Ken Borland

South Africa cruised to victory against New Zealand, winning the second one-day international by six wickets with 70 balls to spare, to win the series at McLean Park in Napier on Wednesday.

38th over – Some louts in the crowd are chanting “Boooring!”. Justin Ontong responds by trying a rash pull shot off Tim Southee, is late on the shot and edges it over the wicketkeeper for a streaky four runs. The bowler glowers, but this time keeps his mouth closed. There is a look of immense satisfaction on Ontong’s face, followed by one of the brightest smiles in cricket, as he gets the next ball out of the screws, pulling it like a rocket over midwicket for four. AB de Villiers steps outside leg stump to the last ball of the over, Southee tries to follow him, but the ball is on the pads and the South African captain tickles it away to fine leg for four more.

36th over – Justin Ontong is finally off the mark from his eighth delivery with a wonderful on-drive for four off Tim Southee.

33rd over – Lovely timing from AB de Villiers as he waits for the reverse-swing from Andy McKay and then just pushes the ball straight back down the ground for four.

32nd over – WICKET – Tarun Nethula has another one and it’s the big wicket of Hashim Amla, just short of his century! Nethula delivers a perfect-length leg-break, Amla comes forward rather tentatively, there is turn, the outside edge is found and wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum takes the catch. Amla’s 92 off 107 balls, with a dozen fours, was a wonderful innings though, deserving of the highest praise.

28th over – Amla nearly offers a return catch to Nethula, but is quickly on to the next ball, which is quicker, but a fraction short, cutting it emphatically behind point for four.

26th over – Tossed up wide by Nethula and Amla crashes the ball through the covers for four. WICKET – But finally the leg-spinner gets the wicket he deserves as Duminy tries to turn a delivery away on the leg-side. But it’s a slower ball and it goes straight on off the pitch, finding a leading edge and giving Nethula an easy return catch. Duminy’s 43 off 39 balls has helped Amla just about seal the contest though.

23rd over – Kyle Mills is unhappy that umpire Aleem Dar has called a ball outside off stump a wide and he wants a review! The paceman is even grumpier two balls later when Duminy crashes a four through the covers.

22nd over – A neatly-played paddle-sweep by Duminy brings him four runs off Nethula.

20th over – Rotten luck for leg-spinner Nethula, who has actually bowled rather well. Twice Amla tries to heave the ball leg-side but ends up skying the ball. The first time it lands between long-on and deep midwicket, and the second time, Rob Nicol drops a simple catch at long-off, with Amla on 61. The over goes downhill from there, with five wides down the leg-side as wicketkeeper McCullum can’t gather, and Duminy then lashes the last ball of the over through the covers for four.

19th over – Southee drops short again and Duminy comfortably pulls the ball from outside off stump, in front of midwicket for four.

17th over – Amla collects four more with a beautifully-controlled and well-placed hook shot, well in front of square, off Southee.

16th over – Nethula, the leg-spinner controversially brought in for Nathan McCullum, comes on the bowl. A leg-spinner with short square boundaries is always a risk and, predictably, his first ball is slightly short and cut for four by Amla.

14th over – Short from Andy Ellis and Duminy swivel-pulls it in front of fine leg for four.

13th over – Duminy has a lucky escape on two as he tries to turn a straight ball from McKay through square-leg, misses and is given out lbw by umpire Dar. But Duminy quickly calls for a review and the TV umpire rules that he got a scratch of bat on the ball. The Hotspot evidence didn’t look particularly convincing …

12th over – Ellis surprises Faf du Plessis by hitting him on the helmet with a short ball. WICKET – The strongly-built bowler digs the next ball in as well, but Du Plessis disdainfully hooks it high and seemingly over the boundary … But Martin Guptill is right on the rope at deep square-leg and does excellent work to complete the catch. Having caught the ball, he shows tremendous composure, calm and presence of mind to tiptoe next to the line, hop over while tossing the ball back infield, regain his balance and then re-catch the ball! Du Plessis’ fiery knock ends on 34 off 25 balls.

11th over – McKay starts the next over with a half-volley outside off stump, and Du Plessis drives it through the covers for four. The in-form Du Plessis repeats the stroke three balls later and then clips another full ball on his pads past the despairing dive of Nethula at wide mid-on for the third boundary of the over.

