New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said he was delighted to be part of the series and looked forward to some intense cricket between the two teams.
“This is part of a great series. We know South Africa are a great team and have played great games over the last few years. It’s always good to play in front of another great crowd in New Zealand. (The conditions) are looking good and maybe it’ll start slow and Cash will be really happy with that. That’s what we’re going to do with the bat, start seeing how the pitch performs. Go out and run some laps,” Santner said after the delivery.
South Africa captain Keshav Maharaj admitted the disappointment of their previous semi-final exit still lingered but stressed the team was looking to the future with a young squad.
“(The semi-final) is disappointing. We have a new squad, fresh faces. Hopefully the young guys in our environment can shine on the field today,” Maharaj said.
The match also saw New Zealand hand Nick Kelly his T20I debut, while South Africa brought in four players to make their international debuts: Connor Esterhuizen, Jordan Hermann, Dian Forrester and Nqobani Mokoena.
team:
South Africa (XI): Connor Esterhuizen (w), Jordan Hermann, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Jason Smith, Dian Forrester, George Linde, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj (c).
New Zealand (Starting XI): Devin Conway, Tom Latham (female), Tim Robinson, Nick Kelly, Bvon Jacobs, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (centre), Zachary Fox, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Ben Sears.
