Ken Borland

South Africa’s Marco Jansen not only removed two key New Zealand batsmen with the ball but also made a career-best, momentum-shifting 37 not out with the bat on the second day of the second Test in Christchurch on Saturday, and then said he was in debt to former Proteas batsman Neil McKenzie for helping him with the mental side of batting.

The 21-year-old Jansen has long been considered to have enough ability with the bat to perhaps become a bowling all-rounder, and he certainly did justice to his talent on Saturday as he came in at 277/6 and helped South Africa to a sizeable 364 all out.

They looked like falling well short of that, though, when they slumped to 302/8, before Jansen and Keshav Maharaj (36) belted 62 off 79 deliveries. A fine day for Jansen was then completed with the wickets of Devon Conway (16) and Henry Nicholls (39).

“When I was chosen for the  SA A squad last year, I was fortunate to work with Neil McKenzie [CSA high performance batting lead]. He helped me a lot with the strategic side of batting,” Jansen said.

“It’s all about game-plans and there’s more focus on how I approach my batting mentally. I still work a lot with our Proteas batting coach Justin Sammons as well, we are tweaking my technique, trying to tighten it up a bit.

“Kesh and I decided while we were batting that we would take the positive option. Not be reckless, but if the ball was in our area then we would have a full go.

“You know that the bowlers are going to bowl short at some stage and then you have a choice: To take it on or stand back. I don’t want to ever say I did not give it my all, so I always give a bit more in those situations,” Jansen said.

Growing up with a twin brother, Duan, who is also a talented cricketer, playing for North-West in a similar bowler-who-can-bat role, helped finance a tremendous competitive fire in Marco Jansen. He has given as good as he has received in feisty exchanges already with Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and with fiery Black Caps paceman Neil Wagner on Saturday.

“My brother and I are very competitive when it’s anything to do with sport,” Jansen said. “Whenever there’s a bit of an edge to the contest, then I try to always bring that bit extra, I see it as my one opportunity and I give everything.

“It’s a huge honour for me every time I walk on the field with that green cap on, so I just try and grab every opportunity now with both hands. Neil Wagner as always came hard, especially with the short balls.

“A few words were said, but it wasn’t that heated, just two guys being very competitive. I spoke Afrikaans to him and he replied in English … ” Jansen confirmed.

Cold weather and a Hagley Oval pitch that stubbornly refused to quicken up was no antiseptic for the debilitating fast bowling of Kagiso Rabada as he reduced New Zealand to 157/5 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against South Africa in Christchurch on Saturday.

Rabada had bowled superbly to take 3/37 in 12 overs, leaving the Black Caps still 207 runs behind on first innings and extremely grateful for the unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 66 between Daryl Mitchell (29*) and Colin de Grandhomme (54*) that took them to the close.

It took Rabada just four deliveries to strike, although there was an element of good fortune for the bowler as NZ skipper Tom Latham (0) edged a delivery down the leg-side and was brilliantly caught by diving wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.

Rabada’s second wicket came in his third over as he removed the other Kiwi opener, Will Young (3), caught behind with a delivery that climbed steeply outside off-stump.

The ace fast bower’s best wicket was his third and last as he jagged a delivery back into the off-stump of Tom Blundell, who was bowled shouldering arms for six.

With Marco Jansen claiming the key wickets of Devon Conway, also caught behind down the leg-side, for 16 and Henry Nicholls, who was caught by a well-placed deep backward point on 39, New Zealand slumped to 91/5.

But some clean striking by De Grandhomme and Mitchell provided a defiant end to the day for the home side.

South Africa, resuming on 238/3, had earlier posted 364 all out, their best total since scoring 621 against Sri Lanka in the 2020 Boxing Day Test at Centurion.

After the heroics of the first day and Sarel Erwee’s century, they did not make the best start to the second day, however, as their middle-order became bogged down and they crashed to 302/8.

But momentum was regained by a marvellous partnership of 62 off just 79 balls, South Africa’s record for the ninth wicket against New Zealand, between Jansen (37*) and Keshav Maharaj (36).

Left-arm quick Neil Wagner caused most of the damage on Saturday as he took 4/102 in 31 overs, while first Test destroyer Matt Henry claimed 3/90 in 35 overs.

It looked like being another instalment in the Bulls’ woes on tour given their messy start, but the Currie Cup champions enjoyed an impressive second half as they hammered Zebre Parma 45-7 in their United Rugby Championship match at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Friday night.

Where the Bulls put things right

Having wasted half-a-dozen try-scoring chances through over-eagerness and impatience, the Bulls began demolishing their Italian opposition as soon as they turned to a more measured, patient build-up; attack by instalments if you like.

