South Africa in control of third Test

Centuries from Alviro Petersen and JP Duminy gave South Africa an iron grip on the weather-affected third Test against New Zealand in Wellington.
South Africa declared their first-innings at 474 for nine in the final session at Basin Reserve before New Zealand reached 65 without loss at stumps with Daniel Flynn on 35 and Martin Guptill on 28.
It was a sound start by New Zealand, who face an uphill battle to win the Test and level the three-match series, which South Africa lead 1-0.
Earlier, South Africa resumed at 246 for two and moved to 362 for three at lunch but the dismissal of Petersen for a career-high 156 sparked a collapse.
Gillespie, the most successful of the New Zealand bowlers with six for 113, claimed the wickets of Jacques Rudolph and Dale Steyn before tea for New Zealand to finish the middle session with four wickets for 75 runs.
Gillespie then dismissed Mark Boucher and Vernon Philander before Graeme Smith declared the South African innings.

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It was one of the worst days in test cricket: Vettori

 WELLINGTON: The stop-start nature of a weather-affected third test and howling winds that were gusting more than 80kph had rated as one of Daniel Vettori’s worst in test cricket, the former New Zealand captain said on Saturday.    
Constant drizzle, chilly conditions and the blustery northerly made the second day of the third test against South Africa at the Basin Reserve one of attrition for New Zealand’s bowlers.
They managed just 37 overs on Saturday after rain delayed the start of play for more than four hours, before bad light drove them from the field with 12 overs still due to be bowled in the day’s play.
“From 460 odd days of test cricket, somewhere near the bottom,” the 111-test veteran said with a laugh when asked how the day’s play had rated in his memory.
“Into the wind it’s pretty tough for the seamers and even for the spinners. You get blown around in your run up and in your delivery stride and it can be a little difficult.
“It was a tough day for a bowling side.”
Alviro Petersen (96 not out) and JP Duminy (76 not out) had accumulated a further 110 runs without any loss of wickets after play finally got going at 1425 local (0325 GMT), almost four and a half hours after the scheduled start time to guide the visitors to a commanding 246 for two at the close of play.
The pair offered New Zealand bowlers little opportunity for the breakthrough on a good paced wicket that was gave little assistance, though Petersen was dropped by a diving Martin Guptill when he was on 68.
“I think we were pretty disappointed after winning the toss and that first session (on Friday),” Vettori said of New Zealand’s overall bowling performance from the first two days.
“We probably fought back a little bit last night with the big wicket of (Hashim) Amla but the sort of stop-start nature of today … I think half the guys arrived a little bit late from both teams.
“Just getting into the day wasn’t as successful as we wanted because we needed an early breakthrough this afternoon so overall we are disappoitned in only taking two wickets on a wicket that offered some assistance early on.”
Duminy said South Africa, who only need to draw the test to win the series 1-0 after they won the second match in Hamilton by nine wickets, were unsure of their tactics heading into day three, with the weather expected to get better and remain that way for the remainder of the test.
“We haven’t really discussed the plans going forward,” Duminy said whe asked if the South Africans may just hunker down and bat New Zealand out of the test rather push than for victory.
“I think tomorrow morning we’ll sit down and do that (discuss their tactics). For now we’re just pleased with the situation of the game.”

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South Africa take 1-0 lead in series

South Africa hold the whip hand in their three-test series against New Zealand after rounding off a nine-wicket win by mid-afternoon on the third day at Seddon Park.
Having dismissed New Zealand for 168 in their second innings, they knocked off the runs required for the loss of opener Alviro Petersen, finishing on 103 for one to go 1-0 up with one test to play.
The kingpin was seamer Vernon Philander, who won the man of the match award with his six for 44 today giving him overall figures of 10 for 114 for the test.
New Zealand had started the day at 65 for four, still trailing by three runs. There was brief defiance from Dan Vettori and wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk. But once van Wyk shouldered arms to Philander shortly before lunch the end came quickly.
The one shining light was Kane Williamson, who grafted admirably in reaching 77. But on a pitch which gave seamers some help throughout, New Zealand needed at least another 100 to give themselves a fighting chance.

