Johannesburg – Proteas coach Russell Domingo expects a competitive series when his side takes on New Zealand in the upcoming three-match One-Day International (ODI) series.
“We know that New Zealand are always a tough outfit,” Domingo said after the squad's first training session at the Bay Oval on Thursday.
“Our record in New Zealand shows that they have beaten us 16 times and we have only won eight matches or something to that effect.
“Our record in Australia is better than that. We have beaten Australia more times than they have beaten us in Australia. It shows how difficult New Zealand are to beat at home, we know it's going to be a tough series for us.”
AB de Villiers's men have had a successful year on the road, winning a hard-fought series against Sri Lanka and the triangular series featuring Australia and Zimbabwe, in Zimbabwe.
The winning culture has allowed the selectors to maintain consistency in selection, an encouraging sign with less than four months to go until the ICC Cricket World Cup.
“It's quite a settled team at the moment. We have played a good brand of cricket for the last five or six months,” Domingo said.
“We beat India, Sri Lanka away, Australia and Zimbabwe away, so we are quite happy with where we are at the moment.
“Every game leading up to the World Cup is going to be very important for us, we want to have a settled and confident side when we get to the event.”
The first match of the series takes place at the Bay Oval in Tauranga, New Zealand, on Tuesday. – Sapa