Get a start, then depart: South Africa kept in check by Black Caps in second test
Tuesday, 13 February 2024
At Seddon Park, Hamilton: South Africa 220-6 off 89 overs (Ruan de Swardt 55no, David Bedingham 39, Shaun von Berg 34no, Raynard van Tonder 32; Rachin Ravindra 3-33) v Black Caps.
You can’t accuse South African captain Neil Brand of not being bold.
Not when, on a green-tinged Hamilton pitch, he wins the toss and bats − just the fifth time that has been done in the last 50 tests in New Zealand, and the second time in the last 11 at Seddon Park − as his side aim to avoid an historic series loss to the Black Caps.
But when the visiting skipper addresses his troops following Tuesday’s first day of the second test, he will know they have missed a golden chance to stamp some real authority on this contest, save for some late heroics from No 7 Ruan de Swardt (55 no) and debutant Shaun von Berg (34no) which have the Proteas 220-6 at stumps.
On a ground the Black Caps are unbeaten at in their last eight tests, and on a pitch Kiwi captain Tim Southee admitted he would have bowled on, Brand went for the aggressive approach, with extra spinner Dane Piedt in the side, and no doubt mindful he sent the hosts in at Bay Oval and saw them rack up 511, while in the last test played in Hamilton, in 2020, an inserted home side amassed 519-7 declared against the West Indies.
Undermanned thanks to their national governing body’s decision to leave high-profile players back home to play their domestic T20 competition, and coming off a 281-run hiding in the first test at Mt Maunganui, the inexperienced Proteas lineup simply had to step up.
And for large parts they did, in front of a smattering of fans on the sun-soaked banks at Seddon. But at the same time, there were sharp reminders that test cricket is a different ball game, against a willing Black Caps bowling unit, featuring debutant Will O’Rourke and a hungry recalled Neil Wagner, as Kyle Jamieson sat out due to back soreness.
Lady Luck, it has to be said, was also not exactly on the Proteas’ side − as promoted opener Clyde Fortuin fell for a golden duck thanks to a sensational diving catch in the gully by Glenn Phillips off Matt Henry, and first-test standout David Bedingham (39) was gone in bizarre fashion, hitting into his foot to Will Young at short leg off Rachin Ravindra.
After plenty of starts for the batters at the Mount, Brand had, on the eve of this match, implored his side to do the good things for longer. But, largely stoic and tight in both front and back-foot defence, they could just not sustain the fight.
The skipper got to 25 before becoming O’Rourke’s maiden test scalp, lbw to one jagging back, then Wagner was rewarded when he had Raynard van Tonder (32) fending a lifting delivery for a smart catch by Tom Latham at gully.
Brand would then have been livid with everything about Zubayr Hamza’s dismissal, the eight-test ‘veteran’ having gutsed it out for 20 off 99 balls then losing the plot with a wild hoick of Ravindra to the groundsman’s shed − where he could have been advised to walk off to rather than the changing room − and lobbing a catch to point.
When Keegan Petersen followed in Ravindra’s next over, hard-hands-ing one to Southee at slip, as the part-time tweaker enjoyed turn and bounce in a 21-over stint that must have left an unselected Mitchell Santner musing, it was an all-too-expected story with the tourists tumbling to 101-5.
Chugging along at two runs per over, the Proteas just couldn’t get things moving. That was until de Swardt and von Berg brought some scoring energy, hitting 15 fours − almost all behind square − and turning strike over, in a promising 70-run unbeaten stand either side of the new ball.
Could it be enough to kick the Proteas onto something they can bowl at?