South African captain Graeme Smith hit the winning runs, finish on 55, with Hashim Amla on 46.
New Zealand captain Ross Taylor believed the batting problems were a mix of fine bowling and ordinary work by his batsmen.
''I think you've got to give credit to Philander," Taylor said.
''He put the ball in the right areas and when you can swing it away and reverse it in, it does become tough on batsmen. They put pressure on us throughout the whole time once again."
Taylor was left to rue those periods in the test - notably when South Africa were 88 for six on the second day, responding to New Zealand's first innings 185 - when an advantage was not capitalised on.
''We didn't ram it home and put South Africa under more pressure.
''But you know they played very well and they taught us how to play test cricket on what was still a pretty flat wicket."
Despite the dispiriting nature of the loss, with two full days not required, Taylor maintained his team are still in ''pretty high spirits".
''As a team we're not very far away," he said.
South Africa already have the world's No 1-ranked bowler in speedster Dale Steyn, but Philander, who has now taken 45 wickets in his first six tests at a remarkable 13.6 apiece, earned high praise from his captain.
''If he keeps going the way he is then he'll get there pretty soon," Smith said of the No 1 ranking.
''It's terrific because they all work together and they know their roles but they all want to be successful in their own right, egging each other on," he said of Philander, Steyn and the third seam bowling musketeer, Morne Morkel.
That 88 for six situation was ''a bit squeaky" for the South Africans, Smith said.
''But we found another gear when it was needed but obviously we'd like to perform at that high level throughout."
The third test starts in Wellington next Friday. An unchanged South African side would be a fair bet, but New Zealand are sure to make changes when their squad is revealed tomorrow afternoon.

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Another New Zealand battling horror story

Cruising along at 133 for two - all out 52 runs later
What is it with New Zealand and horrendous test batting slumps?
At Seddon Park yesterday, New Zealand tossed away a promising position, handed South Africa the initiative and have a substantial task to get back in the second test.
That said, two wickets before stumps from Chris Martin - one to a terrific one-handed catch low to his right off an inside edge by wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk - gave some heart.
South Africa will resume their first innings at 27 for two today, after benefiting from one of those collapses which are sprinkled through New Zealand's test history, and will recognise that the best batting conditions will be over the next two days.
Call yesterday the Tumble at the 'Tron.
Just when you'd like to think they have got beyond those ghastly patches, up springs another to remind you that when it comes to New Zealand's test batting, another fine mess is waiting just around the corner, popping up like a mischievous jack-in-the-box cackling "Gotcha!".
This time, New Zealand, from 133 for two, having been sent in, went head over heels, losing five for none in 20 balls.

New Zealand batting has disappeared into some dark holes down the years - the world record low 26 all out against England 57 years ago for starters - but this one was a doozy.
Only some spirited, if unorthodox hitting from the recalled Mark Gillespie got New Zealand to 185. His shuffle towards square leg suggested he was in for a good time if not a long time, and he got clunked a hard blow on his forearm from quick Dale Steyn for his trouble.
The pain in this particular collapse, however, came from the realisation it didn't come on a fiery pitch, or one offering bamboozling turn.
The five wickets fell to Steyn and the remarkable Vernon Philander, who has taken at least four wickets in a test innings six times and is only halfway through his sixth test.
They were hostile but the South Africans seemed as surprised as anyone else at the magnitude of this crash.
And it all came after New Zealand, sent in on a greenish strip favouring seam bowling, had done a pile of conscientious work, both before and after a two-hour break for light drizzle.
Openers Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill - playing on for the second time in three innings - were gone in just over an hour, but Brendon McCullum and captain Ross Taylor scrapped hard and well.
McCullum took blows on his knuckles and right wrist on his way to a gritty half century with a six pulled behind square leg. Taylor was closing in on his when chaos took hold.
McCullum hooked Steyn straight to deep square leg; Taylor pushed hard off the back foot and edge to first slip; Kane Williamson got a sharp lifter, Dan Vettori was bowled between bat and pad and Doug Bracewell edged a straight one. 133 for two had become 133 for seven.
You could only imagine the scrambling for pads and protectors as the carnage seemed to have no end.
Steyn had his tail up after a modest return in the first test, while Philander keeps banging away in the right places.
"He puts the ball in good areas and just asks tough questions, as good international bowlers do," McCullum said of Philander.
Martin's efforts at the end gave some heart to New Zealand. But they realise this is a pitch on which good batsmen will prosper today and tomorrow, if they get settled and play with some care. Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and co have written a chapter in that particular book.
Still this game is well advanced. New Zealand need to have their plans in place, stick to them and grab their opportunities.
They are still in the contest, but nowhere near where they were promising to be in mid-afternoon.

