De Kock's Déjà vu

Quinton de Kock's one-day series: Hamillton, caught midwicket 69; Christchurch, caught deep square-leg 57; Wellington, caught deep square-leg 68. Throw in the T20I, where he was also caught at deep square, and there's a pattern emerging. You can't knock his form - it's five fifty-plus scores in a row in ODIs - but he has regularly shown in the past the hunger to convert into three-figure and he's thrown away three opportunities in this series. Still, his opposite number Tom Latham, who care barely buy a run, would probably think it's a minor problem.

Colin de Grandhomme is a bit of a throwback to New Zealand of yesteryear, the medium-pacer who can land it on a length and wobble the ball. Yet while you had the stellar records of Tim Southee and Trent Boult, plus the pace of Lockie Ferguson, it was de Grandhomme who proved their most effective bowler. There was one delivery which stood out - and it didn't take a wicket - when he squared up AB de Villiers with a delivery that jagged away off the seam, and then swung as it passed the bat. Too good for AB - that's something.

It was a tricky comeback day for Ferguson. He bowled with eye-catching pace, regularly pushing 150kph, but conceded a hefty 71 runs. However, he did have his moments. The wicket he claimed came from a superb set-up against Dwaine Pretorius. Firstly he pushed the batsman back with a short ball then, with Pretorius camped deep in the crease, he speared a full length ball at off stump which held its line, beat the outside and nicked the woodwork. Ferguson is raw, but has something to work with.

In the first two games of this series, Andile Phehlukwayo had made more of an impact with the bat than the ball. But he picked a pretty handy moment to open his wicket tally. He had replaced Kagiso Rabada, after a fine opening spell, as Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were starting to form a partnership. Having built pressure with a nagging line and length - going for just four runs in 2.4 overs - he induced Williamson to play the ball into his stumps when trying to dab to third man.