Newzealand 18
Bert Sutcliffe
Brendon McCullum
Stephen Fleming V/
Ross Taylor
Kane Williamson
Richard Hadlee
Chris Cairns
Trent Boult
Shane Bond
Daniel Vettori
John Bracewell
Tom Blundell
Martin Crowe
Richard Motz
Tom Latham
Daryl Mitchell
Tim southee
Neil wagner
Openers
Barry Richards
Eddie Barlow
Graeme Smith Middle Order
Graeme Pollock V/
Dudley Nourse
Colin Bland
Hashim Amla All-Rounder
Michael Proctor
Jacques Kallis
Shaun Pollock
Trevor Goddard Keepers
Quinten De Kock
AB de Villiers Pace
Allan Donald
Dale Steyn
Vernon Philander
Kagiso Rabada Spin
Hugh Tayfield
Nz
Bert Sutcliffe
Brendon McCullum wk
Kane Williamson c
Stephen Fleming v/c
Ross Taylor
Richard Hadlee^
Chris Cairns^
Daniel Vettori^
Trent Boult^
Shane Bond^
John Bracewell^
Given a pitch that looked like it had plenty of life and two opening days where the forecast wasn't great but was sunny at 10:30am, it was a tricky decision to make. Smith's decision to bat first was probably based on the fact that the hosts couldn't decide which of Vettori or Bracewell to go with after their excellent tour of Sri Lanka and went with both, meaning Smith certainly wouldn't want to be batting last.
At 73-0, Smith was probably feeling pretty good about it, despite plenty of plays and misses and edges that fell safely. But then Cairns & Vettori removed both openers in consecutive overs, it was probably honours even at lunch. Pollock & Kallis repeated the trick with a partnership of 88 after lunch before Bond trapped him short of a half-century but Kallis ensured one didn't become two again before tea. The partnership with De Villiers was looking exceedingly dangerous, especially with Bracewell off the field with after a fielding injury, until Cairns managed to get the old ball to remove both the keeper and Nourse before Bond managed to use the new ball to remove Tayfield and then Hadlee took control with it by taking three more by the close, including Kallis short of his hundred. 266-4 was suddenly 286-9. In conditions that looked like awful for facing swing bowling on the second morning, Steyn and Donald managed to scrap them past 300 before Hadlee added another wicket.
Sutcliffe and McCullum, managed to see things through until the rain came at 38-0, but when the rain relented, Smith decided to go with Steyn and Donald as opposed to Rabada and Pollock and they combined for three quick wickets before Taylor joined Sutcliffe to battle through to tea. After tea, Taylor went on the attack with a 108-ball 73 that was ended by a mishit slog-sweep off Tayfield which, with Hadlle batting at six, opened the door for the visitors. Steyn got Sutcliffe for 72 in the next over and when Tayfield got Cairns at slip it was three wickets in three overs. Tayfield was convinced he had Hadlee lbw soon after before then removing Vettori for 19 and Boult was coming out a nine with the score 211-7. Four balls later, Tayfield DID have Hadlee, with a smart De Villiers stumping and he completed his five-for by getting Bond for a duck. Bracewell slogged a quick 20 before Pollock ended things for 235 by getting Boult to edge him to his brother.
Walking out at the start of day three with Barry Richards, with a decent lead and sunny skies, Graeme Smith must have been loving his decision to bat first. By lunch, with an unbeaten half-century and the scoreboard reading 104-1, he must have been positively on cloud nine. Bond added Pollock cheaply to the wicket of Richards but Kallis came in and things looked wonderful for batting. The century partnership was eventually broken by Vettori, with Smith holing out for 123 and the lead already over 300. The new ball may have done for Kallis but by the close, De Villiers had a run-a-ball 41 and were 308-4.
De Villiers eventually fell for 59 and Vettori then got Nourse soon afterwards. The left-armer added Tayfield by lunch but at that point the lead was 457. What the hosts really didn't want was Pollock and Rabada adding 43 together before Bracewell removed the latter and the Steyn first ball. Pollock holed out off Vettori in the next over and New Zealand needed 492 in four and a half sessions.
Sutcliffe and McCullum made it to tea in very un-bazball style and it wasn't until the last half-hour of the day when South Africa made the breakthrough, with Pollock trapping McCullum lbw, and the close came at 80-1 off 40 overs.
Needing 412 on the last day, it was safe to say that the hosts were playing for the draw. It took 90 minutes for Steyn to get the first of the nine that the Proteas needed to grab an away win. Kallis then had Williamson dropped before lunch by the skipper and then caught by him just after lunch for the third wicket. That set up a Fleming/Taylor v Donald/Pollock battle with the new ball that looked like it would settle the match. It looked like the batters had won it until Rabada came on and had Taylor caught behind, before De Villiers dropped a mirror-image chance off him that would have removed Hadlee before tea.
Smith pretty much immediately put down Fleming off Tayfield, before the off-spinner had Hadlee leg before. He then had Cairns caught at slip with 71 minutes left but Vettori stayed with Fleming for almost 50 minutes before Pollock got his edge. Tayfield then got Boult with four overs remaining. Smith turned to his man of the opening series in Dale Steyn but Fleming saw them safe, completing a match saving 100 in the process.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
