Faf’s merry men in the pound seats

Patience with the bat is followed up by pace and power with the ball to put much happier Proteas on top against NZ

IF THE play for the majority of the day seemed tedious, the final hour’s excitement here 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 missed their menace and control 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 – the classy skipper Kane Williamson aside – meekly succumbed.

Martin Guptill survived one chance off 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 was enough to overturn onfield 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 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. 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 wickets it would have been deserved.

There was an important century too for stand-in captain Faf du Plessis which will have relieved some of the pressure that was on his shoulders.

Along with JP Duminy’s 88, it leaves the selectors facing something of a conundrum 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 after the ones they’ve had recently.