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The Black Caps win do-able but hard

Hard work was the order of the day - and there is far more hard work needed if New Zealand are to win or save the first test against South Africa as history turns its stony face against the Black Caps' run chase. They require 264 with eight wickets standing - not impossible but 401 runs to win in four-and-a-half sessions looks improbable because a greater fourth innings total has been achieved only four times in 2035 tests. The Black Caps endured an arduous day's test cricket yesterday as South Africa worked hard - mixing discipline and focus to go a considerable way to batting New Zealand out of the match. If South African captain Graeme Smith wants to bowl New Zealand out, his declaration at 435 for five may have erred too far on the side of caution, given the prospect of inclement weather today. New Zealand's highest winning total in a fourth innings is 324 for five against Pakistan at Christchurch in 1994. Their highest fourth innings total was 451 in 2002 against England, again in Christchurch (which included Nathan Astle's record 222 not out). At 137 for two at stumps, New Zealand will still entertain hopes of victory if Brendon McCullum (58) and Ross Taylor (48) remain at the crease well into today's second session. Their third wicket partnership has been worth 82. Both applied themselves in getting behind the ball. In contrast, Martin Guptill and Rob Nicol found the going tough, illustrating the chasm between the Zimbabwe and South African attacks. On a placid wicket, albeit with variable bounce (judging by the number of balls Kruger van Wyk snatched from his bootlaces), South Africa's batsmen tested New Zealand's tenacity. Jacques Rudolph dominated the fourth day, raising his sixth test century as he added to the base built by Smith and Jacques Kallis. It was his first century batting at six having returned to the side in November after more than five years. The 30-year-old punished New Zealand between third man and cover where he hit 11 of his 15 boundaries. He was also strong off his pads with 16 singles on the leg side. Daniel Vettori gave him the best test of the New Zealand bowlers but Rudolph was rarely under threat; he was regularly prepared to sweep with the spin. The New Zealand pace attack struggled to penetrate a batting line-up which found measure and control on a wicket that had lost its bite. The brief joy of removing Kallis early in the day for 113 evaporated quickly as AB de Villiers strode out. He was dismissed for 29 swiping to deep midwicket but it illustrated the difficulty New Zealand will have taking 20 wickets in either of the next two tests. Doug Bracewell looked the most attacking of the New Zealand quicks, highlighted by his three wickets for 70. Those figures could have included a fourth had Rudolph not opted for a referral when given out lbw for 12 yesterday. Chris Martin and Trent Boult had their moments; Martin was persistent and Boult provided useful left-arm variation. However, Tim Southee looks to be struggling. It may be a hangover from the one-day series as he adapts back to fuller lengths. In the first innings, he had figures of none for 40 off 10 overs; 35 of those runs were square of the wicket. He also went wicketless in the second innings with 78 of the 100 runs conceded square. New Zealand might opt to use Tarun Nethula on what could be a drier, more spin-friendly surface late in the Hamilton test. In addition to enduring the prolonged use of South African bats, the weather also sapped New Zealand's energy. A blustery nor'easter meant full-length sweaters, with some of the slip cordon also opting for what looked like mini heated wheat bags for their hands. The crowd braced themselves with rugs, winter jackets, piping hot thermoses and sausages in bread. Lead bails were needed to stabilise the stumps. The New Zealand bowlers struggled to get the ball through on what is becoming a tame track - but it did not stop Vernon Philander who has been the bowler of the match, consistently generating pace and bounce in an awkward channel. He backed up his four wickets in the first innings with another tidy display which included inducing Guptill to fend a ball to second slip.

