Sports Blog 23/03/2015: Tournament Preview – Cricket World Cup Semi-Final, New Zealand vs South Africa, Tuesday 24th March 2015

It’s been a long old tournament, but the end is in sight for the Cricket World Cup, with the early hours of Tuesday morning seeing the first of two blockbuster semi-finals.

New Zealand face South Africa in Eden Park, Auckland, ensuring a first-time finalist come Sunday. The two sides have 9 semi-finals but no World Cup finals between them and both teams will be desperate to overturn this painful trend. 2011’s World Cup saw these sides meet in the quarter-finals with New Zealand winning by 49 runs; however, the victor of Tuesday’s match remains much more uncertain.

Co-hosts New Zealand are coming into this semi-final after a phenomenal run of games which sees them unbeaten in 9 ODIs including all 7 of their World Cup matches. This meant they topped Pool A, swatting aside Australia, Sri Lanka and a woeful England in the process, whilst they saw off the West Indies in their quarter-final by a comfortable 143 runs. Despite all this, New Zealand remain third in both the Outright Index, at a spread of 31-34, and the Tournament Winner fixed odds, at a price of 4/1. Yet the Black Caps will go into this game feeling confident. Compared to Australia’s sometimes struggling stadiums, World Cup fever seems in full swing in New Zealand, so playing in Auckland in a familiar ground will give them an important home advantage.



They also have quarter final hero Martin Guptill at their disposal. Guptill has a Player Performance spread of 44-49 (with 1 point per run, 10 per catch, 20 per wicket and 25 per stumping) after scoring 237 runs against West Indies, the highest score in a World Cup match and the second biggest in an ODI ever. He is joined by Brendon McCullum at a PP spread of 52-57 and a tournament runs spread of 332-339 with 269 already, Kane Williamson at 50-55 and a tournament runs spread of 279-286 with 216 already and Corey Anderson at a PP spread of 50-55. Frustratingly for New Zealand they will without fast-bowler Adam Milne for the rest of the tournament due to a heel injury. He will be replaced by Matt Henry; an able alternative who many thought was unlucky not to be in the World Cup squad proper in the first place.

South Africa have had a slightly rockier path for the semi-finals, but seem to have found their form at the right time. In Pool B the Proteas came second, following losses to group toppers, and fellow semi-finalists, India as well as a surprise defeat to Pakistan in a game marred by the weather, seeing the first time South Africa have lost to the Men in Green in a World Cup. This set up a quarter final against Sri Lanka, with South Africa putting in an assured display, eventually winning by 9 wickets. This included JP Duminy becoming the first South African to take a World Cup hat-trick and only second in South African ODI history, leading to the shortest ever World Cup knockout match in the history of the tournament.



The confidence South Africa have shown in their wins leaves them second only to the Aussies in the Outright Index, at a spread of 35-38, alongside 11/4 fixed odds to win the tournament as a whole. South African hopes may be pinned on AB de Villiers, who already has 417 runs this World Cup at a tournament runs spread of 485-492 and a Player Performance spread for Tuesday’s game of 52-57. After a shaky start to the tournament, Quinton de Kock made an important return to form against Sri Lanka, scoring more runs than his entire Pool stage total, leaving him on a Player Performance spread of 53-58.

Given their speed in which they dispatched of 2011’s defeated finalists Sri Lanka, our Spreadex traders have given the Proteas the edge with a South Africa/New Zealand Cricket Supremacy spread betting quote of 1-11. However, our clients have overwhelmingly been favouring New Zealand to reach their first final, with the Black Caps’ unbeaten form and home side advantage proving to be a potent draw.