De Villiers happy with NZ outing ahead of World Cup

There's a distinct difference between traveling and traveling for work. The former is about adventure, discovery and relaxation; the latter about going through a process, ticking a box or achieving an aim. Luckily for South Africa, they could combine the two in New Zealand.

They were victorious in the three-match ODI series, which ended up being only two-and-a-third-matches thanks to the weather, and took more much more out of the trip than just a trophy. "It was important for us to acclimatise to the surroundings - getting used to flying here, the jetlag, the crowds, even the food," AB de Villiers said. "Little things that you get used to are important. If you do it for the first time, it's almost a culture shock.

New Zealand may not immediately seem entirely foreign to South Africans, but it is the furthest place a South African cricketer can travel to. The 11-hour time difference takes a few days to get over and temperatures tend to be few degrees lower. De Villiers wanted his men to familiarise themselves with that because they will play half their World Cup group stage games and possibly a knockout or two there.

"Even though New Zealand is similar to South Africa in the way that people do things here, a few little things are different. It was important for me that the boys experience it so it's not a different thing for them in the World Cup."

Adaptation, in other words, was what de Villiers was after and South Africa managed that seamlessly. They understood conditions at Mount Maunganui - the venue of the two completed games - far better than their hosts, for example.

The Bay Oval had only hosted one ODI before this series and the surface, which was a touch slower than expected, required adjustments particularly from the batsmen. While New Zealand struggled to make them, South Africa showed patience and aptitude when chasing a target and setting one. "We did the basics well, certainly better than New Zealand. That gives us a lot of confidence."

Luke Ronchi led the batting charts with two half-centuries but just nine runs behind him was the only series centurion Hashim Amla. Ten runs fewer than Amla was de Villiers and Quinton de Kock came in fourth.

Amla and de Villiers' capacity to perform in different circumstances is well-known but for de Kock, whose undefeated 80 in the wash-out was his first half-century in six innings, to show the same aptitude was heartening. "In his last few games, he has probably not scored as many runs as he wanted to but that tells a story about where he's at with his cricket. To still keep his head up high and try and work hard at his game, and come through with a decent knock was really important."

De Kock's journey through a patch of poor form confirms for de Villiers that he is maturing well. "At first, I also thought he was a flashy player, going hard at the ball all the time but then I realised he actually has the other side of the game as well. For a 21-year-old to have that in his gameplan is amazing. I certainly didn't have it at his age."

While South Africa have answered that question about their batting, they still have a question mark over the final position in their top six. Neither David Miller nor Rilee Rossouw had any stand-out performances but they will both have opportunities over the next month in Australia to change that. The pair will know that back home, domestic players have been competing in the one-day tournament and a player like Farhaan Behardien has shown promising form and could force his way back into the selectors' minds ahead of the World Cup.

So could some of the franchise bowlers, like Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who is the leading wicket-taker in the domestic tournament. Tsotsobe has made a full recovery after undergoing ankle surgery and his current form will put pressure on the likes of Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell for a place in the final XV.

Convener of selectors Andrew Hudson previously said Tsotsobe would be considered when he was "back to his best," and few would argue that time is not looming in the near future, especially as South Africa are also still searching in the bowling department. Although they have confirmed that Vernon Philander can step up in shorter formats - he was the joint-highest wicket-taker with four scalps at 16.25 in New Zealand - South Africa still lack an option at the death. None of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel or Ryan McLaren could find strangling lengths, the kind that Imran Tahir has mastered.

The legspinner had the lowest economy-rate overall and could be South Africa's weapon at the next World Cup, as he was at the 2011 tournament. Tahir hurt his shoulder while fielding but will be back for the Australia series and will, in all likelihood, keep Aaron Phangiso - who is out of action with a finger sprain for now - and Robin Peterson, out of the playing XI.

Tahir encapsulates where South Africa are in their World Cup preparation. They're performing as well as anyone would want them to but they're still working on their fine-tuning. "It's a matter of being more ruthless in certain areas," de Villiers said. "I still believe we can improve, but we're going in the right direction." More travel, more discovery and more box-ticking will ensure that by the time the tournament rolls around, they would have prepared in the best way possible.