Cricket: Black Caps batsmen face daunting assignment

New Zealand's Daniel Vettori (right) celebrates with team mate Brendon McCullum after taking the wicket of South Africa's Shaun Pollock for 10 runs on the third day of their first test cricket match in Pretoria. Picture / Reuters

CENTURION - New Zealand's batsmen are facing a daunting last-innings examination against South Africa tonight (NZT), an assignment complicated by a pitch that's about as wildly inconsistent as their own top-order.

Having headed into the third day of the match with a useful advantage, New Zealand ended it behind the eight-ball last night after a late flurry pushed South Africa through to 289 for nine in their second innings, a lead of 229 with one wicket intact.

AB de Villiers and New Zealand's long-time nemesis Nicky Boje led the counter-attack until they were both dismissed shortly before stumps for 97 and 31 respectively, leaving South Africa's final pair of Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini unbeaten overnight.

The concern for New Zealand this evening, apart from removing the last pocket of South African resistance, will revolve around the difficulty of chasing any total in excess of 220, given the dreadful irregularity in bounce at both ends of the wicket.

Already we've seen deliveries rearing from a length, stopping, keeping low, and on occasions not bouncing at all, conditions that have made run-scoring a lottery for all the batsmen, even those few who have proved productive.

Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori chanced their arms on Day 2, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers scored half centuries yesterday, but none looked at ease on the contrary surface, and the trend will almost certainly continue today.

Resuming yesterday morning at four without loss and trailing by 47 runs, South Africa's top-order turned on a fairly decent impersonation of New Zealand's effort the day before, slumping to 42 for three against the new ball, and 73 for four soon after lunch.

New Zealand then landed a significant blow when part-timer Scott Styris ended the defiance of dangerman Jacques Kallis to leave South Africa under the cosh at tea; 147 for five with a lead of just 96 and the lower-order exposed.


It began with Chris Martin trapping Graeme Smith in front for the second time in the test, after which James Franklin and Oram accounted for Herschelle Gibbs and Boeta Dippenaar, respectively - the latter expertly caught by Stephen Fleming.

Kallis threatened to take the game away from the tourists while battling to 62 off 159 balls, but when Styris tempted him into an ill-advised hook-shot the game was again blown wide open, with both sides left grappling for the initiative.

Even when South Africa received a boost in the shape of a 54-run partnership for the sixth wicket between de Villiers and Mark Boucher, the joy was short-lived – Boucher playing on to Mills, and new batsman Shaun Pollock following soon after.

Ultimately though, it was de Villiers who gave his side the edge, arriving in the 31st over, bringing up his eighth test half-century in 140 minutes (99 balls), and marshalling a critical fight-back in tandem with Boucher and Boje.

His most influential period was late in the final session when he teamed up with Boje to flay the second new ball; the pair plundering 39 runs off five overs as first Franklin, then Martin and finally Oram haemorrhaged a critical advantage.

De Villiers finally fell in the third-last over before stumps, lashing Oram to cover and falling three short of his fourth test century, and was followed back eight balls later by Boje, who was caught at the wicket off Nathan Astle.

Though it would have been a relief for New Zealand to see the back of the pair, the fear last night was that damage had already been done.