10th over – Du Plessis dances down the pitch and launches medium-pacer Ellis high over mid-off for four. Amla ends the over with another boundary, just skilfully running the ball down to third man.

8th over – Du Plessis ruins a tidy over from Southee by standing tall and belting the last ball of the over square through the off side for four.

7th over – Left-arm seamer McKay drops short and wide to Amla, who lambasts the ball through cover-point for another boundary.

5th over – Du Plessis gets off the mark as he elegantly strokes a wide delivery from Mills through extra cover for four. Amla is on fire as he ends the over with another pair of successive boundaries, punching a slower ball straight down the ground and then cuts a short ball behind square.

4th over – Phwoar! What batting by Amla as he collects three boundaries off Southee’s over. The first ball of the over is wide of off stump and stroked through the covers with magnificent ease. Amla then ends the over with successive boundaries as he works Southee off his hip with tremendous timing through midwicket, and then punches a superb square-drive through point.

3rd over – Amla flashes a square-drive off Mills through point for four. The wristy Amla will probably enjoy these short square boundaries … Kallis, opening the batting in place of the injured Graeme Smith, then gets off the mark with a classic straight drive down the ground for four. WICKET – But Kallis is out next ball as he just throws the bat at a wide delivery from Mills and gets an inside edge. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum takes a super catch diving forward as the ball dies on him.

New Zealand innings

South Africa’s bowlers answered their captain’s call in superb fashion as they bowled New Zealand out for 230 in the second one-day international at McLean Park in Napier on Wednesday.

48th over – WICKET – Morne Morkel has his first five-wicket haul in ODIs as Andy Ellis (19) heaves a slower ball to Dale Steyn at long-on.

47th over – Ellis, meanwhile, has been defiant at the other end, but he now opens his shoulders and launches Jacques Kallis for a marvellous six straight down the ground.

46th over – Morne Morkel is once again on a hat-trick after again taking two wickets in two balls! WICKET – First of all Morne gets revenge for how Tim Southee treated his brother in the previous over, the batsman flat-batting a shortish delivery to Dale Steyn at mid-on. Southee scored 28 off 27 balls, with a pair of fours and sixes. WICKET – Tarun Nethula then fishes outside off stump at his first delivery in ODIs, getting a thin edge through to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.

45th over – Albie Morkel returns and is unfortunate to concede a boundary first ball as Tim Southee once again backs away and gets an outside edge. But the next two deliveries are poor – short and then on the pads, and are hammered for leg-side sixes by Southee.

43rd over – Southee much prefers the slower stuff and he straight drives left-arm spinner Robin Peterson for six.

38th over – Morne Morkel uses steep bounce to make a double-strike! WICKET – James Franklin (6) can’t handle the steep bounce and, in trying to steer the ball away on the off-side, gets a bottom edge off his angled bat and back into the stumps. WICKET – Morkel follows up with a well-directed short delivery that lifts at new batsman Kyle Mills’ throat, he fends at the ball and Peterson dives forward in the gully to take the catch. Southee survives the hat-trick ball as he rapidly withdraws his bat and gloves from another snorter outside off stump.

36th over – WICKET – Steyn returns and claims South Africa’s third wicket of the powerplay! Jesse Ryder edges a flatfooted poke outside off stump and is caught behind by De Villiers for a two-ball duck.

35th over – WICKET – Lonwabo Tsotsobe strikes a major blow as Brendon McCullum whips a ball off his pads, but straight to Justin Ontong on the deep square-leg boundary! McCullum overcame a shaky start to score a pugnacious 85 off 96 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. Tsotsobe ends his accurate spell with his first half-volley, which Franklin clips through wide mid-on for four.

34th over – A tremendous shot by McCullum as he leans back and pulls a Morne Morkel short ball through wide mid-on for four.

33rd over – WICKET – New Zealand take the batting powerplay but it provides Kallis with an early opportunity to show how brilliant he is in the field as well. Kane Williamson (13) steps out to drive Tsotsobe, but skews the ball high over mid-on. Kallis runs back and takes a superbly-judged catch behind his head.

