South Africa were hot on the trail of a remarkable bounce-back victory after a dominant performance on the fourth day of the second test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.
Kyle Verreynne and Kagiso Rabada were South Africa’s headline acts on a fast-moving day, with the former striking his maiden test century in his team’s second innings of 354 for nine declared while the latter cracked a brutal 47 in 34 balls before taking out both New Zealand’s openers in the space of four balls.
At the close of play, New Zealand had struggled to 94 for four, pursuing a world record 426 for victory or, more realistically, surviving the final three sessions. The home team can draw some encouragement from the fact that the pitch remains good for batting, particularly against the old ball, but they have only six wickets left and will have to negotiate attacking fields.
It could have been worse for the home team, but former South African Devon Conway survived a tough chance to Sarel Erwee at backward short-leg off the bowling of Marco Jansen before going on to strike eight fours in an unbeaten 60 in 127 balls – his third test 50 to go with three hundreds in only his seventh test.
The Black Caps suffered a disastrous start to their innings after tea, with Rabada making early inroads. First, he had Will Young caught by Temba Bavuma in the gully driving at his third ball, then he snared the scalp of Kiwi skipper Tom Latham who clipped him straight to Rassie van der Dussen at short leg with the first ball of his second over.
Given that he had captured the last two New Zealand wickets in consecutive deliveries in their first innings, this meant he had taken four Kiwi wickets in nine balls.
The other two wickets were claimed by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who has proved that spinners can have a major role to play in New Zealand conditions. Bowling an immaculate length and cleverly varying his pace, while also using drift and occasional turn, Maharaj has proved a major weapon for the tourists in this match. His first victim was Henry Nicholls, bowled through the gate with only his second ball that turned sharply.
His second, Daryl Mitchell, was defeated by a wonderful ball that drifted into the right-hander before holding its line and clipping his off-stump. The only specialist spinner in the match, Maharaj has been one of the main differences between the sides, giving the visitors’ attack an extra dimension that the New Zealand bowlers have lacked.
DE KOCK'S RIGHTFUL HEIR
Earlier, Verreynne began the day with Wiaan Mulder, with the SA second innings total on 140 for five and the match more evenly balanced. The visitors’ lead was 211 but they were the last specialist batsmen.
As it turned out, the pair found batting an easy business in the first hour. With the pitch looking very flat and the soft ball more than 50 overs old, they had no trouble in extending their sixth-wicket partnership to 78 off 167 balls.
Verreynne was the more positive of the two, striking the ball particularly well square of the wicket on both sides, pulling and square-cutting with authority against Tim Southee and Matt Henry who looked toothless.
In the circumstances, the first wicket came as a bolt from the blue, with Kyle Jamieson bowling the final over before the drinks break. Jamieson overstepped with his sixth ball, and Mulder, angling his bat towards mid-on, edged the extra delivery low to Tom Blundell’s right.
The wicketkeeper, standing closer than usual because of the old ball’s lack of pace and bounce, reacted sharply to take a superb catch in his right glove. Mulder, who struck 35 in 91 balls, had helped Verreynne add a valuable 78 for the sixth wicket.
The only other wicket in the session was the result of an even better catch, with Marco Jansen clipping medium-pacer Colin de Grandhomme to deep midwicket where a sprinting Young dived to his left to take a catch for the ages in his left-hand centimetres from the boundary rope.
VICIOUS ASSAULT
The first hour after lunch witnessed a vicious assault on the New Zealand bowlers by Rabada. Armed with the second new ball, Matt Henry and Tim Southee came in for particular punishment. The first five overs after the break realised 50 runs and 97 came in 11 overs as Rabada smashed four sixes and four fours with a succession of drives and meaty flat-batted strokes.
When the fun came to an end in the 90th over, with Rabada holing out on the long-on boundary, he and Verreynne had pulverised the Black Caps for 78 in 63 balls, the fastest scoring of the match by far as South Africa reached the 300 mark.
Asked if he had received any instructions when he went out to bat after lunch, Rabada replied: “There was a message that we should try to be positive and take the game forward, and that’s what I tried to do. Luckily it went my way.”
Did he have an eye on his first test half-century? "Of course I did,” Rabada said with a smile, “but I thought I should carry on with the tempo that was best for the team. As long as the team is in a good position I’m not too worried about personal milestones, those will happen naturally.”
Verreynne, who had largely admired Rabada’s assault at the bowler’s end, now followed in his wake as he continued to specialise in pulls and square cuts to short deliveries on both sides of the wicket. Eventually, skipper Dean Elgar called Verreynne and partner Lutho Sipamla in after they had batted for exactly 100 overs.
In an innings that established him as the rightful heir to the retired Quinton de Kock’s crown, Verreynne struck 16 fours and a six in his unbeaten 136 in 187 balls.
Asked which of the two pitches at the Hagley Oval he would take home with him, Rabada chuckled. “I’d take the first pitch any day. This pitch is lower and slower, the other pitch was a lot quicker and there was a lot more sideways movement and more through the air.
“We just didn’t pitch up in the first test, that’s it.”
Report Day 1Report Day 2Report Day 3
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, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Lutho Sipamla