Andy Schooler previews Wednesday’s Champions Trophy semi-final which sees his outright picks New Zealand take on the mighty South Africa in Lahore.
Champions Trophy: Massive South Africa v NZ Semi-Final Preview
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan
Date/Time: Wednesday March 5, 0900 GMT
TV: Sky Sports Cricket
Champions Trophy: South Africa v New Zealand
We haven’t really had a proper ‘thriller’ at the Champions Trophy so far but this game certainly has the potential to go down to the wire. It should definitely entertain with Lahore being the most bat-friendly wicket in the competition – there have been first-innings scores of 351,325 and 273 so far – while the two sides possess plenty of batting talent.
For South Africa – the slight favourites at 1.7 – Ryan Rickelton already has a century, while Rassie van der Dussen averages 49.76 in this ODI format. Aiden Markram and David Miller provide hitting power but the real star of the show could be Heinrich Klaasen, who came back into the side after injury against England and duly scored a rapid 64. Three New Zealanders have already scored tons in this tournament. Rachin Ravindra is one of those and, like finishers Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell, he has a career strike-rate above 100 in this format.
Champions Trophy: Strength in Depth
Throw in run-gatherers Kane Williamson and Tom Latham and this is another very strong batting line-up. It’s the power element I want to focus on for my first bet with over 12.5 match sixes making some appeal. That’s landed in five of the last seven ODIs in Lahore. It would likely have been six of seven had the most recent of those matches not been brought to a premature end by the weather.
Critics will point out this bet has landed in only one of the tournament’s five games so far involving these two sides but neither has played in Lahore yet and the surface here looks a good one for some of the power players involved in this contest. For something bigger, I think Tom Latham looks overpriced to finish as top New Zealand batter.
He’s in good form right now, making 118, 55 and 14 in the group stage, efforts which make him the Black Caps’ leading runscorer so far. Those scores followed on from another half-century in the final of the warm-up Tri-Series, played here in Pakistan, while overall he’s highly experienced in these parts, playing 13 ODIs in the country since the start of 2023 and scoring 50+ on five occasions.
Champions Trophy: Tempting Tom
One of his great attributes is his ability to rotate the strike and that could be crucial during those important middle overs where the game can drift sometimes. Yes, he’ll likely bat at five but he won this market from there against Afghanistan earlier this month and just looks a nice price at 6.25. Preference is for those two bets rather than getting involved in the overall outcome.
Followers of our outright tournament preview will already have New Zealand onside at 7.25 heading into the semi-finals. The are probably the right price as slight underdogs here but, hopefully, they can edge home and keep that particular bet rolling.
Champions Trophy 2025: South Africa v NZ Best Bets
Over 12.5 total sixes @ 1.8 with kwiff
Tom Latham Top NZ Batsman @ 6.25 with kwiff
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