New Zealand and South Africa have a long and illustrious record against each other in international cricket. From Test competition to ODI matches and T20 contests, they’ve faced each other several times.
While they have endured and enjoyed some solid battles in bilateral series, these have also come in major International Cricket Council tournaments such as the T20 World Cup and Cricket World Cup.
Test cricket
The South Africans and New Zealanders have contested 45 Test matches against each other since their very first in 1945. South Africa have won a resounding 25 of those – and lost only four, while 16 ended in a draw.
The last time the two great rivals met in the longest format of the international game was back in 2017 at the University Oval in Dunedin, where Proteas opener Elgar was named Player of the Match. He scored 140 in the first innings and followed that up with a fine 89 in the second. The match and series ended in a nil-all draw.
Elgar is right up there among South Africa’s leading run-scorers in Test cricket against New Zealand. He boasts more than 400 runs in nine innings at an average of over 50 against the Kiwis. He doesn’t have the most against the old enemy, though. That mantle belongs to the near legendary Jacques Kallis, whose 28 Test knocks against the Black Caps brought him 1543 runs at an average of 61.72.
On the other side of the camp, former captain and left-handed batsman Stephen Fleming has the most Test match runs for New Zealand against South Africa. His tally is 1072 runs in 27 innings at an average of over 41.
ODI cricket
The Cricket World Cup, which hosts several matches of 50 overs per innings, has hosted really memorable matches between South Africa and New Zealand. For those who like to bet on this particular match-up between the Saffas and Kiwis, in the ranking of bestcasinosites.net you can always find useful information for which bookies deserve your attention. For instance, Betway have New Zealand priced at 8.25 and South Africa 9.90 in the outright markets for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Cricket World Cup results between NZ and SA
- 2019: NZ won by four wickets
- 2015: NZ won by four wickets
- 2011: NZ won by 49 runs
- 2007: NZ won by five wickets
- 2003: NZ won by three wickets
- 1999: SA won by 74 runs
- 1996: SA won by five wickets
- 1992: NZ won by seven wickets
As you can see from the table above, the Proteas have not outdone the Black Caps match at the World Cup in two decades – and have some work to do when the next Cricket World Cup rolls around.
T20I cricket
The shortest and newest format of the international game has also yielded some spectacle showings between South Africa and New Zealand.
The men from Africa have definitely had the beating of the unit from the land of the long, white cloud in this format. They have played a mere 15 times, but South Africa have taken the win on 11 occasions.
It has been a long time since they last met in T20I cricket, though – pretty much three years. That occasion was in February 2017 at Eden Park in Auckland. The venue brought yet another T20I victory for the South African, as Player of the Match Imran Tahir took telling figures of five for 24 in one delivery fewer than four overs. It was the talented leg-spinner’s first T20I five-wicket haul. He took another against Zimbabwe at Buffalo Park in East London a year later.
