New Zealand vs South Africa 2017: Kane Williamson Expects Better Application From Batsmen

After two nail biting encounters in the series between New Zealand and South Africa, things turned out to be quite dull at Wellington in the third ODI between the two sides. With the series squared up at one a piece, the teams had everything to play for. New Zealand, however, realized why this current South African team is rated so immensely as their latest all round duo of Phehlukwayo and Pretorious were just too good for the hosts.

Early on in the day, fans witnessed an absolute masterclass from AB de Villiers as he became the quickest batsman to get to 9,000 career ODI runs. Thanks to the skipper’s knock of 85, South Africa managed 271-8. In reply though, the Kiwis were rolled over for a paltry 112 as all Proteas bowlers had a ball at Wellington.

Post his side’s defeat, skipper Kane Williamson admitted he expects more from his batsmen.

“If we were smarter with the bat, soaked up pressure for a period and cashed in at the back end, we would have been far better off. A disappointing performance from us, but we do need to move on quickly,” Williamson said.

“Restricting them to 270 was not a bad effort, but going into that second innings they were able to exploit the conditions and made life difficult.

“It probably showed that it was a tough score to chase, but as a batting unit, we want to be better at sucking up that pressure. Not only did they extract movement but they put the ball in the right area the whole time.”

Backing the underperforming Tom Latham to excel in the matches to follow, Williamson said:

“Tom works hard like all of us to get more runs, he’s been unlucky with some dismissals, found some fielders, and that’s very much nature of the game.

“He’s up against a good attack as well.”