SA-born Neil Wagner may be a Kiwi now, but he knows Proteas will come back firing

Cape Town - New Zealand's South African-born seamer Neil Wagner insists his loyalty is with the Black Caps and that playing against the Proteas now "is a lot different to what it was when I started my career".

Wagner, 35, learnt his trade at Afrikaans Hoer School during the same period that Proteas legends Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers were at Affies before graduating through to the Northerns semi-pro ranks where he would have also rubbed shoulders with the Morkel brothers (Albie and Morne) and Dale Steyn.

However, Wagner could not break through into the powerful Titans team and opted to move from Pretoria to Otago to pursue his career 14 years ago now.

It proved to be the correct decision with Wagner enjoying a stellar international career, playing 58 Tests for the Black Caps and picking up 238 wickets in the process.

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And with the likes of Du Plessis, De Villiers, Steyn and the Morkel brothers having retired for a few years already, Wagner doesn't have much of a connection to the Proteas these days.

"People ask me that question (about divided loyalties), obviously, because I was born there. But I've been living here for 14 years now, so it's something I don't think about too much, or it doesn't really feel that way," Wagner said in the build-up to the second Test.

"I probably only really know two or three guys in that team anyway. So it's a lot different to what it was when I started my career personally."

Wagner is fully committed to ensuring the Black Caps close out the second Test against the Proteas starting on Friday in Christchurch. The hosts lead the two-match series 1-0 after thrashing the Proteas by a record