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McCullum, Taylor give New Zealand hope

New Zealand are going to need some history-making heroics if they are going to prevail against South Africa in the first test in Dunedin when the game concludes tomorrow.
Jacques Rudolph posted his sixth test century and second against New Zealand to help cement South Africa's dominant position.
The visitors declared at 435 for five - a nice, round figure off 400 runs ahead - having resumed at 268 for three. In reply, New Zealand were 137 for two at stumps and need a further 264 runs to seal an unlikely win.
New Zealand's biggest successful run chase in the fourth innings was 324 for five against Pakistan in Christchurch in February 1994.
There is hope, though, in the way Brendon McCullum (58) and Ross Taylor (48) are bating. The pair looked in majestic form. McCullum raced to 50 from 65 deliveries and Taylor belted some fabulous cut shots.
The visitors resumed with Rudolph on 13 and Jacques Kallis looking to add to his total of 107.

Kallis combined with Graeme Smith for a third-wicket stand of 200 runs on day three to put the visitors in a commanding position but could not build on his impressive innings, holing out to mid-wicket for 113.
Rudolph was lucky to still be at the crease after he was given a reprieve late on day three when the Umpire Decision Review System suggested enough of the ball had pitched outside the line of leg stump.
Rudolph made the most of that escape, getting himself set at the crease before lifting the tempo after the lunch break. He slashed a cut shot through backward of point to move to 99 and swept Daniel Vettori to the square leg boundary to raise the milestone. The declaration came shortly after.
New Zealand suffered an early setback when Martin Guptill (6) was undone by a superb ball from Vernon Philander which nipped away and took the edge.
Rob Nicol weathered some torrid bowling as he battled hard to find his touch. He took the ball on the body and looked a bit like he was fending off over-sized wasps on his way to 19 from 71 balls.
But it was all for nothing with the right-handed hitting a full toss from Imran Tahir straight to Graeme Smith at mid-on - a shot which was the very definition of disappointing.

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Swaggering Philander is tourists' new weapon

Morne Steyn, world's No 1 test bowler; Morne Morkel, No 9, tall, awkward, always making life difficult.
Both have form and reputation.
But what about the third leg of South Africa's pace trio, Vernon Philander?
He arrived in New Zealand specifically for the test series and immediately showed how he has earned hot reviews since making a spectacular debut against Australia in November.
Philander's four for 50 on Thursday was the eye-catching turn among the South African bowlers. He had 22 taken off his only over yesterday morning, courtesy of tailender Trent Boult's clean hitting over the mid-wicket boundary but there was enough evidence the day before that the 26-year-old will be a handful throughout this series.
Philander is not express pace, more a lively 135km/h. He's not particularly tall but is strongly built. He's accurate, seams the ball both ways off the pitch, and is relentlessly at the batsman. There's no let-up.

"He's certainly going to pose a few threats over the next two games," New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum said.
Philander is no stranger to New Zealand players. He was the matchwinner in an Emerging Players tournament final in Brisbane in late 2007 when he hit 59 off 50 balls then took three for 20 to carry South Africa to an 82-run win.
South African schools captain and under-19 national representative, Philander was rated hugely promising as a teenager growing up in Bellville, a suburb of Cape Town.
His arrival in the South African side for the world T20 in 2007 was controversial. Philander was chosen ahead of the great Jacques Kallis and the whispers were strong that the then president of Cricket South Africa, Norman Arendse, had a hand in his promotion.
The old heads in the team were wary of the young man, forever chewing gum and armed with a distinct swagger.
His form was ordinary, he was carrying too much weight and despite taking four for 12 on his ODI debut against Ireland, was dropped from the Cape Cobras team in 2009, sent down to the second tier amateur side.
Philander wasn't happy, but in hindsight that might be seen as a turning point in his development.
He took a bundle of wickets, got back into the Cobras and when he made his test debut late last year against Australia was ready to make a statement.
He took a man-of-the-match-winning five for 15 as Australia slumped to 47 in the second innings on Philander's home ground, Cape Town. There were more five-wicket bags in the second test and the first against Sri Lanka.
Halfway through his fifth test, in Dunedin, he has taken 34 wickets at a stunning 13.79 each.
A clue to his self-belief came after that Cape Town performance. Asked if he felt he could replicate his success away from his home ground, Philander replied: "With my skills I could bowl anywhere in the world."
Eyebrows were raised at the newcomer's cheek, but he's backed it up.
Morkel simply called Philander "a freak".
"He's consistent with the ball, he's got the ability to move it both ways, he's got a slippery bouncer and he's a very tough guy to face with the new ball," Morkel said.
Morkel has an idea on why Philander has been so successful.
"He's a guy that's trying to keep it as simple as possible, to land it in a very good area and let the ball do the talking.
"He has unbelievable body language. He puts in the hard yards and we all know that if you put in the hard yards you'll get the results."
Philander certainly knows it.

