Smith & Kallis go to centuries
South Africa took control with both Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis going to centuries as they reached 268 for three at stumps on the third day of the first test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Friday.
88th over – Jacques Rudolph has looked in great nick in going to 12 but has a reprieve when Doug Bracewell swings a delivery back into the left-hander and traps him lbw, umpire Aleem Dar giving him out. Rudolph, seemingly more in hope than anything else, calls for the review and Hawkeye says the ball pitched outside leg stump, by an inch or two. Dar cannot believe it, shaking his head as he recalls Rudolph. Will the umpire be fined for dissent? In his defence, there was something dodgy about that Hawkeye replay …
85th over – Lovely placement from Rudolph as he strokes Chris Martin through the covers for four.
83rd over – Kallis has his 42nd test century as he pushes Martin into the covers for a quick single, getting five runs as the shy at the stumps hits his legs and runs away to the boundary. The great Kallis has batted for just over five hours and faced 219 balls, stroking 15 fours in a wonderful innings for his team.
82nd over – WICKET – Bracewell strikes with his first delivery with the second new ball! He pitches the ball on the stumps, from over the wicket, angling across Smith, who inside-edges an awkward push right across the ball. Now if New Zealand had only stuck to that line earlier! Nevertheless, Smith’s 115 off 234 balls in just over six hours is a fitting reward for his determination and skill. Rudolph surprisingly comes in ahead of AB de Villiers, perhaps to keep the left-hand/right-hand combination going, and is off the mark second ball with a superb push off the back foot, through the covers for four.
81st over – Martin returns with the second new ball, but Kallis stands tall and whips the ball off his pads for an imperious four through midwicket that takes him to 99.
80th over – A wide half-volley from Daniel Vettori drifts further away from Smith, but he creams it through the covers for four.
77th over – Kallis has been stuck on 90 for 17 balls but then unveils a glorious cover-drive for four off Tim Southee.
71st over – Smith steps down the pitch and works the probing left-arm spin of Vettori through the packed leg-side field for a single that brings up his 24th test century! Coming off 201 balls, in five-and-a-quarter hours, it’s a fitting reward for a magnificent effort by the captain. How can anyone not want him in the team?
70th over – Too full from Southee and Kallis crunches the ball through the despairing dive of mid-off running to his left for four more runs. Kallis collects his second boundary of the over as he square-drives the seamer, Trent Boult trying hard to stop the ball on the deep backward point fence, but just failing.
64th over – Sweet timing from Smith as he strokes left-armer Boult through the covers for four.
63rd over – Smith jumps all over a short ball from Doug Bracewell, pulling with tremendous power to midwicket for four.
60th over – Masterful from Kallis as Boult drops a fraction short and the great batsman sends a short-arm pull rocketing to the midwicket boundary.
59th over – Bracewell is wide outside off stump to Smith and the left-hander lashes the ball through gully for four.
57th over – Kallis leaves the first four balls after tea alone as they travel harmlessly by outside off stump. So Bracewell tries to bowl straighter, drifts on to the pads and is tucked away for four to fine leg by Kallis. A great example of how the two batsmen have forced the New Zealand bowlers to bowl where they want them to …
55th over – Too full from Chris Martin and Smith works the ball through midwicket with great timing for four.
52nd over – Part-time off-spinner Rob Nicol is on, but he bowls a long-hop which Smith smashes through extra cover for four.
49th over – The 150 is up with a superb shot by Kallis, stroking Tim Southee straight down the ground for four. Kallis collects another boundary two balls later as he drives smoothly through a sloppy fielding effort at mid-on by Martin.
46th over – Kallis completes his 56th half-century as he goes back and turns left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori for a single to fine leg. Kallis reaches the landmark in 147 minutes, off 106 balls, with seven fours.
41st over – Successive bouncers from Tim Southee … and successive hooks for four in the most emphatic fashion by Kallis.
40th over – A bit edgy from Smith as he slashes Trent Boult through the gully for four. Smith ends the over with a superb shot, striding forward and driving the left-arm seamer from outside off stump and through mid-on for four more.
36th over – Another excellent effort by Smith as he completes his second half-century of the match, with a trademark push off his pads for a single to backward square-leg off Doug Bracewell. Smith has dug in for 163 minutes, faced 107 balls and hit five fours.
35th over – A bouncer from Martin angling across Smith, but he deals with it comfortably, fetching the ball from outside off stump and pulling it through wide mid-on for four.
34th over – And now the hundred is up as Smith drives Bracewell confidently through extra cover for four.
33rd over – The fifty partnership is up as Kallis drives Martin imperiously through the covers for four.
32nd over – A good start for Smith after lunch as he chops Bracewell neatly through backward point for four.
26th over – Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori strays a little bit leg-side and is swept powerfully for four by Kallis.
23rd over – Tim Southee digs the ball in, but it doesn’t get up and Kallis plays a beautifully-controlled pull shot, with excellent placement between the two men back on the boundary and his second boundary.
19th over – Kallis, on a pair, has taken a while to get settled, but collects four runs with a superb back-foot square-drive, beautifully timed, off Trent Boult.
12th over – A double strike by Doug Bracewell in his second over rocks South Africa! WICKET – A dreadfully loose innings by Alviro Petersen comes to an end. The opener has been playing a series of expansive, risky drives and, having driven the first ball of the over just over cover, Petersen then shovels a full ball too mid-off, where Southee moves sharply to take the catch. Petersen is out for 25. Hashim Amla collects a couple of runs through midwicket but is out to the last ball of the over. WICKET – Amla pushes firmly at a good ball from Bracewell that shapes away, Martin Guptill taking an outstanding catch, plucking the ball low off the ground as he dived one-handed to his right at second slip. Amla stuck around, but the third umpire did not give him the benefit of the doubt.
10th over – Smith puts South Africa in the black in marvellous fashion as Bracewell over-pitches and the left-hander punches him straight down the ground for four runs, erasing the 35-run first-innings deficit.
9th over – Petersen edges a slash at Chris Martin, it flies high to second slip, where Martin Guptill doesn’t pick the ball up at all. It flies over his head for four.
5th over – Full and outside off stump from Martin and Petersen drives it beautifully through the covers for four.
4th over – Left-armer Boult straightens a ball back between Petersen’s bat and pad, the ball flicking his back leg before being taken by a diving Kruger van Wyk. New Zealand are insistent that Petersen’s out and unsuccessfully attempt to overturn Aleem Dar’s not out decision.
2nd over – Boult gets a touch too straight and full to Smith and is driven through mid-on for four.
1st over – Petersen survives a very tight lbw call as Martin jags a delivery back into him, but then punches the veteran seamer sweetly down the ground for four.
The astonishing hitting of Trent Boult boosted the New Zealand innings to 273 all out on the third day of the first test against South Africa at the University Oval in Dunedin on Friday.
89th over – Dale Steyn ends the fun as Chris Martin prods a shortish delivery straight to Hashim Amla at short-leg.
88th over – Vernon Philander looks un-warmed up and stiff, is down in pace and pays the price as Boult lashes 22 vital runs off the last four balls of the over. Having turned down an easy single to deep point, Boult clears the front leg and slogs Philander for six over long-on, four over mid-off and six over midwicket. Philander’s last ball of the over is a bouncer and Boult is outside leg-stump, but he manages to hook it for another six!
87th over – Five runs for Martin, which is like 50 for him! He pushes Steyn’s second ball of the day into the covers in an effort to get off strike, Amla rushes in, but slips as he shies at the bowler’s end, missing the stumps and leading to four overthrows.