker, Grant Elliott, Colin Munro/James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Nathan McCullum/Ish Sodhi, Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler/Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne.