Champions Trophy 2025 – New Zealand-South Africa bowling battle crucial Temba Bavuma says

It begins with a football match. The players stand in a circle keeping the ball up, excitement building as the rally lengthens. Then, a slightly wayward tee-up from one of the players puts Tabraiz Shamsi in a tricky spot. The eye test suggests he’s one of the less technically gifted football players; the rally is destined to end there. Soon after, the group disbands, and the South Africans begin to get into position for a conventional cricket training session.

“New Zealand’s bowling is formidable,” he said. “Quite a disciplined bowling attack. Up front the guys with the new ball don’t give you much to score from. You’ve got to be decisive as an opening batter, and then in the middle, you’ve got guys again who are able to squeeze the game and force you to make mistakes. We know as batters we’re going to have to work hard. We’re going to have to bat ourselves into a position where we can make the play against them.”

Bavuma, though, rates his own bowlers, highly, too. “We’re also quite confident in our bowling. It’ll be a good show on offer between the two bowling attacks. I don’t think there’s a lot between them.”

Unlike New Zealand’s bowlers though, South Africa’s went through a full workload, training later than usual, between 7 and 10pm on the eve of the game.

Bavuma said it couldn’t be an excuse for his side, though. “Logistically, things could have been more efficient,” he said. “Having said, that the boys did enjoy the time to gallivant in Dubai. Some of the boys played some golf, some went sightseeing. So it was a bit enjoyable, some of them used the time to recover. Guys made use of it as best as they could.”

Three weeks ago, these two sides played a game in Lahore that could not be further removed in terms of importance. It was the second game of the tri-series, a day game starting on a cold February morning. It was a flat surface, with a second-string South African side posting 304 before an unbeaten century from Kane Williamson, who has “always been a thorn” guided New Zealand to a comfortable win.

Bavuma said the differing stakes and circumstances of that game did not mean there was nothing to pick up from it. “It gave us a look at that New Zealand team,” he said. “That team we played against – I don’t think it’ll be too far to what they’ll put out tomorrow. We have different members obviously. I guess there’s a difference there. When we played, it was a good wicket, but the last game here, between Australia and Afghanistan, the ball swung quite a bit.”

Rabada and Mulder stand for catching practice under the lights, sharing a joke and a laugh. Ryan Rickelton whips Jansen into the onside; he looks the best batter at the practice session, the sound of the middle of his bat hypnotically echoing into the void of the empty stadium.

Dale Steyn, in Lahore as a broadcast commentator, briefly goes to the practice pitches and has a chat with a couple of players. It is, as Jansen says, “just another game”, and South Africa are trying their best to treat it as just another training session.

These two sides, full of golden talents but achingly missing silverware, know better than most that yearning for glory does not guarantee it. So Rabada takes a sharp catch, Rickelton creams one back down the ground, and Jansen bowls at full pelt. And then they do it all over again. As South Africa and New Zealand always do.