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Ken Borland



First test smouldering with exciting possibilities 0

Posted on March 08, 2012 by Ken

The first test between South Africa and New Zealand continued to smoulder with exciting possibilities as the hosts ended the second day on 243 for nine at the University Oval in Dunedin on Thursday.

Defending just 238, South Africa managed to suppress the determined New Zealand’s batsmen’s push for a sizeable first-innings lead with a wonderfully disciplined and skilful display of bowling. A relentless line just outside off stump would give birth to a host of chances and there was also a controlled spell of leg-spin by Imran Tahir and good catching behind the wicket to complete a fine day for the tourists.

New Zealand’s last two batsmen – Trent Boult and Chris Martin – are at the crease and, with the lead just five runs, there is nothing to separate the two teams heading for the halfway mark.

The Black Caps had resumed after tea on 144 for five and Daniel Vettori and Kruger van Wyk, playing in his first test, gave little away as they added 53 for the sixth wicket.

The ball was 68 overs old and nothing much seemed to be happening for South Africa when captain Graeme Smith called his regular partnership-breaker, Jacques Kallis, into the attack. The Golden Arm once again did the trick, inducing a nothing-shot by Vettori and a return catch, which Kallis had to dash forward and dive to take.

Vettori might not look particularly stylish at the crease, but the left-hander is mightily effective as he showed in scoring 46 off 78 balls, with eight fours.

The South African-born Van Wyk battled on for over two hours, scoring 36 before Vernon Philander, armed with the second new ball, duped him into pushing at a delivery outside off stump, edging a low catch to Smith at first slip.

Tim Southee was easily dispatched by Philander as he lamely wafted at his second ball and was also caught by Smith at first slip, for a duck.

Doug Bracewell played an invaluable role in giving New Zealand the lead as he scored 25, before he was bowled by an inspired delivery from Dale Steyn that pitched on middle-and-leg before crashing into off-stump.

Philander was the most successful of the South African attack with 4-50 in 17 overs, but all the bowlers played a part in a fine all-round performance with the ball.

South Africa had removed dangermen Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor in quick succession to reduced New Zealand to 144 for five at tea.

McCullum and Taylor were the third and fourth wickets to fall, for 48 and 44 respectively, the double strike turning the tide back in favour of the South Africans after New Zealand’s two premier batsmen had added 65.

Morne Morkel has suffered mixed fortunes this year, but the lanky fast bowler set the tone with a marvellous burst straight after lunch, starting with the wicket of Martin Guptill for 16 with his fifth ball after the break.

Guptill was way too late with a tentative prod outside off stump and succeeded only in edging the ball back into his own stumps, and Morkel then piled on the pressure, with able support from Philander and Tahir, on to McCullum and Taylor.

But they batted with tremendous discipline and positive footwork and the momentum was New Zealand’s as they carried the hosts to 106 for two.

It was the leg-spin of Tahir that eventually made the crucial breakthrough, the persevering former Pakistani gratefully accepting the return catch after McCullum top-edged a sweep.

Morkel’s worst ball of the day – a dreadful short, wide delivery, brought its award, however, as Taylor edged a flatfooted cut through to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Philander’s unrelenting accuracy and remorseless probing did for Kane Williamson (11), who edged a back-foot drive for Boucher to take his second catch.

McCullum and Guptill had defied the best of the South African bowlers as they steered New Zealand to 40 for one at lunch.

Guptill and McCullum were proudly obdurate as they shrugged off the early loss of Rob Nicol to survive the next dozen overs before lunch without being parted, adding 33 for the second wicket off 76 balls.

South Africa had earlier been dismissed for 238 in their first innings on a sunny, but still chilly, day on the South Island.

The visitors had resumed on 191 for seven and Jacques Rudolph completed a tenacious half-century in two-and-a-half hours as he and Philander brought up the 200.

The useful eighth-wicket partnership had grown to 35 when Martin, the hero of the first day, removed Philander for 22. The potential all-rounder was just beginning to up the tempo when Williamson did very well to hang on to a full-blooded cut in the gully. The wicket gave Martin final figures of 4-56 in 18 overs.

Rudolph, the star of the South African innings for his determination if nothing else, then followed a widish delivery from Bracewell (2-52) and edged it to point, falling for 52 off 99 balls.

Morkel (13*) and Tahir (10) then added another 16 runs for the last wicket before Tahir was run out trying for a crazy third run, but both bowlers did more important work with the ball in the afternoon.

