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Batsmen come and go at the Wanderers
Batsmen continued to come and go with regularity as New Zealand finished the first day of the first test on 41 for two in reply to South Africa's 226 all out at Liberty Life Wanderers on Thursday.
All the pre-match talk about New Zealand's top-order seemed justified as openers Michael Papps (two) and Craig Cumming (12) were removed in the 13 overs the Kiwis faced before stumps after Shane Bond made a clear statement about what previous test matches between these countries have lacked with four wickets.
Bond's last act of the day was to shoulder arms to an Andre Nel delivery that passed harmlessly by outside off stump, having been sent in as a nightwatchman to partner Stephen Fleming. But he had played the villain of the piece earlier in the day with the ball as he picked up two wickets after tea as South Africa moved from 161 for five to 226 all out.
It is a total that may yet survive scrutiny given that no one has really worked out whether the pitch is as nasty for batting as many of the batsmen made it appear.
The services of the third umpire were called into play in the second over of the final session to rule on the legality of Jacob Oram's diving catch in the gully to remove AB de Villiers for 33 after he sliced a drive at a full delivery from Bond.
Nel (15) came in and steered his first ball through backward point for four and then edged a couple more boundaries through and over the slips, but Bond had his revenge when a flatfooted swish ended in the hands of wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.
Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who bowled with tremendous control and tied up the Corlett Drive End, removed both Paul Harris (3) and Mark Boucher, who tried to hit out and collected five fours in his 43, before Dale Steyn (13) slogged a mighty six off Chris Martin before providing a regulation catch to McCullum off the next delivery.
New Zealand's new-ball bowlers, Bond and Martin, shared seven of the wickets to fall as they made the ball occasionally swing or leap off the pitch.
Papps was the first to go in the New Zealand reply, playing down the wrong line to Makhaya Ntini and edging to De Villiers at third slip and Cumming missed a drive at Steyn and was trapped leg-before in the penultimate over before stumps.
Stephen Fleming pulled and cut Nel for three fours and a six as he went to 22 not out, but the ascendancy in this test has not been decided after the first day.
BATTING A STRUGGLE
Earlier Chris Martin and Shane Bond took two wickets apiece for New Zealand as South Africa struggled to 161 for five at tea.
Batting was proving a struggle for all but Herschelle Gibbs, although some of the shot selection and footwork of the batsmen left something to be desired.
Having won the toss, South Africa were fortunate to reach lunch on 73 for two, Jacques Kallis being dropped twice off Martin shortly after the break.
South Africa's master batsman had looked out-of-sorts but, given the let-offs he had enjoyed, it was hard to account for the loose drive, with minimal footwork, he played to the first ball after lunch, inside-edging Iain O'Brien to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, who took a sharp, diving catch.
Kallis scored 29, batted for 86 minutes and faced 65 balls, hitting five fours.
Bond also returned to the attack after lunch and the extra bounce he was getting asked too many questions of Ashwell Prince (one), whose flatfooted prod edged the ball to first slip.
Gibbs marched on to his 26th test half-century, but it was an unusual innings for the flamboyant Capetonian in that he patiently and quietly accumulated the runs, needing 112 balls and 164 minutes to reach the milestone, although the fact he had struck 11 fours indicated how quick he was to put away the bad ball.
De Villiers joined him and blazed away, often riskily, and the pair took South Africa to 141 for four before Gibbs (63) aimed to cut Martin and top-edged another catch to Fleming at first slip, where he had to move sharply to take the ball above his head.
De Villiers (33*) and Mark Boucher (11*) were then content to see out the next hour until tea.
DROPPED CATCHES
New Zealand found new ways to allow Kallis to prosper as two dropped catches saw South Africa go into lunch on 73 for two.
While opener Gibbs went to a business-like 27 not out by the break, Kallis stuttered to 29 not out and was most fortunate to make it through the first session.
He should have been given his marching orders on 22 when he was beaten by a Daniel Vettori arm-ball and struck low on the front pad suspiciously in front of his stumps.
Martin, who had made the first breakthrough for New Zealand by bowling Graeme Smith (one) off the inside-edge in his first over of the day, returned and had Kallis dropped twice in what should have been a telling two overs before lunch.
He first squared-up Kallis, on 23, and induced an edge low to the right of third slip, where Michael Papps got both hands to the ball and couldn't hang on. An unconvincing hook shot which was gloved over the wicketkeeper for four ended the over and, astonishingly, Martin engineered another opportunity to dismiss the prolific Kallis with the first ball of his next over.
A top-edged hook flew straight to Iain O'Brien at fine leg, but the hesitancy of the fielder was obvious to everyone as he stumbled and staggered under the ball before dropping the simplest of catches.
New Zealand did claim the wicket of Hashim Amla for 12 thanks to a superb delivery from Bond that seamed away and bounced more than expected, wicketkeeper McCullum taking a comfortable catch.
Teams
South Africa - Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn.
New Zealand - Michael Papps, Craig Cumming, Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Iain O'Brien, Chris Martin.