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New Zealand fails to build on fine start

New Zealand has a small lead but South Africa probably had the happier dressing room at stumps on day two in Dunedin yesterday. The Black Caps reached 243 for nine and lead by five runs with just Trent Boult and known non-batter Chris Martin at the wicket.
 So the match is evenly poised but you cannot help but feel the home side squandered an opportunity to turn the heat on the visiting side having earlier wrapped up South Africa's first innings for 238. Brendon McCullum and captain Ross Taylor batted quite brilliantly in patches but surrendered their innings in such a disappointing fashion. McCullum (48) perished to a swipe.
 He tried to sweep legspinner Imran Tahir but got a top edge. Taylor (44) played two glorious drives moments before he tried to cut a wide delivery when he was in no position to do so and got an edge.
New Zealand was well-placed at 106 for two but the picture looked a lot different at 116 for four. McCullum conceded as much shortly after the match. "Our bowlers did a fantastic job to dismiss South Africa for the 230-odd that they got, and I thought we put ourselves in positions where we had opportunities to capitalise and build a big lead but unfortunately weren't able to do so," he said. " We are reasonably happy. There is still a long way to go ...
but at this point in time we'd like to be further in front." I expect the pitch will get lower as the game goes on and probably slow up a little bit as well. So we have to make sure we bowl well in the next innings so we are not chasing too many." Vernon Philander played a big part in halting the Blacks Caps' momentum. While the right-arm seamer did not pick up the key wickets of McCullum or Taylor, he took four for 50 and was a constant threat. South Africa resumed clinging to the hope Jacques Rudolph, who was undefeated on 46, and Philander (4) could carry the tourists through to a stronger position. But Chris Martin quickly had Philander in all kinds of trouble. The all-rounder was struck on the gloves, nicked one through the slips and then whacked a boundary through square leg before slashing a catch to Kane Williamson in the gully.

Jacques Rudolph added six to his overnight score but was out in disappointing fashion when he guided a drive to Trent Boult. New Zealand's reply got off to a poor start with Rob Nicol's maiden test innings an unconvincing 12-ball affair. He survived a confident appeal for lbw only to nick out to a beautiful ball from Philander which nipped away from the right-hander. McCullum had a life when play resumed after lunch. Hashim Amla dropped a sharp chance at a short leg position. Morkel's disappointment did not last long. He removed Martin Guptill with his next delivery.
The batsman was late on a defensive shot and tickled the ball on to his stumps. That brought the Taylor to the wicket on his 28th birthday. Morkel welcomed him to the crease with a couple of snarlers. One collided with the batsman's chest, the other collected his shoulder. Nothing a wee rub would not fix, though. McCullum also got in the way of a bouncer but gradually the pair took control. Taylor swivelled into a cracking pull shot, dispatching Philander to the square leg boundary, then welcomed Dale Steyn back to the bowling crease with a sublime drive through the covers.
McCullum stood tall and watched a drive of his own rocket back past a forlorn Morkel and swatted the legspinner Tahir in the same direction. Everything was going quite nicely for the home team until McCullum's rush of blood and Taylor's poor judgement. Daniel Vettori swatted and swiped his way to 46 and Kruger van Wyk showed some fight with 36 in his maiden test innings.

