Cricket: Bane of left-handers quietly confident

It seems everybody is talking up the arrival of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis ahead of the test series with South Africa.

If you listen to the critics, who are starting to assemble again following Richard Levi's remarkable undefeated century in the second twenty/20 at Seddon Park on Sunday, you might be led to believe their arrival will precipitate some sort of fatal outbreak of self-doubt in the New Zealand camp.

Should the Black Caps' new-found confidence waver, then they need look no further than experienced seamer Chris Martin.

The 37-year-old fast bowler has a right to feel supremely optimistic ahead of the opening test in Dunedin next month.

He has a fantastic record against South Africa (44 wickets at 24.59) and in the head-to-head battles he has had the better of both the left-handed Smith and right-handed Kallis.

You might even say Smith is his bunny. He has dismissed him more than any other test batsman, claiming his wicket on six occasions and he has picked up Kallis' wicket five times.

"I know I've had some success against Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis and I've bowled a lot of balls to [Hashim] Amla in my time," Martin said.

"But I suppose the fact they will have four, or maybe five, left-handers is something which makes me feel confident with my ability to swing the ball away."

Martin's reputation for nicking out left-handers is well-earned. Australian left-hand opener Phil Hughes was out caught Martin Guptill bowled Martin four times in four innings earlier this summer.

Hughes is not the only left-hander who has struggled to combat Martin's ability to swing and nip the ball away. Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, Pakistan's Imran Farhat, Bangladesh's Junaid Siddique and former South African opener and now coach Gary Kirsten all know first hand the perils Martin presents. He has dismissed them multiple times.

"You feel more confident in your skills to certain players and I suppose to left-handers I do feel more confident. But it does not really change how I bowl in a way. It just means the slips come into play a little bit more."

While Martin is well-established in the test side, when South Africa last toured New Zealand in 2004 he had been out of the side for two years.

He was called in for the second test and took six for 76 in the first innings and five for 104 in the second in a man-of-the-match performance. New Zealand won the test by nine wickets.

Martin took five for 55 and two for 65 in the third test but South Africa rebounded to level the series with a six-wicket win.

"You tend to have your teams and I suppose South Africa has been mine over the last 10 years."

Stephen Fleming employed some interesting tactics to get under the skin of Smith in that series. He was very confrontational and invited some heated exchanges.

Already there are signs New Zealand intends to use that strategy again. Tim Southee has been particularly aggressive but that is not for the softly-spoken Martin.

"We have a couple of guys who really like that kind of competition and to get in the game they like to get in the opposition's face.

"I don't really get caught up in that sort of stuff. I suppose I will if there is some humour to be had but I try to have my say with the ball."

Martin warmed up for the test with a solid outing against Otago at the University Oval. Not surprisingly, he tormented the left-handers in the Volts line-up, capturing Michael Bracewell's wicket twice and also nicking out fringe Black Caps all-rounder Sam Wells.