Day 1 at Dunedin: Shining in the Gloom

The Phantom seems to be ageing like a good wine. Two years ago, a poor series against the Aussies had a lot of people (including this blogger) wondering if he was finished. That spell against India in Ahmedabad kickstarted something of a renaissance, and today he was once again responsible for a familiar NZ position - "we've done our bit, over to you batters now". though we know how that usually turns out.

By the way, does Chris Martin the savage-faced remind anyone else of Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining?



By the looks of the first session, South Africa were poised for early domination of the test. Despite the cloud cover the ball didn't swing, and the NZ bowlers were anodyne. Six went in the second session however. Thanks to the Phantom, 86-1 became 90-4 as his bunny Smith, a surprisingly out-of-form Kallis and a very-much-in-form AB DeVilliers were sent packing. Despite another effortless Amla fifty South Africa were kept in check with three more wickets.

One thing's for sure, the NZ side looked much the better for having the senior players back. Apart from Martin, Vettori came out on top in a nice little battle with Amla, and Ross Taylor raised the overall catching standards big rime. Bracewell bowled well, and not for the first time, will be kicking himself for allowing a no-ball to get in the way of a scalp. The beneficiary, ex-Yorkshireman Rudolph, might well make us pay tomorrow. Trent Boult struggled and Tim Southee was again innocuous.

The pitch is actually playing pretty well, and South Africa would fancy adding another 80 or so, given that Philander is a handy bat. It would still be great effort from the NZ bowlers on this pitch, so tomorrow will mostly be about whether NZ's batting can stand up for a change.