The Proteas showed little fight on the third day as they were cleaned up by the brutal New Zealand bowling attack before lunch on day three, all out for 111 in their second innings to succumb to a massive innings-and-276-run defeat in the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.
Having reduced the Proteas to 102/8 when lunch should have been called, the Black Caps unsurprisingly opted for the extra half hour to finish off the beleaguered visitors and duly delivered, with Tim Southee finishing off the innings with the final wicket to seal top figures of 5/35.
Temba Bavuma (41) and Kyle Verreynne (30) showed the only bit of fight from the Proteas batsmen in the second innings, combining for a 41-run sixth-wicket partnership, but once they were dismissed the inevitable followed.
The day began poorly for the visitors once again without adding to the overnight score as Rassie van der Dussen (9) was bowled through the gate second ball by Matt Henry, with the Proteas slipping to 34/4.
Zubayr Hamza (6), who was the Proteas top scorer in the first innings with just 25, then joined Bavuma and they looked to see out the opening spells, playing carefully against Henry and Southee.
However, first change Kyle Jamieson, in his second over, accounted for Hamza as he seemed to struggle with the change of length, fending the ball to Daryl Mitchell at first slip with the score 46/5.
Verreynne and Bavuma combined for the best partnership of the match for the Proteas, and for pretty much the first time started to put the New Zealand bowlers under pressure.
The 27th and 28th overs of the innings saw 23 runs come off them as a boundary each from the bats of Bavuma and Verreynne saw 12 off Henry’s 27th, while two boundaries from Verreynne off Jamieson’s 28th saw another 11 off it as it seemed like the visitors were finally enjoying their best spell of the match.
However normal service was then resumed in the very next over as Neil Wagner was brought into the attack, and promptly had Bavuma trapped LBW after hitting him on the back thigh pad in front of the stumps.
Verreynne then followed Bavuma back to the dressing room in the next over, wafting at a short and wide ball from Southee to edge it to Colin de Grandhomme at third slip as the Proteas crashed to 91/7.
Kagiso Rabada fell for an eighth ball duck, chipping Southee off the inside-edge to a tumbling Jamieson at mid-on, leaving the Proteas in danger of being bowled out in double digits in both innings, after being skittled for 95 in the first.
Glenton Stuurman (11) made sure the Proteas would not have the ignominy of being bowled out for under 100 in successive innings as he flashed at a short and wide Wagner delivery, edging it over the slip cordon and away for four.
However, it was a minuscule victory in the grand scheme of things as Marco Jansen (10) was caught behind by keeper Tom Blundell off Wagner and Stuurman was pinned LBW by Southee to end the innings.
Wagner, 2/19, and Henry, 2/32, backed up the brilliance of Southee, but frankly, all four pace bowlers were fantastic once again.
NEW ZEALAND: Tom Latham (capt), Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry
SOUTH AFRICA: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Zubayr Hamza, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Glenton Stuurman, Duanne Olivier
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