They sought two referrals to the decision review system (DRS), one each against Dan Vettori and Kruger van Wyk, and with the second negative response, their ability to make others in that innings was gone.
The outcomes were beside the point. The amount of time it took captain Graeme Smith to consult with his players, who were better positioned, before signalling his request to umpire Billy Doctrove was out of order. The huddle of players could have pulled up a couch, reached for a kettle and given their fingernails a clip before the signal was made.
A recap of the International Cricket Council's regulations is instructive. In the case of the fielding team wanting a referral, only the captain can indicate that intention.
If Smith is fielding some way from the action, as he was on Thursday, by the time he ambled up, had a chat, considered his chances and touched his fist to the underside of his forearm a veritable age had passed.
The ICC again: "The total time elapsed between the ball becoming dead and the review request being made should be no more than a few seconds."
Any consultations between captain and fielders need "to occur almost instantly and be very brief".
If the umpires think the fielding side are dawdling "they may at their discretion decline to review the decisions".
Wouldn't you fancy being there to see the reaction the first time an umpire rubs out a referral on those grounds.
It almost happened yesterday, too, as New Zealand umm'd and aah'd over a catch at the wicket off opener Alviro Petersen. Umpire Aleem Dar stepped forward. Was this to be the moment? Dar looked grumpy. Ross Taylor then gave the signal.
Both teams could easily have been denied a referral and it's high time umpires toughened up.
Sound too tough? No. The drama comes in the wait for the decision, not the excessive dithering over whether to make the referral.
One danger is support staff using their technology to get a quick look and signal the merits of a referral to their players out in the middle.
That's against the rules, but as any followers of sport know that's never been an impediment if it can be made to work.
The DRS has improved decision-making. It is designed to remove the howling error, not fiddle a marginal decision a player's way.
Petersen was plumb lbw inside the opening hour of the test but for whatever reason Dar kept his digit down. New Zealand sought the referral and won it.
A players' perspective on the system came from New Zealand seamer Chris Martin. He reckons the DRS is working well, but with one qualification.
"It's difficult at times to predict trajectories, but it can definitely pick up the line of the ball and whether it's going to carry on to the stumps. But heights I always find awkward with the DRS."
And height - as in the ball passing over the top of the stumps - is so often the element which turns a good-looking shout into the batsman's saviour.
The DRS is good, with a qualification or two. It could be better, and certainly quicker.
