Ken Borland

New Zealand staged an outstanding fightback in the post-tea session to reduce South Africa to 191 for seven at stumps on the first day of the first test at the University Oval in Dunedin on Wednesday.

49th over – WICKET – More good bowling by Doug Bracewell this time gets its reward. Dale Steyn (9) pushes at an away-swinger that also bounces more than expected, edging a catch to second slip. But Martin Guptill punches the chance, only for Ross Taylor at first slip to juggle the rebound before eventually hanging on to the chance!

47th over – Jacques Rudolph has a reprieve on 32 as Bracewell swings the ball back into the left-hander, the lbw appeal is turned down but replays show it was plumb. But the review is unsuccessful because the replay also shows Bracewell has bowled a no-ball!

45th over – Another crazy run by South Africa but this time they get the unjust reward of five runs. Steyn pushed Bracewell just in front of square on the off side and called for the run. Tim Southee’s throw was over the stumps as Rudolph dived desperately, and it beat the back-up fielder and ran to the boundary.

44th over – WICKET – South Africa have been dicing with death with their stupid running between the wickets all day and now they pay the price. Rudolph dabs Daniel Vettori to backward point, Bracewell moves quickly to his right and also gets his throw in quickly. Wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk then produces sharp glovework to gather the ball on the bounce and quickly break the stumps, catching Mark Boucher (4) short of the crease.

42nd over – WICKET – Four balls after the drinks break and Hashim Amla suffers a lapse in concentration. He tries to cut left-arm spinner Vettori, there is an extra bounce, and Amla edges the ball into wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk’s gloves, from where it loops to Taylor at slip. Amla played some great shots in his 62, with eight fours and a six, but would have wanted more! Mark Boucher comes in and is down the pitch to his second ball, flicking Vettori on the full through midwicket for four.

41st over – Amla very nearly gives Doug Bracewell a return catch, but the third umpire confirms the ball bounced just in front of the bowler’s fingers. Bracewell follows up with a poor delivery though, a long-hop outside off stump, and Amla leans back and it clatters through cover-point for four.

38th over – Trent Boult just misses the yorker and Rudolph clips the low full toss through midwicket for four. Amla then completes a 90-ball half-century as he emphatically drives a half-volley through the covers for his sixth four. Amla celebrates by repeating the stroke off the next delivery.

37th over – Amla edges Chris Martin wide of third slip for four, which encourages the pace bowler to pitch the next ball up. Amla strides forward and punches the ball impressively through the covers for four.

36th over – Boult replaces the disappointing Tim Southee, but bowls too short outside off stump and Rudolph is quickly on to the cut, with great power, and the pull shot to pick up two boundaries in the over.

34th over – Southee is releasing the pressure at the other end: A full ball outside off stump with some width is lashed through cover-point for four by Amla. Southee ends the over by also offering Rudolph width, and is slapped away for four more runs.

30th over – Southee strays on to leg stump and Amla flicks the ball beautifully through midwicket for four.

29th over – Martin turns the innings on its head with a sensational burst of three wickets in four balls! WICKET – Martin produces a beauty with the first ball of the over to remove Jacques Kallis for a duck. Kallis is squared up and there is extra bounce, his prod at the ball sending an edge flying to first slip, where Ross Taylor dives to his left to take a super catch. WICKET – AB de Villiers is trapped lbw first ball by Martin, who jags a delivery back into the batsman, who is stuck in the crease and wafts at the ball rather aimlessly.

28th over – Southee bowls too short and a touch wide and Amla places his square-cut to perfection to collect his first four.

27th over – A great first over after tea by Martin brings reward. WICKET – Martin beats Graeme Smith a couple of times outside off stump and the irritated South African captain then reaches for a drive at a wide delivery, hitting the ball straight to Rob Nicol at a shortish cover. Smith showed plenty of determination in his two hours at the crease for 53 off 74 balls, but his team needed more from him.

Graeme Smith was eager to impose himself on the match as he steered South Africa to 86 for one at tea on the first day of the first test against New Zealand at the University Oval in Dunedin on Wednesday.

25th over – South Africa have had to dig in for the last half-hour or so as New Zealand’s bowlers clawed the run-rate back, but Smith now completes a determined half-century off 66 balls as he flicks a full ball from Tim Southee that is just outside off stump, through midwicket with great timing for four.

