South Africa v New Zealand Day 2 Tea

South Africa 1st Innings - Declared

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Smith	lbw	b Bracewell	1	5	0	0
Petersen		b Boult	106	176	11	1
Amla	lbw	b Franklin	66	74	9	0
Kallis	c Watling	b Boult	60	89	5	2
de Villiers		b C Martin	67	129	8	0
Du Plessis	c Williamson	b C Martin	15	28	2	0
Elgar	c Watling	b Boult	21	52	2	0
Peterson		b C Martin	6	15	1	0
Philander	not out		0	5	0	0
Extras		1nb 2w 1b 1lb	5
Total		for 8	347	(95.2 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Boult 21.0 2 78 3 Bracewell 24.0 4 93 1 C Martin 19.2 3 64 3 Franklin 14.0 1 50 1 Patel 17.0 4 60 0

Fall of wicket 1 Smith 108 Amla 212 Kallis 255 Petersen 281 Du Plessis 335 Elgar 342 de Villiers 347 Peterson

South Africa sprung a surprise by declaring early on the second afternoon at Newlands to leave New Zealand needing 302 to avoid an innings defeat on a cracked pitch already showing some signs of uneven bounce.

Chris Martin bowled AB de Villiers and Ron Petersen in successive overs before Graeme Smith called his side in with only 4.2 overs bowled in the afternoon and set his pace attack loose against a New Zealand side which, in making only 45 in the first innings, succumbed to the lowest Test score for 39 years.

NZ 33/2 1 over (trail by 273 runs) - Tea 

A lead of more than 300 was quite enough. That achieved, to the mind of South Africa's captain Graeme Smith, there was no need to delay any longer. It was time to get New Zealand in for a second time, perhaps even a little captivated that a Test win inside two days was not beyond their capabilities.

There were 56 overs left in the day when New Zealand batted a second time. They had lasted only 19.2 overs in the first innings and, if nobody seriously expected a repeat of that, they were vulnerable on a pitch showing signs of unreliable bounce. The strong winds which closed Table Mountain in the build-up to the game and cracked and crusted this Newlands surface threatened to have the final say.

By tea, New Zealand had summoned much-needed application. The loss of Martin Guptill for nought in the first over, clipping Dale Steyn to midwicket, did not auger well, but the captain Brendon McCullum, and Kane Williamson adopted a suitably grim response until Williamson departed to Jacques Kallis five minutes before tea.

For McCullum to bear his responsibilities so heavily was unusual, but he was a new Test captain appointed in controversial circumstances, criticised in some quarters for an overly optimistic attitude in batting first and then for using excessively attacking fields in return. If he was ever going to begin a Test innings strokelessly, this was it. His sole boundary in the 19 overs before tea was a yorker from Morne Morkel which he just dug out and timed better than expected.

Patience comes more easily to Williamson, who will have regarded the challenge as another vital learning process in a young career, so he would have been appalled by the manner of his dismissal, a back-foot drive at a wide one from Kallis and an edge to Alviro Petersen second slip.

Vernon Philander, New Zealand's scourge in their first innings of 45, might have dismissed Williamson before then if South Africa had made better use of DRS. They chose not to challenge umpire Ian Gould's "not out" ruling when to have done so would have won an lbw decision when Williamson was on 4. They then wasted a review when Gould refused a catch at the wicket with Williamson on 9, the ball having brushed the batsman's pocket.

There was an interminable delay before the third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, gave his decision. In the background at square leg, as endless Hot Spot replays were studied, Hashim Amla's long beard was pure white and made him look like an ancient. There again, as we waited for Dharmasena, none of us felt any younger.

It was difficult on a summer's day like this, with the Test entirely in command, for a South African player not to feel content, but Dean Elgar would not be happy with his world.

All Elgar had to show for South Africa's series-winning victory against Australia in Perth last month was a pair on Test debut. It was a tough ask, summoned to the tour late and expected to contribute to a series in the balance, and it proved beyond him.

At Newlands, he resumed his Test career in rather gentler circumstances, but he could not take the opportunity. Five minutes before lunch, Trent Boult made one climb outside off stump and he edged it to the wicketkeeper. He walked off shaking his head, his prototype moustache accentuating a mournful countenance.

He got off the mark against his first ball, from Chris Martin, but he turned it through square leg from outside off stump in a manner that was not designed to build his confidence. It was a shot to get away with, be grateful for, and to build upon.

That progression never really came. His first boundary was a thick edge over gully, one hand flying off his bat as he flayed at a short one from James Franklin. He slashed again at another short ball in Franklin's next over and this time it escaped over slips. When he was 18, New Zealand could have overturned Rod Tucker's refusal of Boult's lbw appeal, but New Zealand chose not to review. He never looked happy.

New Zealand's seam attack had been on the short side on the first day and their ground fielding had at times been deplorable. It would not take much to improve such standards and they did, removing Robin Petersen, a century maker on the first day, and Faf du Plessis in the first hour.

Boult needed only one delivery to account for Petersen - the first ball of the second over. He had added three to his overnight 103 when he dragged on. Du Plessis fell to Martin, searching for a good-length ball and caught at gully. At 38 years old and after 71 Tests, Martin is aware that not too many more top-order batsmen will fall his way before he calls time on his Test career.

Two more came his way, though, immediately after lunch as he bowled AB de Villiers and Petersen in successive overs before Smith's declaration. Bare head glistening with sweat and thick white headband across his forehead, he bounded into the crease in the manner of a tennis coach at a private club, communicating enthusiasm before having a knock-up with the members. As far as New Zealand were concerned, it amounted to more than a knock-up, it was a fully-blown rally.