New Zealand coach predicts exciting match against Proteas

Auckland, March 22 (IANS) New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday that their cricket World Cup semifinal match against South Africa at the Eden Park here on Tuesday will be an exciting affair for the spectators.

"The two sides are playing good cricket and it's going to be a heck of a show," Hesson was quoted as saying by radionz.co.nz.

The Proteas are high on confidence after winning their first ever knockout match in Cup history when they beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, riding on Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 237, the co-hosts comfortably won Saturday's last-eight clash against the West Indies by 143 runs.

South Africa have lost twice in the group stage while New Zealand remain undefeated in the tournament.

The coach said that something pretty big has happened in the last couple of years for the Black Caps, marked by their rise in the One-Day International (ODI) rankings from ninth to fourth. The 40-year-old praised all members of his team for the improvement.

"We only get there because we've got good players. If one or two of them don't come off then the group's confident that other players will do that. Players have been quite selfless, putting their own personal targets or milestones slightly behind what the team needs to do," he said.

Hesson said South Africa were a similar team to the Black Caps.

"They've got a lot of match winners. If one or two don't play up, you expect the other guys to turn up and put in a match-winning performance," the Kiwi coach said.

Come Tuesday, both New Zealand and South Africa will play for the right to make their first appearance in a World Cup final.