Rave reviews from South Africa for New Zealand cricket complex

New Zealand Cricket's High Performance Centre at Lincoln University drew rave reviews from South African coach Hylton Ackerman after his side qualified for the ICC Under-19 World Cup final by beating India by 112 runs today.

Reflecting on an outstanding batting performance from his side as they totalled 268/5, Ackerman said: "The wickets here are fabulous.

"This whole complex is magnificent. I have had a bit to do with the South African Academy but this is unbelievable. New Zealand can show the world a lot with what they have here," he said.

His captain Hashim Amla backed Ackerman's assessment and said the pitch on Bert Sutcliffe Oval was a beautiful wicket to bat on.

Looking ahead to next Saturday's final, Ackerman said that while he didn't know who his opponent would be, he had noted that the Australian side had brought three or four spinners to the tournament and there was a perception that South Africa didn't play spin too well.

Indian coach Balwinder Sandhu was in no doubt who he expected to be in the final, and who he expected to win, Australia.

"South Africa-Australia will be a good game. But Australia are a very well-prepared team.

"But you never know with the West Indies," he said referring to Wednesday's second semi-final between Australia and the West Indies.

And he warned that silly mistakes by any side can leave them vulnerable at any stage in any game.