Cricket: Batting blitz buries South Africa

7.05pm

New Zealand allrounders Scott Styris and Chris Cairns both cracked career-best centuries as the home side seized control of the second cricket test against South Africa in Auckland on Saturday.

New Zealand held all the aces after three days, ending 584-8 at stumps in reply to South Africa's first innings of 296 for an overall lead of 288.

In a remarkable day's play, New Zealand added 383 runs and lost just five wickets to sit on their fourth-highest total ever after starting play at 201-3.

Styris dominated the early part of the day with 170 while Cairns took control in the final two sessions, cracking 158 off 171 balls, including 18 fours and seven sixes.

Cairns and Jacob Oram, who played a top supporting role with 90, set a New Zealand seventh wicket partnership record of 225, beating Richard Hadlee and Warren Lees' 186 against Pakistan in Karachi in 1976-77.

"In the context of the game, setting us up for a victory, it could be very satisfying but I always gauge it by the result of the match," Cairns said.

"It's a very good batting surface, I have to acknowledge that."

Styris helped New Zealand get within sight of South Africa's total after resuming on 118, before being dismissed by spinner Nicky Boje 10 minutes before lunch.

He and Craig McMillan added 148 in 158 minutes for the fourth wicket.

Styris passed his previous highest test score of 119, rumbled on to 150 off 191 balls and passed Mathew Sinclair's New Zealand record score against South Africa of 150 scored in Port Elizabeth in 2000-01.

He looked well set for 200 until Boje turned one and it brushed the outside edge for Shaun Pollock to hold a low catch at first slip with New Zealand 11 runs short of South Africa's total.

Styris batted 312 minutes, faced 220 balls and hit 24 fours and two sixes.

McMillan also looked poised for his seventh test century after lunching on 61, but he chopped a Shaun Pollock delivery onto his stumps for 82, scored in 196 minutes off 151 balls.

Cairns then took the attack to Pollock and Kallis with the second new ball, taking 16 off one Pollock over as his first 40 came off 24 balls.

He reached his 21st test 50 off 41 balls in 64 minutes, including 10 fours.

Everything seemed to come off the middle of the bat as he cruised to 99, but was stranded for an over while Oram took 16 off six balls from Boje to reach his third test half-century off 82 deliveries.

Cairns reached his fifth test century off Kallis in the next over, in 147 minutes off 112 balls.

He celebrated in style, passing his previous best of 126 against India, but when he looked set to pass Styris' score he was caught on the boundary by Kallis.

Oram followed in the day's penultimate over, bowled by Makhaya Ntini who ended with three for 101 off 34 overs. All four South Africa pacemen brought up centuries, with Kallis suffering the most with one for 108 off 23.

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA

First innings 296

NEW ZEALAND

First innings (201-3 overnight)

M Richardson c Gibbs b Kallis 45

M Papps c Boje b Pollock 0

S Fleming c Kallis b Ntini 4

S Styris c Pollock b Boje 170

C McMillan b Pollock 82

B McCullum b Ntini 13

C Cairns c Kallis b Smith 158

J Oram b Ntini 90

D Vettori not out 2

D Tuffey not out 5

Extras (10lb, 5nb) 15

Total (for 8 wkts, 144 overs) 584

Fall: 5 (Papps), 12 (Fleming), 137 (Richardson), 285 (Styris),
314 (McMillan), 349 (McCullum), 574 (Cairns), 578 (Oram).

Bowling: S Pollock 30-5-111-2 (1nb), M Ntini 34-7-101-3 (4nb),
D Terbrugge 22-4-93-0, J Kallis 23-1-108-1, N Boje 22-2-108-1, N
McKenzie 2-0-8-0, J Rudolph 6-0-26-0, G Smith 5-0-19-1.

- NZPA