Slow and steady NZ grind pays off
Patient approach reaps rewards as Black Caps wear down weary South Africans
Aconservative and methodical approach paid dividends for the New Zealand cricketers who head into the final day of the third test against South Africa needing five wickets for a victory to square the series 1-1.
The Proteas are 80 for five, a 95-run deficit with a day to play.
Fatigue took hold after they endured 162.1 overs in the field as the Black Caps posted 489.
Debate ensued among pundits about whether New Zealand should have batted more aggressively to buy time to attack with the ball.
In reality it was a case of fans and experts getting greedy. Yes, they could have swung into the South African attack like Jason Wynyard when presented with a block of pine, but the risks were high. Here was a side bundled out twice within three days to lose the Wellington test by eight wickets. It’s understandable they would want to embed their advantage.
The prospect of flicking a switch to tee-off against South Africa’s worldclass operators was ambitious and could not be manufactured at will. Morne Morkel, Vern Philander, Kagiso Rabada — and latterly Keshav Maharaj — are one of the toughest bowling attacks to dispatch.
Test cricket tends to be about attrition and yesterday proved the rule rather than the exception.
New Zealand’s objective was to exhaust South Africa’s bowlers (and batsmen) while giving their own the maximum time to rest for a second innings assault.
An example was Colin de Grandhomme making his highest test score of 57 from 70 balls after Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner posted 88 for the fifth wicket.
A 175-run lead meant New Zealand could pile on the pressure with four sessions to spare. A total of 98 overs are available today.
“The longer we could take it meant we’d reap rewards later,” Santner said after making 41 off 151 balls. “That’s what me and Nos [Williamson] were talking about out there. Take runs and keep fighting. It looked like we were batting on different pitches at times.”
“Our approach hasn’t changed throughout the tour,” Jeetan Patel added, after taking two for 22 from 12 overs. “It’s about making them come back spell after spell, over after over, ball after ball.
“There was no chat at all about when we were declaring or how many we needed. It was just about grinding away. The five wickets are probably an indication of how long they [South Africa] spent in the field. 160-odd overs takes its toll and players tend to get tired and lazy.”
South African assistant coach Adrian Birrell said they toiled.
“But 162 overs is a long time to be in the field. It was a hard day and players are fatigued. To bat on the back of that was always going to be difficult.
“We’ve got a mountain to climb. Once they got ahead by 100 it was always going to be a survival match, but we’ve had them before and we will draw on those experiences. We’ve got a [not out] captain who’s determined, and he’s fought before. That’s what we’re speaking about in the changing room. We’ve had time on the legs but we will be fresh after a good night’s rest and breakfast.”