Only Williamson himself, who scored 77 in the first, managed more runs but he is also still learning in terms of his new leadership role.
Advertisement
Some time today South Africa will tiresome the disappointment of last season’s campaign by winning the second test at Centurion and with it their series against New Zealand.
However, Faf du Plessis decided not to let the Black Caps follow up.
“We’ve definitely found our passion again”.
There might have been a fightback from New Zealand yesterday, but a series defeat is still their most likely outcome, with something of a miracle needed against South Africa at Centurion. John Reid had made 142 in New Zealand’s second innings of the Johannesburg Test. Nicholls’ is the fourth-highest score by a New Zealand No. 5 in South Africa.
Those circumstances proved hypothetical as New Zealand slipped to 18 for four.
Signalling his return to form, Steyn claimed eight wickets (including seven top/middle-order scalps). He moves to 416, overtaking Wasim Akram’s 414 across the day. With 416 wickets, he was five behind South Africa record-holder Shaun Pollock. “I will wait there all day and hopefully find the edge or knock his poles over”.
“He showed a lot of character which is always what you are after in any player”, Williamson said. He and BJ Watling, who made 32 off 87, came together at 7-4 and held South Africa at bay for nearly the entire middle session.
In the opening session, the hosts whittled away the visitors’ esprit de corps by batting to drinks and declaring at 132 for seven.
Temba Bavuma (25) and Vernon Philander (3) were the unbeaten batsmen at stumps. His compact technique brought patient reward. But Trent Boult and Tim Southee utilised appreciable lateral movement to nip out three wickets in two overs: Stephen Cook lbw after being pinned in the crease to a Boult inswinger from Boult, Hashim Amla caught at second slip off Southee, and JP Duminy playing around his front pad. This strategy almost boomeranged when nearly the whole top order of the Proteas lost their wickets in the first hour after they started batting.
The probabilities of a drawn series all but evaporated in the first over.
Williamson admitted his bowlers were too short on the first day, although he did have some criticism of the pitch after watching it deteriorate early in the match.
Their job wasn’t made any easier in the first innings when opener Tom Latham received a shocking decision from third umpire Richard Illingworth to give him out caught behind despite the ball appearing to brush his trouser pocket. The ball hit the gloves and ricocheted onto the stumps. Nor would it be Martin Guptill.
Advertisement
The Proteas added 27 runs to their second innings in the morning, the Black Caps removing Philander for 14, but the prospect of bowlers suffering blows to fingers and arms perhaps hastened the declaration.
