Ken Borland

Kyle Verreynne went to a superb maiden Test century and Kagiso Rabada was explosive with both bat and ball to put South Africa in firm control of the second Test against New Zealand on the fourth day at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.

Verreynne’s 136 not out, a magnificent innings combining bravery, tenacity, composure and skill, carried the Proteas to 354/9 declared in their second innings.

It allowed them to set New Zealand the daunting target of 426, which has never been successfully chased in Test cricket before, and the home side had struggled to 94/4 at stumps on the penultimate day.

Rabada removed both openers, Will Young (0) and Tom Latham (1) in his first two overs and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj then began to weave his magic as he bowled both Henry Nicholls (7) and Daryl Mitchell (24) with brilliant deliveries.

Rabada ended the day with 2/17 in eight overs, while Maharaj bowled 16 overs and claimed 2/32.

Devon Conway was the one batsman to frustrate the Proteas as he showed plenty of determination, sticking around for 127 deliveries and reaching 60 not out.

South Africa began the fourth day on 140/5, just 211 ahead, and Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder had to show great composure and skill to get through the crucial first hour.

They took their sixth-wicket stand to 78 before Mulder fell for a valuable 35 on the first drinks break, wicketkeeper Tom Blundell taking a fine diving catch off Kyle Jamieson.

South Africa took lunch on 232/7 and a remarkable second session followed as Verreynne and a ferocious Rabada were in rampant form with the bat.

Rabada blasted a career-best 47 off just 34 balls with four sixes, while Verreynne also cut loose as 69 runs were thrashed in the first eight overs after the break.

New Zealand’s frustration did not end either with Rabada’s dismissal, as Verreynne added another 57 runs with Maharaj and Lutho Sipamla before the declaration came at the tea break.

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.

George Linde has obviously found married life to be to his liking as he led Western Province to victory over the Boland Rocks with a fine display with both bat and ball on the opening day of the CSA T20 Challenge at St George’s Park on Monday.

Linde, who pulled out of the Proteas tour to New Zealand due to his wedding last weekend, was outstanding with the ball as he took 2/13 in four overs as Boland were restricted to 142/6 after electing to bat first.

They got that far thanks to a partnership of 79 between Christiaan Jonker (46) and Ferisco Adams (34), both of whom were dismissed in the space of three balls by the orthodox left-armer.

Fellow spinner Junaid Dawood (4-0-20-1) and left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks (4-0-28-2) were also impressive for Western Province.

The Western Province chase was given a superb start by returning opening batsman Richard Levi, who slammed 67 off 39 balls, despite another former international, fast bowler Hardus Viljoen, taking 3/16 in three overs.

But Levi was dismissed in the 13^th over with 42 runs required, giving Boland a chance of getting back in the game.

But Linde then scored 20 not out and, with Aviwe Mgijima (26*) steered Western Province home with three overs to spare.

The Northerns Titans, with Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen and Theunis de Bruyn providing plenty of batting power, and spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Aaron Phangiso dominating the middle overs, have been installed as one of the favourites for the competition.

But they were beaten by 8 runs by the Eastern Province Warriors as their batting failed to fire and poor bowling with the new ball and in the closing overs undid their good work in the middle.

Sent in to bat, Matthew Breetzke (36 off 21) and Wihan Lubbe raced to 65 inside the first seven overs.

The Northerns spinners, led by slow left-armer Phangiso’s 1/24 in four overs, then fought back, but Lubbe batted through to the 17^th over for his well-controlled 56 off 46 balls and Tristan Stubbs provided a matchwinning boost by lashing an outstanding 51 off 27 deliveries to take EP to 163/8.

Lizaad Williams dismissed them both to finish with 2/29 in his four overs.

Lubbe then claimed the key wicket of De Kock for a two-ball duck in the opening over and Gihahn Cloete (23), De Bruyn (17) and Klaasen (20) were all unable to build on starts.

The talented Donovan Ferreira belted 60 not out off 40 balls but did not have enough support as Northerns closed on 155/8.

Lubbe took 2/15 in two overs, but the best Warriors bowler was the experienced Jon-Jon Smuts, who conceded just 12 runs in his four overs and claimed the key wicket of Klaasen.

You know you have made an impression on the cricket field when AB de Villiers tweets about how excited he is to watch you bat, Ravi Shastri says you remind him of his childhood hero and Ian Chappell wonders why you weren’t playing Test cricket earlier.

Keegan Petersen was so impressive in South Africa’s Test triumph over India, taking the Man of the Series award for his 276 runs at an average of 46, scoring 41 more runs than anyone else, that the world has taken notice of the new number three’s performance against the top-ranked side.

De Villiers said “Keegan Petersen CAN play! I’m very excited with the composure, skill and technique I’ve seen against one of the best attacks in the world.”

Shastri, India’s former captain and the coach who made them a dominant force before he stepped down last year, called Petersen “a great world player in the making. My childhood hero Gundappa Viswanath comes to mind.”

Viswanath played 91 Tests for India and scored 6080 runs at an average of 41.93 between 1969 and 1983. He was a wristy stylist who was at his best when the conditions were at their toughest.

Former Australian captain Chappell, in his column for CricInfo, wondrered where Petersen has been all this time. “He has all the requirements of a Test No. 3, including a wide range of shots that he is prepared to play, plus a solid defence. So why is he only playing now?” he asked.

Out of the public eye, Petersen’s new-found fame has led to him being swamped with well-wishers, especially in his home town of Paarl, where he went with his family after the Test series.

“I don’t think my phone has ever been as busy as it has been for the last few days,” Petersen told The Citizen. “To have such legends talking about you, anything they say is really nice.

“It’s been a bit of a star-struck few days. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. My whole family and friends came to see me in Paarl, but I’m not complaining.

“It is their honour too. I am a product of my community and I owe a lot to them,” Petersen said.

Educated at New Orleans Secondary School, Petersen popped into his old school last week as the guest of honour to welcome the new pupils. It’s a close-knit school, well-known for its family values as much as the many sports stars they have produced.

And, in terms of his life outside of cricket, Petersen makes it clear that family is his priority.

“All my time outside of cricket goes to my family, my wife and three kids – two boys and a girl – because I’m away enough with cricket,” Petersen said.

“We enjoy watching movies, Netflix, having a braai or potjiekos. I’m not very outgoing but we enjoy going to the beach.”

Speaking of family, Petersen credits his father, Dirkie, as having been the major influence on his cricketing career. Currently a teacher at New Orleans SS, Petersen senior was a talented all-round sportsman playing fullback for the SA Tertiary Institutes rugby team and cricket for Paarl, alongside Adrian Kuiper and Marais Erasmus.

“He’s always been there through my career and probably knows my game better than I do,” Petersen junior said. “I don’t think he can throw anymore because he’s thrown me so many balls.

“I’m so grateful to him. He was a wicketkeeper/batsman, a decent player, but I only watched him at the back end of his career in club cricket.”

The 28-year-old Petersen said there were plenty of nerves to get over during the Test series against India. But he’s the sort of character who is comfortable pushing himself and rising to challenges.

He was a prolific scorer for Boland after making his debut for them in 2011/12, but struggled to gain a regular starting place in a powerful Cape Cobras batting line-up. So he moved to Bloemfontein for greater opportunity and flourished for the Knights. Last season he moved to the Dolphins – “to upskill myself in a new challenge on turning pitches” – and helped them to the four-day title.

Those butterflies were flying in perfect formation by the end of the Test series as any questions over Petersen’s place in the Proteas team were firmly erased.