First Test
Day 2 of 5:
South Africa 95 and 34/3
New Zealand 482
Johannesburg - Friday was a bad day for the South African cricket team. It was downright embarrassing at times.
It was the second bad day in a row.
It started in the first 30 minutes of play on Friday when Neil Wagner thrashed half a dozen boundaries and concluded with the loss of three wickets in the final 40 minutes. What had been a docile pitch for the 80-odd overs when the Proteas bowled, suddenly became a snake-pit as Tim Southee and the omnipresent Matt Henry laid waste to the touring side’s top order.
With everyone expecting an urgent reaction to Thursday’s dismal batting and poor fielding,the Proteas instead dished up half volleys which the nightwatchman, Wagner, feasted on. He smashed three boundaries in a row off Kagiso Rabada’s first over, in doing so setting the tone for the day.
By the time morning drinks were being consumed New Zealand had added 74 runs to their overnight total of 116/3 and their lead was closing in on a 100.
It wasn’t the start that the South Africans had talked about at the end of play on Thursday when they were still very much in the match despite the mediocre first innings total and dropping four catches in the final session.
❌ DAY 2 | STUMPS
That's a wrap for Day 2 of the opening Test as the #Proteas end the day on 34/3, trailing New Zealand by a further 353 runs
📝 Scorecard https://t.co/c1ztvrT95P#NZvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/nuxgIjbxZL
Instead Wagner, encouraged by some of those stylish drives, then hammered the short balls too, hooking a four and two sixes as he closed in on a second Test 50. Sadly for the left hander, he fell one run short of the landmark when he flicked Rabada to Rassie van der Dussen at deep midwicket.
Wagner’s efforts had allowed the senior batter, Henry Nicholls, to settle into his work without the pressure of keeping the score ticking.
South Africa’s bowlers - the strength of the side remember - were poor. Rabada struggled with his rhythm, debutant Glenton Stuurman had a horrible opening spell in which his line and length were all over the show and Marco Jansen and Duanne Olivier were simply listless. Jansen was especially disappointing. It wasn’t as if the Hagley Oval pitch had flattened out and become a ‘road.’ There was still plenty in the surface - bounce and movement - even with a 60 over old ball, but his intensity was lacking.
Stuurman bowled his best spell after lunch to show exactly how much benefit there was for the seamers if they simply applied themselves. He had the ball moving around beautifully, and eventually found the outside edge of Daryl Mitchell’s bat, with Dean Elgar poaching a good catch at first slip, to give Stuurman his maiden Test wicket.
Rabada bowled a couple of challenging spells, but had no support from the other end. There were no maiden overs in the afternoon session and so no pressure was built and New Zealand’s batters just did as they pleased. Nicholls, the beneficiary of two dropped catches in that final session on the opening day, completed his eighth Test century, an innings that besides those two catches going down and one ungainly swipe at Jansen who was bowling bouncers at the time, had very little drama.
As a local, he understands the conditions at Hagley Oval better than most, and he waited for the South Africans to bowl to his strengths - which is the cut shot - and when they didn’t he was able to pick up singles.
Understandably South Africa grew more ragged as the day unfolded. Jansen, so poor in the first two sessions, got worse, Olivier bowled with improved energy but was erratic, Stuurman was the same and Rabada simply got tired.
Elgar roped in Aiden Markram’s part-time off-spin in the 11th over with the second new ball, and he immediately made a breakthrough having Colin de Grandhomme caught at long-on, to give him a first Test wicket. His second followed after tea when he removed Kyle Jamieson, but there was more hopeless fielding with two simple catches being grassed in the same Rabada over.
A 49 ball century for @RossLTaylor! The record century helping the @CentralStags to 310/5 from 29 overs in a rain shortened Ford Trophy match against the Firebirds at Pukekura Park. Stream | https://t.co/FoMmVGDLw9 #FordTrophy pic.twitter.com/1uqjkIDR0m
Tom Blundell fell four runs short of a century, when he edged Jansen through to keeper Kyle Verryenne
Matt Henry, who is playing this Test only because Trent Boult’s wife is having a baby, added to his ‘seven-fer’ with the ball by scoring his second Test 50.
Three of South Africa’s bowlers conceded over 100 runs, a fourth Jansen fell just four runs short of that.
The only good thing was that the day eventually ended.
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