PLAYS OF THE TEST MATCH:
South African quick bowls Proteas to comprehensive second Test win over New Zealand to secure a series victory SA v New Zealand
Day 4 of 5: SA 481/8 dec and 132/7 dec NZ 214 and 195 SA win by 204 runs
IN THE last two and half years Dale Steyn’s body has not always allowed him to be the great fast bowler this country loves watching and which his team still desperately needs.
There was a hamstring tear which curtailed his effort against Australia in 2014. A groin strain ended his participation in the series in India last year and then a freak shoulder injury curtailed his involvement against England last summer. From the outside many doubted he’d return and be the same Steyn. The man himself always knew and was desperate to show he could still perform with the same vein-throbbing menace of old. At 11.14 am yesterday, New Zealand started their second innings. The requirement of 400 runs for victory was an impossible one. Surviving for five and a half hours on a pitch that had broken up alarmingly seemed improbable. New Zealand just wanted to make it to stumps. Steyn ensured they wouldn’t with a devastating opening burst .
As he did previously, when Steyn takes one wicket, a spell would end with three. In yesterday’s case it was three in 11 balls; Tom Latham saw the ball deflect off the bat handle onto his stumps, Martin Guptill pushed an outswinger to first slip and then Ross Taylor was undone by a ball that deviated off a crack, kept low and trapped him lbw. New Zealand were 5/3. Would they make it to tea? They did and, thanks to a courageous innings from Henry Nicholls – 76 in 255 minutes – they were able to stretch the match to 10 minutes before the scheduled close. Still a win by over 200 runs with a day to spare is massive by any calculation.
Steyn finished with match figures of 8/99 and the psychological effect of his performance will lift the Proteas ahead of a major assignment in Australia in November.
“There was a lot of assistance off that wicket, you can just look at Ross Taylor’s dismissal,” said Steyn. “I put the ball in the right spot enough times to ask questions, but there was a lot of assistance off the deck.”
Yesterday’s 5/33 was his first
There were fine individual performances with the bat for the Proteas – Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy produced much-needed innings’ of substance – but the match was set up by Stephen Cook and stand-in opener Quinton de Kock, who put on 133 for the first wicket on Saturday. It was South Africa’s first century stand for the first wicket in nearly three years providing the foundation for a substantial first innings total, putting NZ under severe pressure.
A typical ‘blood in the water’ burst from Dale Steyn before lunch yesterday – oh how SA missed those in the last year. Three wickets in 11 balls reduced NZ to 5/3 in three overs and the prospect of four-day Test was very much on offer. Steyn would register his 26th Test ‘five-for’ – among seamers he sits behind Richard Hadlee (36), Glenn McGrath (29) and Ian Botham (27) for the most Test ‘five-fors’. ‘five-for’ since he took 6/34 at this ground against the West Indies in 2014. Steyn hopes to carry on for a while yet, and believes there is plenty upon which he can improve: “It’s still a long way from
De Kock took six in the match in what was an outstanding all-round performance especially considering the responsibility for opening the innings thrust upon him at the 11th hour. Yesterday’s effort to dismiss Kane Williamson was the best of the bunch and not just for the technique – a full length dive low to his right – but also the importance of the player dismissed. He may not want to open, but he’s clearly a very capable stop gap.
Yesterday marked just the second win for South Africa in the last 11 Tests. So they were under pressure coming into this game and they played very well indeed. The batsmen all did their jobs – the top four making half-centuries in the first innings and the skipper a hundred. That allowed the bowlers to do their work in an aggressive manner and they thrive in those circumstances.
In the context of the match the first innings run out of Ross Taylor was massive. He and Williamson are a class apart in a relatively thin batting lineup. Having already lost their openers, the wicket of Taylor was just what SA needed so early in NZ’s first dig. From there they felt they had an end open and despite Williamson’s best efforts, there was no way back for the Black Caps. – Stuart Hess where I want to be. I want to get the pace up a little bit more.
Steyn has eight wickets, South Africa a much needed Test win. The future looks a bit brighter than it did a week ago.