DURBAN, South Africa — New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was unapologetic for his team's approach after South Africa trounced it by eight wickets with 47 balls to spare in the first Twenty20 international Friday. Fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt took two early wickets to start a slide from which New Zealand never recovered. Kleinveldt took the key wickets of Rob Nicol and McCullum before he finished with three for 18 to capture the Man-of-the-Match award. South Africa romped home in 12.1 overs with new captain Faf du Plessis making 38 not out, while Quinton de Kock, making his debut four days after his 20th birthday, slammed a quick 28 not out. “We played some aggressive cricket and missed a couple of fundamentals on the way,” McCullum said of his team's collapse to 86 all out after winning the toss, with several of the batsmen falling to over-ambitious strokes. “That is the way we are going to be, that is the way we are going to put them under pressure. We were probably a bit too keen, we were outplayed,” added the captain, who said he expected a better performance in the second match of the three-game series in East London on Sunday. It was a disappointing start for New Zealand, which arrived as underdogs but was expected to put up a reasonable fight in the Twenty20 internationals. On a Kingsmead pitch with pace and bounce, the tourists lost three wickets inside the first five overs. Nicol charged Kleinveldt and was caught behind, while McCullum top-edged a hook and was caught at fine leg. In between Peter Fulton drove Dale Steyn to mid-on. It did not get much better for the Black Caps although left-handed newcomer Colin Munro, who was born in Durban and did his early schooling in the city before his family moved to New Zealand, made 23. Doug Bracewell hit 21 not out. Steyn, newcomer Chris Morris and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson all took two wickets. New Zealand new cap Mitchell McClenaghan had Richard Levi caught at slip for a duck, bowling a wicket maiden at the start of the South African innings. But Henry Davids and Du Plessis put on 45 before the captain and De Kock finished the match. Oram opts out of contract All-rounder Jacob Oram has opted out of his New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract to focus on his professional Twenty20 career. The 34-year-old Oram, who played 33 Tests and 160 ODIs, secured an early release from his contract, NZC said in a statement Saturday. “This was a very difficult decision, but in recent weeks I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer make a full-time commitment to NZC,” Oram said in the statement. “Various factors have led me to make this decision including my age, the stage of my career and the impending birth of my second child. “I really enjoy the Twenty20 format and see it as a way to stay involved in cricket for a while longer.” — Agencies
