Slipped under the wrong door: South Africa's dossier on New Zealand batsmen exposed

Goof-ups can be hilarious but goof-ups can prove costly too. According to a report in The Guardian, just hours before the first ODI between South Africa and New Zealand, a South African dossier containing bowling plans for the New Zealand batsmen has been revealed. The dossier was meant to be sent to South Africa pacer Dale Steyn but it was accidentally slipped under the door of a hotel guest who decided to have some fun and posted it on Facebook. [caption id=“attachment_2398576” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Grant Elliott’s after hitting the winning six against South Africa in World Cup 2015 semifinal. AFP[/caption] The dossier contains in-depth planning on areas to bowl to a particular batsmen, how different batsmen cope with the bouncers and the type of deliveries to bowl to different batsmen in death overs. Some of the strategies include bowling outswingers on the fourth stump in a good length area to Kane Williamson as he likes to drive on the up through covers and also he doesn’t pull well. It also suggests that opener Martin Guptill is a wicket opting for bouncers angling in. Bouncers were seen as a dot-ball option for Grant Elliott, whose six at Eden Park off the penultimate ball in the World Cup against South Africa powered New Zealand into the World Cup final. But the dossier also cautions the bowlers to watch out for the upper cuts which he uses pretty effectively. It remains to be seen if the New Zealand batsmen will end up coping with the Proteas bowlers when they walk out to bat in Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday afternoon. Or if Dale Steyn and Co will still prove too hot to handle. But either way, the South African think-tank cannot be chuffed with the developments. [caption id=“attachment_2398570” align=“aligncenter” width=“400”]  The leaked dossier posted on Facebook by the guest. (Pic via The Guardian)[/caption] However, this is not the first time that a secret team dossier has been slipped into the wrong hands. It happened three years back where an Australian paper published a leaked document containing Australia’s secret plans to combat the South Africa players on the eve on Test series in November 2012. In 2000, then Australia coach John Buchanan’s entire gameplan was leaked ahead of an ODI tournament in New Zealand. At least South Africa can be glad that this happened for a low-key bilateral series and not a crunch World Cup knock-out match - because we all know the Proteas’ history when it comes to tragic World Cup exits and this would have fit right in to that narrative. And wouldn’t you know, the parodies have already started popping up on the internet. (Courtesy: @6000) [caption id=“attachment_2398822” align=“aligncenter” width=“294”]  A parody of the leaked dossier for New Zealand batsmen. (Courtesy: @6000/Twitter)[/caption] Click here to view the full Guardian article.