New Zealand’s batsmen had 16 overs to face before lunch and the test-match edition of Guptill showed an admirably straight bat and strong defensive technique as he reached 16 not out at the break.

South Africa did pick up the wicket of his fellow opener Nicol for six in the fourth over. Philander was bowling an immaculate line just outside off stump and seaming the ball both ways, so the debutant Nicol obviously had to play at the shortish delivery that dismissed him, a touch of away movement finding the edge of the bat and presenting Smith with the easiest of catches at first slip.

 http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120308/Honours_even_in_Dunedin

Guptill leads a top-class NZ performance 0

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Ken

Martin Guptill led a top-class all-round performance by New Zealand as they whipped South Africa by six wickets with four balls to spare in the first T20 international at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Friday.

Guptill slammed a fiery 78 not out off just 55 balls to lead New Zealand to their target of 148, after a superb bowling and fielding effort by the hosts had restricted South Africa to a mediocre 147 for six.

Guptill was a shining light in the field with a superb run-out and a splendid catch, and was a deserved man of the match.

The in-form Guptill devastated the South African bowlers with his clean-hitting power, and his crossbat shots were particularly vicious as he collected five fours and four sixes.

Fellow opener Rob Nicol scored 13 as they put on 49 for the first wicket in seven overs before Brendon McCullum (16) joined Guptill in a second-wicket stand of 41 in 5.1 overs that all but sealed the contest.

South African captain AB de Villiers was celebrating his 28th birthday, but he wore the same bemused expression as Springbok captain John Smit has on many occasions at the Westpac Stadium, where South Africa’s rugby team were controversially knocked out of last year’s World Cup.

Morne Morkel was the one South African bowler to impress, taking one for 26 in his four overs, which included a maiden.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe was the biggest victim of Guptill’s onslaught, conceding 28 runs off his three overs, and the left-armer was hammered for one of the biggest sixes ever seen in New Zealand as the Aucklander launched a massive blow into the trusses of The Cake Tin’s roof.

South Africa were also unable to take wickets as Guptill and Kane Williamson, who was eventually run out by Albie Morkel for 24, did nothing silly in steering New Zealand to victory.

Contrasting innings by Justin Ontong and JP Duminy earlier took South Africa to 147 for six , giving them a total they could bowl to.

Clever bowling, backed by magnificent fielding, had given New Zealand another stranglehold over the South African batsmen after they had been sent in to bat and it needed an extraordinary over of hitting by Ontong to give the tourists a respectable total.

South Africa had been reduced to 52 for four after nine overs and Duminy and Ontong had struggled to find anything else but singles as they added 23 runs in the next five overs.

EXTRAORDINARY OVER

Ontong, who had seemingly edged a sweep off part-time spinner Rob Nicol to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum in the previous over, then laid into offspinner Kane Williamson, ending his second over with four successive sixes, three of them to deep midwicket and the fourth over long on.

The bristling Tim Southee returned to claim Ontong’s wicket for 32 off 17 balls, taking a magnificent low return catch, and Doug Bracewell, who recently skittled Australia in a shock test win for New Zealand, then bowled a superb penultimate over that cost just three runs, two of them being leg-byes.

Fifteen runs would come from the final over, however, as Johan Botha hit Kyle Mills for a four and a six.

Openers Hashim Amla (19) and Richard Levi (13) had started brightly for South Africa, adding 24 off 20 balls, but the brilliance of Martin Guptill in the field had much to do with the visitors’ top-order woes.

 

Guptill dashed in from mid off and slid into the stumps to run out Amla and then snapped up a wonderful low catch at short extra-cover to remove AB de Villiers for eight after the South African captain had slapped a delivery from left-arm spinner Roneel Hira with tremendous power and timing.

A top-class delivery from offspinner Nathan McCullum had removed Colin Ingram for a two-ball duck, brother Brendon completing a juggled stumping after a foray down the pitch by the left-hander.

Duminy gave himself time to settle and refused to let the pressure get to him as he accumulated an important 41 off 37 balls, although he was fortunate to survive an lbw appeal off Williamson on 21.

Southee (4-0-28-3) and Nathan McCullum (4-0-16-1 with the new ball) did much to unsettle the South African batsmen.

 

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    1 John 2:5 – “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.”

    James 2:14 – “What good is it if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?”.

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