Allowing their massive ball-carriers up front to be more direct, the Zebre defence couldn’t just rush up on to the backline as they were doing before. Suddenly the Bulls were getting behind the gain-line with regularity and opening up the space for flyhalf Chris Smith to pull the strings and allow centre Lionel Mapoe and fullback Kurt-Lee Arendse to fulfil the attacking threat they displayed throughout.

Much to be happy about at flyhalf

Much has been said about the Bulls’ flyhalf crisis with Morne Steyn and Johan Goosen both unavailable at the moment.

So coach Jake White will be delighted by the assured showing of Chris Smith in the No.10 jersey.

Not only did he succeed with all six of his kicks at goal, a couple of them being right from the touchline, but his tactical game was excellent and he had much to do with the Bulls’ attacking flow.

He played a key role in the Bulls’ crucial first try of the second half, as they built on a 17-7 lead, staying on his feet really well under pressure from several tacklers and then freeing Arendse on a strong run that led to Marcell Coetzee’s try from close range.

Smith’s brilliant kick in the 62^nd minute gave the Bulls a 50/22 lineout, from which Mapoe burst through to score and make the game safe at 38-7.

Always trust the Bulls forwards to lay the attacking platform

While coach Jake White has ambitions of playing more expansive rugby, and he has exciting backs to do that, the Zebre win showed once again that he should always look to his superb pack to set the platform by dominating the gain-line.

Problems persist in the scrums & lineouts

The Bulls scrum did concede a couple of penalties in that set-piece, but it did not have a major effect on the game.

But the Bulls wasted several promising attacking positions due to their lineout failing, which will no doubt require work in the week ahead.

Scorers

Zebre Parma: Try – Antonio Rizzi. Conversion – Rizzi.

Bulls: Tries – Johan Grobbelaar, Embrose Papier, Marcell Coetzee, Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversions – Smith (6). Penalty – Chris Smith.

So what to do about Aiden Markram remains the big question for the Proteas to sort out despite the talented batsman’s return to form (almost) in scoring 42 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

While 42 is a big enough score to generally get one’s name in the scores in brief of leading cricket publications, it is also the sort of so-so score that does not really answer any questions, especially when it comes after your 10 previous innings have only realised 97 runs.

Markram should get one more innings at the Hagley Oval, one last chance to ram home his case, but then the Proteas return to South Africa and will begin preparations for their series against Bangladesh, which includes two Tests in April.

Keegan Petersen should be available again after his positive Covid test stopped him travelling, and he was man of the series against India so he should come straight back into the team. And Sarel Erwee made his mark in just his second Test by scoring a great century on the first day of the second Test, so he surely can’t be dropped.

Of course, if Markram goes on to score big runs in the second innings then it could become very awkward for the selectors. Or the Proteas could go back to the far-from-ideal days when they had seven batsmen and just four bowlers.

Of course having to fit too many batsmen into too few places is a very nice problem to have for any team.

After having exploded on to the international stage with 1000 runs in his first 10 Tests in 2017/18, including two centuries against Australia, very few would have predicted that by 2022 Markram would be at a crossroads in his Test career, playing for his future.

But having struggled against spin on the subcontinent, scoring just 84 runs in eight innings in India and Sri Lanka, seam bowlers now seem to have the wood on Markram as well.

Part of the problem would seem to be that the 27-year-old is a victim of his own tremendous talent. He is such a wonderful stroke-player, but one gets the impression sometimes that he is a bit too keen to feel bat on ball.

That was certainly the case in the first innings of the second Test. Having fought hard to get in on a Hagley Oval pitch that was still providing the pacemen with some assistance, Markram was looking set for the type of big score that he is desperate to get behind his name as he went from 17 off 69 deliveries shortly after tea to 42 off 103 balls.

The boundaries were coming and Markram looked to be in firm control of proceedings. And then he contrived to edge a wide half-volley from Neil Wagner into the slips.

New Zealand then managed to get through Erwee’s defences in the next over, but the left-hander’s 108 had brought some much-needed solidity to the top-order and carried the Proteas to a dominant position.

It was an innings of enormous maturity and composure by Erwee. There were shots, like the cover-drive, that he refused to visit until he had been at the crease for over an hour. New Zealand’s probing bowling also took him to some dark places, especially as he neared his maiden Test century before tea.

But the 32-year-old rode the ebbs and flows of his innings superbly. He stuck to his determined game-plan of playing as straight as possible and leaving well.

Astute shot-selection was the hallmark of Erwee’s innings. It is a quality Markram needs to revisit, post-haste, if he is to continue his Test career.