22nd over – Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has troubled Hashim Amla, who is determined to do something about it. Amla charges down the wicket, is nowhere near the pitch of the ball, but reaches for the drive and gets it over mid-on for six!

12th over – A commanding stroke by Smith as he gets confidently on to the front foot and drives a fullish delivery from left-armer Trent Boult with the angle, from just outside off stump and in front of midwicket for four super runs.

10th over – WICKET – Alviro Petersen tries to drive a full ball from Boult wide of mid-on, misses and is given out lbw for 11 after New Zealand call for a review of umpire Aleem Dar’s original not out decision. Only an inside-edge could have saved Petersen, but alas, there wasn’t one. He was driving so well, perhaps he was lulled into a false sense of security …

9th over – Too full from Chris Martin and Petersen drives beautifully straight down the ground for four.

8th over – And Boult starts his second over poorly with a half-volley outside off stump, which Smith punches through mid-on for four.

6th over – Left-arm seamer Boult is brought on in an early bowling change, but it doesn’t go well as he concedes 11 runs in the over. His second ball is too short and Smith pulls well for his second boundary, while his last delivery is over-pitched and pushed crisply straight down the ground for four by Petersen.

3rd over – Martin is struggling early on to bowl a consistent line and, having pitched the ball outside leg stump, Smith can comfortably clip the ball of his wickets, down to fine leg for the first boundary of the test.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith described his team as not being mentally tough enough ahead of the series-deciding third test against Sri Lanka starting at Newlands on Tuesday.
South Africa won the first test at Centurion by an innings, but then suffered an ignominious 208-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in last week’s test in Durban.
“I can’t fault the training nor the effort, they’ve been outstanding. But mentally we need to be a bit stronger, that’s the only thing I can put my finger on. We just didn’t adapt well to conditions in Durban and recently, we haven’t played our best cricket in those conditions. But when we’ve toured the sub-continent, we’ve adapted well, so maybe it is more of a mindset thing.
“It’s easier for us when the ball does go through and there’s good carry, but when it doesn’t, we need to adapt, we need to shift mentally,” Smith told a news conference at Newlands on Monday.
Sri Lanka, having failed to win their eight previous tests in South Africa before coming to Durban, were seen as rank underdogs but can now win the series if they beat the hosts in Cape Town.

    “We have had a very hard time here and before the series, everyone was saying that we are underdogs and can’t beat South Africa. But if we play our brand of cricket and stick to the basics, then we believe that we can perform in any conditions,” Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said.

    South Africa have made two changes to their starting XI for the third test, with 34-year-old left-handed batsman Ashwell Prince being dropped after he scored just 11, being caught reverse-sweeping, and seven, during which he was complicit in the running out of Hashim Amla for 51, in Durban.

    Alviro Petersen replaces Prince and will open the batting with Smith, with Jacques Rudolph dropping down to number six.

    Seamer Vernon Philander, who has taken 24 wickets in his first three tests, will return to the side after he suffered a minor knee injury in Durban. Marchant de Lange is the unfortunate bowler to stand down after he took seven wickets in the first innings of the second test.

    Sri Lanka are waiting on the fitness of wicketkeeper/batsman Dinesh Chandimal, who entered test cricket with a bang at Kingsmead, scoring half-centuries in each innings, but was struck a nasty blow on the elbow while batting in the nets on Sunday.

    “Chandimal’s elbow is getting better, but it’s a bruise in a nasty place. It would be a loss for us if he can’t play, because he did a great job for us in the last test,” Dilshan said.

    The fitness of Dilhara Fernando is also in doubt, with Dilshan saying the veteran pace bowler was suffering from knee pain. The 28-year-old seamer Dhammika Prasad is in line to take his place.

    For South Africa, the pressure is on for them to put another infuriatingly inconsistent year behind them and start 2012 with a win.

    “All these ups and downs – it’s been the story of my career! I’ve played under that pressure since I was 22 and I was probably stupid enough to take the captaincy at that age! But it’s about bouncing back and getting things right over the next five days,” Smith said.

    South Africa team – Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.

    Probable Sri Lanka team – Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhammika Prasad, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath, Chanaka Welegedara.