31st over – An awkward hook shot by McCullum, but he still gets six runs off Kallis! The two Kolkata Knight Riders team-mates had a good chuckle about that mis-hit …

27th over – JP Duminy almost pulls off a spectacular catch! Williamson, on six, tries to drive Kallis off the back foot, gets an edge and Duminy, standing as a lone slip in about third slip position, dives full-length to his right, getting one hand to the ball, but can’t hold on.

25th over – A great shot by McCullum as he is quickly on to a short ball from Kallis, pulling it powerfully through midwicket for four. WICKET – But Golden Arm Kallis does the job he was brought on to do, getting the wicket and breaking the partnership of 107 off 113 balls. Martin Guptill tries to cut a delivery that is too close to him, and there is extra bounce, a top edge being taken comfortably by wicketkeeper De Villiers. Guptill continued his great form, though, with his impressive 58 off 73 balls, seeing New Zealand off to a fine start.

23rd over – Guptill celebrates reaching his 16th ODI half-century with a fine shot, slapping Peterson through a packed cover field for another boundary. McCullum also completes his half-century with a paddle-sweep for two runs, having faced just 53 balls and hit eight fours and a six. The Kiwi captain has faltered at times, but there have been plenty of fluid strokes too.

22nd over – Guptill completes another impressive half-century as he works Tsotsobe off his hip for a single to fine leg. Guptill has faced 63 balls and hit seven fours.

21st over – Peterson tosses up a half-volley outside off stump and Guptill launches the ball over the covers for four to take New Zealand past 100. The left-arm spinner then bowls McCullum a long-hop, which he heaves over midwicket for the first six of the innings.

20th over – Again, a fraction short from Steyn and Guptill crunches the ball off the back foot, through the covers, for a superb boundary.

19th over – Left-arm spinner Peterson switches ends but concedes his first boundary as McCullum clears the front leg and punches the ball through the covers. The next delivery draws a leading edge which drops just short of the bowler!

17th over – Successive boundaries for McCullum as he pulls a poor short ball from Steyn past backward square-leg and then lashes a cut through point.

15th over – Wonderful timing by Guptill as he punches Albie Morkel off the back foot, through a sliding Tsotsobe at mid-on, for four.

13th over – Albie Morkel joins the attack, but it’s a poor start as his first ball slides into the pads and Guptill clips it through midwicket for four.

12th over – Another very fortunate boundary for New Zealand as McCullum shies away from a Morne Morkel short ball, but it follows him, comes off the edge of the bat and flies to the third man fence.

11th over – A bad over for Tsotsobe. He drags a slower ball down and McCullum crunches a cut through cover-point for four. But McCullum totally miscues a drive at the next delivery, popping the ball back to the bowler, who gets both hands to the ball but can’t hang on! McCullum has a life on 18.

10th over – Plenty of swinging and missing from Guptill as Morne Morkel bowls an excellent maiden over.

9th over – McCullum edges a heave at Tsotsobe to third man, where Morne Morkel rushes in, but can’t reach the catch, the ball going for four. Tsotsobe continues to tempt the New Zealand captain outside off stump, but the fifth ball is too full and McCullum lashes a wonderful drive through extra cover for another four.

8th over – Morne Morkel’s first over and the penultimate ball is short and wide, and Guptill dispatches it over point for four.

7th over – WICKET – Rob Nicol is out for 11, but it’s Lonwabo Tsotsobe who gets his wicket. Nicol steps across his stumps to try and flick the left-arm seamer through square-leg, misses and is plumb lbw. McCullum comes in and ends the over playing the shot Nicol should have played, working Tsotsobe off the stumps and in front of midwicket for four.

6th over – Nicol hops down the pitch and powers Steyn through mid-on for four. That will make him feel better after being struck on the back in Steyn’s previous over.

3rd over – Tsotsobe starts his second over with a short, wide delivery and Guptill cuts it crisply for four. Four balls later, another short delivery, this time on off-stump, is swatted through midwicket for four by Guptill.

2nd over – Steyn will bowl the second over and immediately has Nicol in trouble. The Aucklander wafts at the first ball and edges it for four just over a leaping Jacques Kallis at second slip. The second ball also swings away and Nicol is squared up, edging a single past gully.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies worked his magic with the boot as he kicked the Lions to a hard-fought 27-25 (half-time 12-19) victory over the Cheetahs in their all-South African SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Jantjies scored all 27 of the Lions’ points through nine penalties, a SuperRugby record, missing just two attempts at goal.

