Black Caps’ hopes dampened on day one
A day of frustration, based on what may have been.
New Zealand did their utmost to begin their quest for a win in the third cricket test against South Africa in Hamilton but were thwarted by a combination of rain, their ongoing ineptness with the DRS and an absence of their two best new-ball bowlers.
When stumps was called at 5:48pm after only 41 overs of play at Seddon Park, the Proteas were 123-4 in their first innings after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson’s ugly experiences with the Decision Review System this season reached a nadir as the hosts missed a couple of glaring opportunities to dig deeper into South Africa’s batting line-up, while rain from mid-afternoon and the subsequent wet outfield limited further chances for the hosts.
‘‘Obviously you can’t control much about the weather, so it was a bit frustrating,’’ said New Zealand’s Matt Henry, who took 2-25 off 10 overs.
‘‘All in all, we did well to get them four down. It would have been great to have a nice little hour at them tonight, but it wasn’t to be.’’
With no control of the rain, New Zealand did they best they could – with weakened resources – to have the Proteas delicately poised.
Yet Black Caps fans were probably left wondering what damage their heroes could have done had first-choice new-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult not been sidelined.
To do so would have been tough on those handed the task of knocking over the visitors twice to allow New Zealand the opportunity to level the series 1-1 with a win in the finale.
Colin de Grandhomme, again entrusted with the new ball despite bowling at the speed that may not even get you a ticket on the Waikato Expressway, produced a beauty in his second over to remove Dean Elgar and ended with 2-43.
With pitch and weather conditions enabling his budget brand of swing and seam to prosper, the under-pressure all-rounder again emphasised his usefulness. He won’t get it to hoop like Boult at his best, but does enough to leave even the best batsmen in doubt.
He troubled all the South African top order and removed the one player who looked poised PHOTOSPORT to bat the Black Caps out of the reckoning.
Hashim Amla has had questions posed on this tour as to whether he’s on the downside of a magnificent career, but there were inklings in his second test late cameo that form was around the corner. In testing times on Saturday, the 33-year-old was assured and produced some delightful timing with his quick hands to push a handful of boundaries back down the ground.
He’d just brought up his 32nd test half-century but before setting off in pursuit of a 27th ton he was sent in the direction of the pavilion when de Grandhomme got a full delivery to move and hold enough to uproot Amla’s middle stump.
‘‘The wicket had a bit of juice in it and certainly after lunch the ball seemed to swing a lot more,’’ Amla said.
‘‘We’ve got some runs on the board but still a long way to go to get a good total. They bowled well.’’
He had high praise for de Grandhomme, likening him to Proteas kingpin Vernon Philander.
‘‘He’s got good skill with the ball,’’ Amla said.
‘‘If you look at someone like Vernon, who may not be very quick, but he’s extremely effective – it almost feels a similar route with him. Just hitting a good area, keeping the game tight and so the guys from the other end are striking if need be, but him getting a few wickets too.’’
Henry had early success against duck-making debutant Theunis de Bruyn before surprisingly luring JP Duminy into an ill-judged and poorly executed hook shot shortly before lunch, while Neil Wagner virtually put away the short ball and should have had greater reward.
But as forecast, the wet that had delayed the start of play for 30 minutes – and the return after a marginally-early lunch by 10 – returned at its most prolific for the day at 3:20pm.
‘‘There was a little bit of assistance off the wicket, it was seaming a bit,’’ Henry said.