Proteas dominate Black Caps
Day 2 of 5: SA 481/8 decl. NZ 38/3
IF THE play for the majority of the day seemed tedious, the final hour’s excitement at SuperSport Park yesterday more than made up for it.
Much as the first day was dominated by an element that had been sadly missing from South Africa’s Test match play in the last year – a solid opening partnership – yesterday evening the performances of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander with the new ball made you wonder what could have been had they been around more often in the last 12 months.
The Proteas have missed their menace and control in key series against India and England.
The pressure on New Zealand’s batsmen was almost unbearable in an enthralling last hour of play yesterday.
There was already strain for the tourists from the substantial first-innings total the hosts had posted, there would have been weariness of mind and body following 154 overs in the field over the course of two days, and then there was Steyn and Philander, desperate to wreak havoc.
There had been a taste of that menace in Durban, but here it was more sustained and the New Zealand top order – classy skipper Kane Williamson aside – meekly succumbed.
Martin Guptill, who has never looked assured as a Test opener, survived one chance against Philander but not a second with Stiaan van Zyl gobbling up a comfortable catch at third slip to dismiss the right hander for eight.
There was some good fortune for the South Africans with Tom Latham’s dismissal, which was overturned on review by TV umpire Richard Illingworth.
There was no question about the brilliance of Steyn’s bowling – he’d fed the left hander a series of balls going across him before bringing one back that virtually went through the batsman. The ball clearly flicked Latham’s trousers, but Illingworth also declared that a tiny scratch on the “ultra-edge” technology
PLAYS OF THE DAY
With the declaration imminent, Dale Steyn decided to have some fun and, in the process, smashed one of the biggest sixes seen at this ground. Mitchell Santner, in trying to lure him into a false stroke, tossed the ball up and Steyn took one step down the pitch and launched it out of the ground and on to the roof of the grandstand.
While all the New Zealand bowlers toiled manfully, the rewards went the way of Neil Wagner, who claimed five wickets, the last of those with a peach that slanted back into Vernon Philander, knocking out his off-stump.
Wagner picked up two wickets with South African batsmen hooking. The second of those was Bavuma, who skied the ball towards Doug Bracewell, who came in quickly off the fine leg boundary and pulled off a fine catch diving forward.
All the Black Caps bowlers will have deserved their post-play beers. They worked hard and beat the bat enough times to merit greater reward. As it was, former home town boy Neil Wagner walked away with the plaudits, a fourth Test “fivefor”. The 30-year-old left-arm quick is an endearing sort who never shirks hard work and, in front of many of his friends and family, he delivered a sterling performance that will live long in his memory.
Run-outs are usually unforgivable – just a gift for the opposition – and given his importance to what is a thin-looking New Zealand batting card, Ross Taylor’s present to South Africa would not have gone down well with his teammates.
Another lovely warm day, but was it warm enough to help break up this pitch? That is hard to say, although there are “dents” in the surface – the result of the softness of the pitch on the first day – which the sun has hardened over two days. There continues to be help for the bowlers, and a couple of balls at Hennops River End have misbehaved. One from Tim Southee flew passed Faf du Plessis’s face, and another from Jonathon Boult barely got up above mid-stump height.
was enough to overturn on-field umpire Paul Reiffel’s original “not out” call. Both Reiffel and especially Latham would feel right to be aggrieved, and the damage to New Zealand’s innings only worsened a short while later.
Steyn by now had his tail up, and the patrons on another lovely day here – many of them fuelled by some sponsor’s refreshment – roared him on as he smashed two bouncers into Ross Taylor’s shoulder.
Those two blows left bruises, physically and, more importantly, mentally, and Taylor’s subsequent run-out was the result of a frazzled mind.
That kind of impact is something the Proteas have missed badly as they’ve slumped down the Test rankings in the last year. There was an extra bounce in all the players’ steps and the concentration was certainly heightened several notches in that last hour. It looked like they were enjoying the Test match battle once again, something that wasn’t always apparent on the dust bowls of India or when Stuart Broad and co were cutting them to shreds last summer.
The batting yesterday was patient, as South Africa tried to wear down the New Zealand bowlers. For their part the Black Cap seamers deserve praise for keeping their heads up. There was plenty to frustrate them, with deliveries beating the outside edge and balls flying agonisingly close to fielders.
Neil Wagner finished with 5/86 in 39 overs of hard toil, but had any of Trent Boult, Tim Southee or Doug Bracewell also picked up five-fors it would have been deserved.
There was an important century too for stand-in captain Faf du Plessis – his fifth – which will have relieved some of the pressure that was on his shoulders coming into this Test.
Along with Duminy’s 88, it leaves the selectors facing a headache when the team for the first Test against Australia has to be picked later this year. With AB de Villiers set to return from injury, it’s a headache they’ll no doubt be happy to have. The last year has seen them have plenty they would much rather have avoided.