Count on De Villiers to deliver with the willow

Third ODI
Sky Sports 4, 1am Saturday

New Zealand stopped South Africa’s ODI winning streak at 12 in Christchurch on Wednesday to level their five-match series at 1-1 and they are much more of a threat in game three at the Westpac Stadium than odds of 11-8 suggest.

The Black Caps are enjoying a decent 50-over time of it in front of their own fans, winning 13 of 16 home outings since beating the Proteas in the 2015 World Cup semi-final. At that World Cup, they won all eight on home turf, including a sensational eight-wicket success over England in Wellington effectively before the floodlights were turned on.

However, the Kiwis suffered a four-wicket loss to Australia in the capital city a year ago and while South Africa were off the pace at Hagley Oval in midweek, they looked a superior side in the rain-affected opener in Hamilton and dominated the preceding T20 in Auckland.

Proteas skipper AB de Villiers is worth a punt at 4-1 to top-score for his team. He was purring on 45 before feathering a hook on Wednesday after two other classy cameos on tour. His two previous 50-over knocks at the Westpac were 99 and 106 not out.

Recommendation
AB de Villiers top South Africa runscorer
1pt 4-1 Ladbrokes