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Tourists hold all the confidence for tests

A new South African captain, and a different buzzword.
When the first test starts at University Oval today, Graeme Smith will be in charge for the visitors. Where AB de Villiers gave "momentum" a thorough bashing during his leadership of the Proteas in the six limited-overs matches, long-time test skipper Smith favours "confidence" as the key element.
South Africa have built it up in the course of winning the past five T20 and ODI internationals, and while the personnel has changed to the extent that more than half of their likely XI will be having their first game in New Zealand, Smith expects the work done over the past few weeks will rub off positively on the newcomers.
"Momentum is an interesting word, but I think confidence is always a key factor," the 96-test veteran said yesterday. "How deep your confidence runs as a team or as a player."
South Africa's batting will revolve around Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and de Villiers. The bowling is in the hands of speedsters Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, with the fast-rising Vernon Philander, a brisk bowler who gets plenty of movement and has taken a remarkable 30 wickets in his four tests so far, and bouncy Lahore-born legspinner Imran Tahir.

Throw in wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, on his third tour of New Zealand and with 144 tests behind him, and while the official rankings have South Africa No 2, that might be a shade unkind.
New Zealand, not to put too fine a point on it, are up against it.
Yet Smith is slightly bemused at the negative talk about the home side.
"I think any time you get clean swept in any series the fans get a bit despondent, but we're by no means taking them for granted and expect the series, especially the first test, to be a really big challenge.
"New Zealand brought us here for a reason," he quipped of chilly Dunedin.
The numbers are all in South Africa's favour. They have won 20 of the 35 tests against New Zealand since 1932; in New Zealand the hosts have won one - in 2004 and Dan Vettori, Brendon McCullum and 11-wicket hero Chris Martin played that match - and lost six of 14.
Smith is over his bruised left elbow, if not 100 per cent, he admitted. Kallis has a dodgy back but is expected to be fit.
New Zealand's challenge will be to keep close to South Africa. Any small advantages must be capitalised on.
They have won their past two tests, and their bowling attack, likely to be the four fast-medium men supplemented by the clever Vettori's spin, should be combative and competitive. It is in the batting where New Zealand's issues lie.
Rob Nicol will make his test debut opening with Martin Guptill, maintaining their limited-overs arrangement, dropping McCullum to No 3, and Kane Williamson to No 5. Vettori is at No 6 with new cap Kruger van Wyk at No 7.
Ross Taylor returns after missing the last 11 limited-overs internationals since tearing a calf muscle on January 27 against Zimbabwe.
He believes team morale to be "pretty good" despite events of the past couple of weeks.
Call him a pragmatist if you like, but Taylor was reluctant to describe his team as confident of their chances.
"I wouldn't say we're confident, but we want to get out there and show what we're made of. We need to show a lot of spirit in playing for our country, and a lot of fight."
NZ V SOUTH AFRICA
First test, University Oval, Dunedin, 10.30am today:
New Zealand: (from) Ross Taylor (c), Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Dan Vettori, Kruger van Wyk, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Chris Martin, Andrew Ellis.
South Africa (probable): Graeme Smith (c), Alviro Peterson, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Imran Tahir.

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Black Caps humbled by clinical Proteas

South Africa beat New Zealand by five wickets in the third one-day international on Saturday, sweeping the series 3-0 to take a firm psychological advantage into the three-test series starting Wednesday.
Marchant de Lange took 4-46 as South Africa bowled out New Zealand for 206 in 47 overs, dismissing the home side inside 50 overs for the second-straight match.
In reply, South Africa coasted to victory with 40 balls to spare, with opener Hashim Amla again being the top-scorer with 76.
Captain A.B. de Villiers clinched the win with a six from the second ball of the 44th over.
South Africa won both of the first two one-day internationals by six wickets and has now won five straight matches against New Zealand after winning the three-match Twenty20 series 2-1.
New Zealand: R Nicol, M Guptill, B McCullum, K Williamson, J Franklin, A Ellis, K Mills, C de Grandhomme, M Bates, A McKay, N McCullum
South Africa: J Botha, H Amla, M de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, F du Plessis, J Morkel, R Peterson, D Steyn, W Parnell, L Tsotsobe

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