New Zealand in SA
Amla ton puts Proteas on top
2013-01-11 18:30
Port Elizabeth - Hashim Amla scored his 19th Test
century and steered South Africa to 325/4 at stumps on day one of
the second Test against New Zealand at St George’s Park on Friday.
The Kiwis missed a chance when Amla, on 48,
went after a wide delivery from Trent Boult and was dropped by
Williamson in the gully. He went on to score his 19th Test hundred -
his fourth against New Zealand - in 187 balls with eight boundaries.
Amla and Faf du Plessis added an unbeaten 102 runs for the fifth wicket, with the batsmen on 106 and 69 respectively.
Full scorecard
Video highlights from Day 1 at St George's Park
Du
Plessis, however, also enjoyed a lucky escape on 42, when the ball
brushed his glove on the way through to the keeper. It was Boult’s first
over with the new ball and, although he appealed, captain Brendon
McCullum thought it was not worthy of a review.
The batsmen
rotated the strike well throughout the day and never allowed the Kiwi
bowlers to get comfortable. For a while, New Zealand managed to slow
down the run rate after tea but, in the end, it turned out to be South
Africa’s most prolific period, adding 134 in the last session, for the
loss of one wicket.
AB de Villiers had looked set for a big score
but, like his three teammates before him, he threw away his wicket. He
took a few paces down the pitch to spinner Jeetan Patel and, trying to
hit him over mid-wicket, sent the ball straight down the throat of Kane
Williamson for 51.
While the numbers in the stands were
disappointing for the first day of the Test -- the first played in Port
Elizabeth in over five years - the atmosphere from the brass band and
festive crowd more than made up for it. Their popular renditions were
infectious as De Villiers, during his innings, reached the milestone of
scoring 6000 Test runs, playing in his 82nd Test.
Alviro Petersen
and Graeme Smith started the morning scoring freely until Doug
Bracewell bowled a short delivery which Petersen attempted to hook.
Instead, he top-edged into the safe hands of Patel at fine-leg and
Petersen was out for 21.
Shortly after reaching his half-century,
Smith gloved a delivery from Neil Wagner down the leg-side into the
hands of wicketkeeper BJ Watling for an easy catch. His 54 came off 88
balls and included eight boundaries.
Jacques Kallis then got off
the mark dispatching Bracewell’s short ball to the mid-wicket boundary
for four. The next delivery was also short and this time Kallis smashed
it along the ground, square of the wicket for four.
Bracewell won
the battle though when he had Kallis caught behind in the bowler’s next
over, without adding to his score of eight.
The hosts, who lead
the series 1-0, made one forced change to the team which beat New
Zealand in Cape Town, with seam bowler Rory Kleinveldt replacing the
injured Vernon Philander.
The Black Caps fielded three South
African-born players in their eleven. Colin Munro, born in Durban,
replaced the injured James Franklin and left-arm seamer Neil Wagner was
given an opportunity instead of Chris Martin.
Wagner learnt his
cricket at Afrikaans High School for Boys in Pretoria and made his
first-class debut in 2005-06 for Northerns. He represented the National
Academy side before plying his trade overseas.
Wicketkeeper BJ Watling hailed from Durban but moved to New Zealand when he was 10.