26 March 2004	Friday	04 Safar 1425

WELLINGTON, March 25: New Zealand will be bidding to secure their first series victory over South Africa when the third Test starts on Friday. The hosts are 1-0 up in the three-match series after their nine-wicket victory in Auckland earlier this week and captain Stephen Fleming is adamant his side will not play defensively to secure the win.

"There is the temptation to try and protect what we have but I think that provides more problems than solutions," Fleming said. "The way we're playing allows us to win test matches, so if you change this late in the season, I think it would be far too dangerous."

However, the skipper admitted he could change his tactics if the Test went down to the wire. "If it gets down to day five and we're stuck, then I'll go for safety to win the series," he said.

"It's a pretty flexible scenario but I think there will be caution towards the end if it's a case of winning the series." Fleming's South African counterpart Graeme Smith will be desperate to salvage some pride from what has turned out to be a disappointing series for the visitors.

Not only are they trailing in the Test series but South Africa were trounced 5-1 in the one-dayers. "The tour has been disappointing and we haven't played the type of cricket we know we can play," said Smith, whose side's only victory on the tour was in the opening one-dayer.

"The guys are motivated. They've put a lot of work in on this tour with no reward and they are determined to get things right." The South African team also want to give Gary Kirsten a winning send-off.

Opener Kirsten, South Africa's most prolific Test batsman with 7,212 runs, will be playing his 101st and final Test in Wellington. Smith said: "We've been in a hole and can't get out of it. Gary Kirsten would like to end on a high note and of course there's the historical thing... we are the only team who have not been beaten by New Zealand."

Smith admitted the South African bowlers had been below par for most of the tour. "We've struggled to get line and lengths," he said. "Things are very different here than at home but it is important for our guys to be able to bowl well on different sorts of pitches."

Teams (from):

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Michael Papps, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Michael Mason, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, David Terbrugge, Albie Morkel, Paul Adams. -Reuters