CAPE TOWN - Stephen Fleming was walking in the footsteps of giants this morning after posting his third double-century and steering New Zealand into an unassailable position in the second test against South Africa.
By the time stumps were drawn on the second day, though not nearly as drawn as
South African captain Graeme Smith, New Zealand had surged through to 538 for eight, courtesy of a magnificent 262 from Fleming.
The New Zealand skipper, bowled by part-timer Ashwell Prince in the last act of the day, received inspirational support throughout from trusty side-kick James Franklin, who was unbeaten on 93 at the end, having shared in a record eighth wicket partnership worth 256.
The stand was the second highest in test history for the eighth wicket, bettered only by the 313 posted by Pakistan's Saqlain Mustaq and Wasim Akram against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura in 1996.
The Wellington team-mates came together last night after the lame dismissal of Daniel Vettori, and proceeded to defy the South Africans for the rest of the day; Franklin proving particularly courageous after being struck in the back of the head by a Makhaya Ntini bouncer.
Undeterred, he continued on as the 100 stand was raised off 180 balls, and as the record fell for the eighth-wicket parftnership against South Africa - previously 113 set by Jacob Oram and Vettori at Hamilton two summers ago.
For all his resistance, it was Fleming who re-confirmed his star status over the course of the light-affected day, surviving a life on 136 before taking a heavy toll on the hosts' bowling, bringing up his 150 after the lunch interval and raising his double-century just before tea.
It was Fleming's ninth test century, his first against the Proteas and the highest by any New Zealander against South Africa, eclipsing Scott Styris' previous record of 170, scored against Smith's tourists at Auckland in 2003-04.
He now stands as the only New Zealand to have scored three double hundreds, having moved ahead of the brace scored by Glenn Turner and Mathew Sinclair to lie in fourth position on the list of highest individual scores.
The only New Zealanders to have scored more in a test innings are Martin Crowe (299), Fleming (274 not out) and Bryan Young (267 not out).
Resuming at 114 last night, Fleming went to his 150 off 267 balls and brought up his 200 off 331 balls with his 28th boundary, becoming one of only 11 New Zealanders to have achieved the feat.
His defiant stand, and the unyielding suppport from Franklin at the other end, must have been a galling sight for Smith, who had earlier surprised everyone - even the New Zealanders - by winning the toss and electing to bowl first.
Smith's choice was something of a record in itself; the last captain to make such a move was South African Hubert "Nummy" Deane in 1928 against England.
His team lost.
It was also a potentially expensive error, in that New Zealand have included two spinners in their line-up - Vettori and Jeetan Patel - in the belief that the pitch could crumble and take increasing amounts of turn over the last two days.
South Africa's hopes of wrapping up the innings seemed bright when Vettori threw his wicket away in the morning session, miscuing an ambitious pull shot off Ntini after he'd taken a boundary off the previous ball.
But from there on in, the hosts were forced into a containment role as Fleming and Franklin combined forces and dug in for the long haul, batting sensibly but still managing to skip along at 3.4 an over for the day.
By the time the pair had RSVP'd Smith's invitation last night, the South Africans had fallen fully on to the defensive, employing umbrella fields and just a solitary slip for all their bowlers - even the ever attacking Ntini.
THE TOP BRACKET
Highest Individual Test Scores by a New Zealander:
299 Martin Crowe v Sri Lanka at Wellington, 1st Test, 1990-91
274* Stephen Fleming v Sri Lanka at Colombo (PSS), 1st Test, 2003
267* Bryan Young v Sri Lanka at Dunedin, 1st Test, 1996-97
262 Stephen Fleming v South Africa, 2nd test, Cape Town, 2005-06
259 Glenn Turner v West Indies at Georgetown, 4th Test, 1971-72
239 Graham Dowling v India at Christchurch, 2nd Test, 1967-68
230* Bert Sutcliffe v India at Delhi, 3rd Test, 1955-56
224 Lou Vincent v Sri Lanka at Wellington, 2nd Test, 2004-05
223* Glenn Turner v West Indies at Kingston, 1st Test, 1971-72
222 Nathan Astle v England at Christchurch, 1st Test, 2001-02
214 Mathew Sinclair v West Indies at Wellington, 2nd Test, 1999-00
206 Martin Donnelly v England at Lord's, 2nd Test, 1949
204* Mathew Sinclair v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2nd Test, 2000-01
202 Stephen Fleming v Bangladesh at Chittagong, 2nd Test, 2004-05
SCOREBOARD
At stumps on the second day of the second cricket test between South Africa and New Zealand at Newlands today.
New Zealand
First innings (overnight 265-6)
M Papps b Nel 22
P Fulton c Boucher b Steyn 36
S F leming b Prince 262
S Styris c Dippenaar b Ntini 11
N Astle lbw Ntini 50
J Oram run out (Prince) 13
B McCullum lbw Ntini 5
D Vettori c Nel b Ntini 11
J Franklin not out 93
Extras (3b 14lb 14nb 1w) 32
Total (for 8 wkt s, 152 overs): 535
Fall: 50 (Papps) 62 (Fulton) 82 (Styris) 188 (Astle) 237 (Oram) 259 (McCullum) 279 (Vettori) Fleming (535)
Bowling: M Ntini 36-3-131-4 (2nb); D Steyn 26-3-93-1 (10nb 1w); A Nel 27-3-98-1 (1nb); J Kallis 15-4-45-0 (1nb); N Boje 29-4-89-0; G Smith 16-2-56-0; H Amla 1-0-4-0; A Prince 2-0-2-1
New Zealand's Stephen Fleming celebrates his double century against South Africa last night. Picture / Reuters
CAPE TOWN - Stephen Fleming was walking in the footsteps of giants this morning after posting his third double-century and steering New Zealand into an unassailable position in the second test against South Africa.
By the time stumps were drawn on the second day, though not nearly as drawn as
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.