CAPE TOWN - New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and inserted the Proteas in the first T20 on a humid day at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.
South Africa have opted to rest ace fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for this opening T20 encounter while batsman David Miller has yet to recover from his finger injury.
Cape Cobras opening bowler Dane Paterson gets a chance to redeem himself after a disappointing T20 International debut at Newlands a month ago, while Farhaan Behardien continues to fill Miller’s role in the middle-order.
“I am not quite sure what to expect. It looks a bit on the slow side, it might swing a bit, we’ll just have to assess it,” Proteas T20 captain Faf du Plessis said at the toss.
Meanwhile, the Black Caps have handed an expected T20 debut to South African-born opener Glenn Phillips. The 20-year-old takes the place of the injured Martin Guptill at the top of the order and will walk out with his captain Kane Williamson when New Zealand start their reply later in the evening.
After all the rain about and the fear that the match could be reduced, the sun has fought its way through the clouds and a full T20 match can be expected.
T20I Teams for Eden Park:
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ben Wheeler, Trent Boult.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis ©, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Imran Tahir.