It is back to the nets for humbled team
A SIX-DAY gap before the second and final test in Port Elizabeth, starting on Friday night, gave the Black Caps plenty of time to contemplate their innings and 27-run defeat and also to hit the nets to address their shortcomings.
On the scheduled fourth day of the test coach Mike Hesson summoned them back to the scene of their capitulation for extra lessons, and the same will apply to day five tomorrow. The Cape Town tourist hot spots are unlikely to get a run.
All the adjectives in the Oxford dictionary were applied to their first- innings 45. Their second innings of 275, while unspectacular on the surface, exorcised some demons.
‘‘It’ll never rid the memory of the 45, it’ll stay with us forever,’’ said captain Brendon McCullum. ‘‘What it has done is shown us that we are capable of absorbing pressure against this team and capable of exerting some pressure back on them. There are some small positives there.’’
But small positives won’t be enough. New Zealand need to turn up in Port Elizabeth from ball one, not day two. Ideally they would bowl first to give their biggest strength, the seam attack, a chance to put them in front of the game. But it’s too early to tell the conditions in Port Elizabeth and all we have to go on is St George’s Park’s reputation as slow and low.
McCullum said the top- six would remain intact, meaning late callup Colin Munro will be mixing cordial again.
But there are several possibilities in the bowling mix, including the most left-field one of fielding five left- armers: Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Mitchell McClenaghan, James Franklin and spinner Bruce Martin.
It’s a good one for the cricketing anoraks, and on novelty value and nothing-to-lose value, they could do worse.
Doug Bracewell remains a work in progress, in terms of the force he was a year ago after Twenty20 cricket messed with his test game. He leaked plenty of boundaries and went at four runs an over, and while his outswinger was effective at times, he struggles to maintain a demanding test line and length. Chris Martin recovered well from a poor first day with three wickets but has slipped down the pecking order to third seamer and the brains trust may feel it’s time to move on and give Wagner his chance.
The aggressive McClenaghan is the bolter and unlikely to feature, but he’s bowling well and champing at the bit after making a solid T20 debut.
Off-spinner Jeetan Patel didn’t cover himself in glory with a wicketless spell then backing away to square leg and swinging wildly at a fired-up Dale Steyn. Bruce Martin is more attacking and offers just as much with the bat so will be seriously considered, especially in helpful conditions.
Personnel is all well and good, but mental scarring is another matter and it’s difficult to avoid picturing another heavy defeat. A post-mortem will focus on how they move on from such a beating, but the glass remains half full.
McCullum, who got the ball rolling in the second innings with 51 in 146 minutes, said day two was the benchmark as they went toe to toe with the world No 1 throughout.
‘‘The way we responded on that second day, to take 5-90 then get through to 160-4, was a remarkable improvement from the previous day. That’s a real positive and again today there were some positives.
‘‘If we continue to improve on those it’s going to be a far better performance. We’ve got to make sure we do that across the entire game rather than just the second innings.’’
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his battle- hardened side learned some tough lessons in recent years and sympathised with New Zealand’s young lineup.
‘‘They’ve got good players but they’re obviously struggling to find who fits where and who can perform in certain roles. They’re a growing team and it’s our job to keep them under pressure.’’