Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra centuries help Black Caps grind down South Africa

Sunday, 4 February 2024

At Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui: Black Caps 258-2 in 86 overs (Rachin Ravindra 118no, Kane Williamson 112no) met South Africa

Centuries to Black Caps master Kane Williamson and apprentice Rachin Ravindra left them on top after an attritional first day in the first test against South Africa.

The pair walked off Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui at the end of play on Sunday with their 219-run partnership for the third wicket still unbroken.

Having been sent in by the touring Proteas, who named six debutants alongside five others with a combined total of just 37 caps, New Zealand were 258-2.

Williamson was not out on 112 off 259 balls, having made his 30th test century, while Ravindra – playing his first test in two years – was not out on 118 off 211 – the first of what will undoubtedly be many hundreds at this level.

Ravindra said that when he reached his century, Williamson “was like, congratulations, mate. You’re unbelievable.

“And I was like, man, no, Kane, you are, seriously.

“It’s always special receiving those things from a guy who’s one of the best batters in the world and it was cool to share that moment with him.”

The run rate sat below 2.5 runs per over for most of the day, which meant there wasn’t much of a spectacle until the Kiwi pair closed in on their hundreds in the final hour.

Not helping was the fact that South Africa left four overs unbowled, even after half an hour of overtime.

Debutant captain Neil Brand backed his four seamers after winning the toss and choosing to bowl, only turning to his own left-arm spin midway through the final session.

Williamson was the first Black Cap to reach three figures – for the fifth time in six tests and for the seventh time in eight tests on home soil – pulling Tshepo Moreki for four in the 79th over to bring up the milestone off 241 balls.

Ravindra got there in the 80th over off 189 balls, flicking Dane Paterson to deep square leg for two with the clock on the verge of ticking past 6pm and the new ball imminent.

Half an hour later – more than five hours after they came together at the crease – they walked off together, knowing they both now have a chance to go big on day two.

Wicket-taking opportunities were rare once the pair were at the crease and those that did eventuate were largely of the unforced variety.

Williamson offered one up when he decided to charge down the wicket on 45, only for Edward Moore to make a hash of the attempted catch running back at cover.

Ravindra had an inside edge flash past his stumps early on, while on 80 he pulled one that went in and out of Duanne Olivier’s hands at deep square leg.

South Africa at least made a bright start, as Moreki trapped Devon Conway LBW for one with his first ball in test cricket.

Paterson then induced an outside edge from Tom Latham to remove him for 20 and leave the Black Caps 39-2 after 17 overs.

At tea, the hosts were 125-2 after 52 overs and on pace to produce their equal-slowest first innings in a home test this century.

Their rate of 2.40 runs per over in the first two sessions matched that from the win over Sri Lanka in Christchurch in 2006, where they made 206 in 85.2 overs on their way to a five-wicket win.

Things picked up significantly in the final session, where they added 65 in 19 overs before drinks, then put on another 68 in 15 overs before the close of play.

South Africa’s makeshift team, hampered by their board’s prioritisation of the SA20 Twenty20 competition and missing 10 of the playing XI from their last test, had been building towards this day for a while.

Now they know just how much of a grind test cricket can be.

When Williamson and Ravindra resume on Monday morning, we will see how well the tourists can bounce back.