SA batsmen hand Kiwis the edge
The Proteas will be highly disappointed by their lack of application with bat in hand as New Zealand ended on top after day one of the first Test at Kingsmead.
|||The Proteas will be highly disappointed by their lack of application with bat in hand as New Zealand ended on top after day one of the first Test at Kingsmead on Friday.
The South Africans ended the proceedings on 236/8 off 77.4 overs after stand-in captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat under cloudy Durban skies.
Play was delayed by 30 minutes due to a wet outfield at the start of the day, and the ill-advised idea to have a Test in the middle of winter in South Africa showed in a slow pitch that made batting difficult.
But despite being reduced to 106/4 in the second session after Hashim Amla was bundled out for a well-placed 53, the Proteas started the rebuilding phase with Du Plessis and Temba Bavuma, who shared a 54-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
While Du Plessis struggled to get going as the Kiwi bowlers kept things tight, Bavuma blossomed the longer the innings went on, playing some wonderful shots through the offside.
Du Plessis (23 off 84 balls, 3x4) was eventually put out of his misery when he drove hard at a full ball outside off by Neil Wagner, only to see Kane Williamson take an outstanding diving catch to his right at gully.
That was a body blow for the Proteas as they only had one recognised batsman left in Quinton de Kock to join Bavuma in the middle.
De Kock, though, took the game by the scruff of the neck in typical fashion and got stuck into the New Zealand attack. The left-hander moved quickly to 33 off 32 balls, but chanced his arm once too many as he tried to get after left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.
De Kock held out to Doug Bracewell at mid-off, though, which left the Proteas at a precarious position at 208/6.
Worse was to follow as Bavuma, who had looked in control for a classy 46 off 89 balls (7x4), tried to sweep his next ball from Santner but missed. The right-hander asked for a referral, but was not successful and had to leave the scene, which meant the Proteas had lost two wickets in three balls.
At 208/7, coach Russell Domingo would’ve wanted Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada to see the South Africans through to the close without further damage, and the fast-bowling pair looked on course to do so.
They added 20 runs in six overs before a barrage of slow bouncers from the willing Wagner (3/47 in 15 overs) – although he lacks a yard of pace to be menacing – almost seemed to frustrate Philander into playing a shot.
As was the case throughout the day, the bouncer didn’t have a lot of speed in it, and all Philander (8) did was to bunt it straight to mid-off as he tried to force the ball off the back foot. It was a terrible shot and a real waste of a wicket as Philander could’ve added valuable runs on Saturday morning.
Rabada (14 not out) and Dale Steyn (8 not out) survived until the end, when bad light ended play with more than 12 overs still left.
The New Zealanders will be the happier of the two teams, and the South Africans will have to hope that the conditions remain overcast in the morning to assist their three-man pace attack.
Earlier, Amla looked in great form as he stroked the ball all around Kingsmead to bring up yet another half-century, but he received little support from the rest of the top-order as Stephen Cook (20), Dean Elgar (19) and JP Duminy (14) all lost their wickets cheaply.
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