The Proteas have won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton.
South Africa could wrap up the five-game series with a win in Hamilton today. While the Proteas won the second game of the series in Hamilton, they were not happy with the state of the pitch. Afterwards, captain AB de Villiers said that the conditions at Seddon Park were the most difficult he had endured.
The Proteas won the toss ahead of the fourth ODI in Hamilton and decided to bat first. The South African skipper felt that the wicket looked better that was the case in the second ODI, and that batting would be easier in the afternoon than later in the evening. Kane Williamson admitted that he too would have batted first if given the option, as this pitch will only get slower as the game progresses.
The Proteas have made forced change with Chris Morris coming in for Andile Phehlukwayo, who is struggling with a groin injury. New Zealand have welcomed back the dangerous Martin Guptil while wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi and Jeetan Patel also receive opportunities.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (c), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Jimmy Neesham, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Trent Boult
South Africa: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (c), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Wayne Parnell, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir
Photo: Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images