The BLACKCAPS have touched down in Johannesburg eyeing a slice of history as they prepare for their winner-take-all second and final Test against South Africa, starting Saturday.
New Zealand has never beaten the Proteas in a Test series and coach Mike Hesson admits the prospect is now very real following the weather affected draw in the opening rubber.
“When you look at our history - winning a Test series against South Africa over here would be a huge achievement for this side,” he said. “So even if it’s just a one Test match it certainly has a lot of context for us.
“Everybody was frustrated by what happened in the first Test with the weather but it does set up an exciting contest at Centurion. It’s a ground where we had some experience last year so we know a bit about it.
“It’s now a one-off Test for the series so it’s exciting and I know the guys in the changing rooms are excited by it too.”
Although less than 100 overs were possible in the first match, Hesson believes his side would be better for the hit out.
“From a bowling point of view we learned a lot regarding our required lengths when it swings, and maybe about adjusting our seam presentation a bit and some other little subtleties we can look to introduce.
“We gathered a lot about the South African batsmen in the challenging conditions. We’d seen a bit on the video but it’s nothing like real life feedback.
“From a batting point of view we were challenged in some tricky conditions and that’s going to be good for us moving forward.”
The team will train on Thursday morning and Friday afternoon before Saturday’s game and are expecting slightly different conditions than the lively green pitch they got at Kingsmead.
