South Africa face Wellington wind test

South Africa's bowlers have yet to be seriously challenged by New Zealand on their tour. After bowling the hosts out for less than 200 in both innings on a flat pitch in Hamilton, even Graeme Smith has admitted that the fast bowlers are probably at their best. Wellington, though, will present them with a new test, not so much from the opposition, but from the wind.

A strong northerly is set to blow across the Basin Reserve on the first and second day before more pleasant weather settles in. Gusts in this town are known to be fierce. They were strong enough to blow the heavy roller from its original position to the other side of the field during a Test against Australia and will make bowling from one end particularly tough.

Morne Morkel said the attack have put extra effort into preparing for the wind although they haven't decided who will bowl into it. "Obviously it's going to be a bit of a rock, paper, scissors between the fast bowlers," Morkel joked. "We need to come up with a game plan because one of the bowlers needs to bowl into the wind. It's going to be a challenging factor but it's exciting because it's a new thing that we're not used to, so we're looking forward to the experience."

Morkel will spend at least some of his time fighting the breeze but said that it's likely the seamers will take it turns. "It will probably be short spells where you just need to do the job for the team. For us it's not about individualism, it's just about what's best for the team. So if you have to shorten your run-up a little bit to give yourself a solid base at the crease, or find a way, that's something we need to discuss and work out." Jacques Kallis has been regaling the squad with stories about his "run up from three paces," as Gary Kirsten calls it, when he last played at Wellington in 2004.

Since 2007, South Africa have been world cricket's best travellers, having not lost an away series in that time. On this tour they have had more opportunities to show their ability to adapt to different conditions and their handling of pressure situations has improved to complement their flexibility. And that has been the difference between the teams.

"The margins have been quite small, it could easily have gone the other way," Morkel said. We were 88 for 6 [in the first innings of the Hamilton Test], and if they bowled us out with a bit of a lead then their guys might have batted quite differently. It's about recognising the moment and playing it well to win it transfer the pressure onto the other team. It's about pressure and how much the team can handle the pressure."

Morkel also said he was happy with how he has been bowling, despite not taking a lot of wickets in the first two Tests. "I'm far more consistent in my areas and I'm really happy with the way the ball is coming out at the moment," Morkel said. "Unfortunately on the wickets side I haven't picked up a bagful of wickets but I think the job I've done as first change bowler in keeping the pressure on has been good. I'm quite happy with my rhythm overall."

Like Morkel, the rest of the side is also high on self-belief and want to close out the series in emphatic fashion. "If you have confidence, and we do at the moment, we know we would like to bat first and score 500-plus and play the perfect Test match," Morkel said. "We feel we are pretty close to that. It's not that we think we are better than them. It's important to respect the team and the players you play against about because it's a funny old game. But we have a lot of momentum going for us and we've got a lot of confidence. It's nice to have that when you are playing away from home, especially in challenging conditions like these. We must enjoy it and make use of it."