Jannie Kruger (Northern Transvaal 1996), Willie Walker (Otago, 2003), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs, 2006) and Derick Hougaard (Bulls, 2007) had all previously kicked eight penalties in a match.

Opposite number Johan Goosen ensured the Lions had to work exceptionally hard for their victory, however, as he kicked even more impressively, landing all seven of his attempts at goal, including a 48m snap drop goal and a phenomenal 57m penalty.

The Lions effectively won the game when the 19-year-old Goosen was out of action, the Cheetahs flyhalf being yellow-carded between the 54th and 64th minutes for twice not rolling away in the tackle, before leaving the field with a head injury in the 68th minute.

Both scrumhalf Tewis de Bruyn and replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn missed relatively straightforward penalties while Goosen was off the field.

The Cheetahs ensured that they led from the ninth to the 71st minute as they scored the only try of the match, with prop WP Nel muscling his way over the tryline from close range in the ninth minute.

“If you concede two yellow cards and 16 penalties then you’re not going to win. We didn’t play badly, but bad discipline cost us. Johan Goosen kicked really well, but tactically, especially in the second half, we could have controlled the game better,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said.

With both teams often floundering at the breakdowns, Goosen was presented with several penalties, but it was a credit to Jantjies’ composure that he also kept chipping away at the other end.

“The breakdown was always going to be scrappy, but it was a learning curve for us. It was definitely frustrating, maybe the guys aren’t used to the referee’s calls this early in the season, we struggled with the timing of getting our hands off the ball and leaving daylight. But Elton is an exceptional player, he’s proved it time and time again,” Lions captain Joshua Strauss said.

The match-winning penalty came with seven minutes remaining as Cheetahs replacement flank Ashley Johnson hit centre Doppies la Grange with a high tackle and Jantjies calmly slotted the kick from 40 metres out.

Scorers

Lions – Penalties: Elton Jantjies (9).

Cheetahs – Try: WP Nel. Conversion: Johan Goosen. Penalties: Goosen (5). Drop goal: Goosen.

The Bulls successfully used the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn to subdue the Sharks and win their all-South African SuperRugby match 18-13 (half-time 0-0) at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The first half was marred by scrappy play, poor handling and little vision on attack and it ended scoreless.
But the Bulls dominated the first half-hour of the second half, with Steyn, the franchise’s leading points-scorer with 991, kicking penalties in the 43rd, 49th, 53rd, 56th and 58th minutes.
The Bulls physically dominated the breakdown, but their own errors prevented them from gaining much momentum and they showed little ambition on attack, preferring to use up-and-unders by Steyn and the brilliant chasing and aerial skills of wing Bjorn Basson.
Steyn also used the time and space given to him by the strong driving of his forwards to stroke over a 68th-minute drop goal that gave the Bulls a healthy 18-6 lead.
The Sharks managed just two penalties from flyhalf Pat Lambie in the first 70 minutes, but began to keep ball in hand far more effectively during the closing stages as they stretched the Bulls.
The visitors scored the only try of the match as wing Lwazi Mvovo made a strong run down the right, before replacement flank Jacques Botes provided the support to complete the try, which was converted by Lambie.
But the Bulls defence held for the last nine minutes as the 2007, 2009 and 2010 champions made a winning start to the competition.
“It was a combination of eagerness and dew on the ball, but every time we got in their half, we just seemed unable to keep the ball. It was frustrating, but in the second half we picked up our focus and got some points,” Bulls captain Pierre Spies told a news conference after the game.
“There was good defence on both sides and there were no easy yards and no gaps out there. There was a lot of play between the two 10-metre lines and a lot of it was about field position and tactical kicking. The collisions were big, but we controlled the ball well in contact, which was important for us to build pressure,” coach Frans Ludeke said.
Sharks coach John Plumtree conceded that his team did not deserve to win.
“I’m proud of the way we came back at the end, but you can’t win games if you make so many basic errors. Our lineout did not function and we couldn’t dominate the gain-line. They stressed us, their box-kicks were outstanding, and we gave away 14 penalties, so there’s a lot for us to do,” Plumtree said.