Proteas will get no favours from NZ

South Africa must expect the New Zealand cricket team to use every trick in the book to unsettle them when they head off to that team's homeland on Friday, 10 February. Tours to the Land of the Long White Cloud are never easy and will include three tests, three one-day internationals and three T20 internationals.

If you cast  your mind back to March 2011 and to the way in which the Kiwi team surrounded Faf du Plessis after he ran out his teammate AB de Villiers during the quarter-final of the Cricket World Cup, you would understand exactly how combative the New Zealand cricket team are.

They had a suspicion that South Africans historically choked in Cricket World Cup knock-out phases and they used sledging to stretch the tournament-brittle minds of the Proteas.

History will tell us that the New Zealand team succeeded in knocking South Africa out winning by 28 runs.

On tour to New Zealand on 2003/2004, South Africa shared the test series 1-1with them. Chris Martin magnificently captured 11 wickets for the hosts as they recorded a shock win during the second test in Auckland.

South Africa ultimately shared the spoils thanks to a brilliant fourth-wicket partnership of 171 runs between Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten during the third test at Wellington.

Kirsten scored 76 runs in what proved to be his swansong partnership with Smith, who managed a match-winning 125. South Africa won by six wickets.

Now Kirsten, as national coach, and Smith, as test captain, will return to the scene of their greatest triumph.

Then, Stephen Fleming got under the skin of Smith and managed to unsettle the then-inexperienced SA test captain.

South Africans must not expect any favours from New Zealand as their wickets may be extremely docile and batsmen-friendly. New Zealand has a decent bowling attack with Martin Guptill, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Daniel Vettori. Vettori is a world-class spinner and Southee and Martin can swing it prodigiously in conducive conditions.

Their batting line-up is fair but they hardly boast world-class batsman. Brendon McCullum is a destructive batsman and Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor have their days, but they truly look vulnerable.

There is talent in the middle- and lower middle-order but these batsmen look inexperienced and are untested against world-class speed merchants like Dale Steyn and Morné Morkel.

South Africa have an added incentive. If they can whitewash the Black Caps, they could replace England as the number one-ranked test team in the world.

For Mark Boucher, Jacques Rudolph, Imran Tahir and Alviro Petersen this is a watershed tour.

Rudolph would like to reinforce his position as number-6 batsman. In 2004, he was one of the achievers in the series, scoring an undefeated 154 in the second test and a fine 93 in the third to add to his 72 in the first test, thriving in New Zealand conditions.

Petersen has been on song the past season and when recalled to the test team at Newlands against Sri Lanka, responded with a superb ton.

Tahir was praised as a world-class spinner when he replaced Paul Harris, but has not truly set the world alight since his elevation to the test team.

He has been expensive on occasions and has not run through batting line-ups as  predicted before the start of the Australian series.

Against a dangerous but vulnerable batting line-up like that of New Zealand, he could finally prove his worth, their batsmen not being too familiar with his googly and variations like his flipper or his top-spinner.

Boucher scored his 10th first-class century for the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras in the SuperSport Series match against the Chevrolet Knights at Newlands. The 35-year old wicketkeeper has recently hinted at retiring. What a way it would be to say goodbye if South Africa could beat the Black Caps 3-0 and soar to the top of the world rankings!

One bowler who would love another go at his old enemies, is Steyn, who has been a destructive force against New Zealand and has been on song against them these past four years.

The tone for the Steyn domination was set in November 2007 in a two-test series against New Zealand when he captured 20 wickets and demolished the top-order in both tests. He physically hit the opening batsman Craig Cumming with a snorter of a delivery during the second test at SuperSport Park. The Kiwi had to retire hurt because of the injury.

An unfortunate incident no cricket lover likes to see but which is part of the game and the question is whether they have come to terms with its psychological impact.They will have to deal it because physically it is tough enough to deal with the Steyn's thunderbolts. Steyn and Morkel’s roles in dismantling New Zealand’s top- and middle order cannot be under-estimated.

South Africa will have to deal with the shrewd New Zealanders who won’t make their life easy but ultimately, they will also have to find a way to overcome their own tendency of becoming complacent after one good win.

If they focus on that whitewash and on getting revenge after their demoralising Cricket World Cup exit at New Zealand's hands, then there is no reason why they cannot win the test series 3-0.