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History beckons in the World Cup semi-finals

Monday, 23 March 2015



March 23, 2015


Cricketing history will be made at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday when New Zealand and South Africa get the semi-final stage of the tournament underway.

Neither country has ever managed to make it past this hurdle to a World Cup final, so it will be new ground for one of them after Tuesday’s match in front of what’s sure to be a packed crowd.
Nine times these two teams have previously made it to this stage – six for New Zealand (1975, 1979, 1992, 1999, 2007, 2011) and three for South Africa (1992, 1999, 2007).

The competition, which began back on February 14, is down to the final four, with India to take on Australia in the other semi-final on Thursday.

New Zealand, known as the Black Caps, has been perhaps the most impressive side all tournament long.
The Kiwis strolled past Sri Lanka, Scotland, England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh during the group stage, with their only struggle a thrilling one-wicket win over fellow co-hosts Australia.
They then dismantled the West Indies in the quarter-finals, led by Martin Guptill’s record-breaking 237 not out.


Despite some unwanted history at this stage of the World Cup, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum says his team is excited for the semi-final to commence.
“Any game you play, some get more nervous than others,” he said. “But the general feeling is that we can’t wait to get out there and test our skills against a very good South African team and in a crunch game.

“The way we dealt with the expectations of the last game should hold is us in reasonable stead.”
South Africa, a team known as the Proteas, hasn’t found things quite so straightforward. Victories over Zimbabwe, the West Indies, Ireland and United Arab Emirates were tempered by defeats against India and Pakistan.

Yet the South Africans clicked into gear in the quarter-finals, thrashing Sri Lanka by nine wickets. Proteas captain AB de Villiers knows New Zealand is playing well, but believes his team has the tools to win.

“It would be silly to focus too much on the cricket they’ve played,” he said. “They’ve played really well, but if we play to our full potential, no one is going to stop us.”
The other match will be held in Sydney between Australia and India, teams sitting first and second respectively in the ICC world rankings.

The Australians proved far too strong in undefeated Test and one-day series against India prior to the tournament getting underway.

But defending champion India has rediscovered its form and swagger and it shapes up as an epic contest at the Sydney Cricket Ground.



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