Black Caps seamer Kyle Jamieson yesterday claimed four wickets to drive New Zealand to a 281-run win over South Africa with a day to spare in the first Test.
Dogged resistance from the tourists ended with their dismissal for 247 at Mount Maunganui as the Black Caps notched their second-biggest Test victory by runs.
New Zealand are a step closer to a maiden series win over South Africa after 17 previous failed attempts, dating back to 1931.
Photo: AFP
Given their struggles at Bay Oval, the vastly inexperienced Proteas would need a dramatic turnaround to win the second and final Test, starting on Tuesday next week in Hamilton.
Captain Neil Brand was one of six South African debutants and conceded that his team were well off the pace.
“It’s very deflating,” he said. “We were completely outplayed by a very good New Zealand team. Our patience was tested on this wicket. Guys got in, then got themselves out, which is disappointing. Hopefully we can compete more in the second Test.”
The tourists were forced to name a depleted tour squad with most first-choice players involved in their domestic T20 competition.
New Zealand took control with 511 in their first innings and never looked like losing when the tourists were dismissed for 162.
The hosts declared at their overnight 179-4 before play began yesterday, leaving South Africa to chase an unrealistic target of 529.
Jamieson ensured they never came close, taking 4-58 and producing key double-strikes at the start of the second and third sessions yesterday.
The most crucial wicket was that of David Bedingham, who raced to a career-high 87 off 96 balls before he mistimed a pull shot to midwicket soon after tea.
It ended a 105-run stand with Keegan Petersen, who also failed to control a Jamieson short ball on 16.
The day’s response had begun disastrously for the tourists, when both openers departed inside the first four overs.
Brand was bowled for three by a late inswinger from his New Zealand counterpart Tim Southee, while Edward Moore went for a duck after driving a Matt Henry delivery to cover.
A resolute 63-run stand for the third wicket was broken by Jamieson, who snared Raynard van Tonder at first slip for 31 before Zubayr Hamza’s attempted pull shot on 36 flew gently to mid-on.
Spinner Mitchell Santner extracted turn to wrap up the tail and finish with 3-59, matching Jamieson’s six scalps for the match.
Rachin Ravindra was named man of the match for his 240 in New Zealand’s first innings.
“This rates highly for me, because of the time spent out there and the different people I batted with and the partnerships we managed to put down,” Ravindra said after only his fourth Test appearance. “That makes it a bit more special. It’s extremely pleasing we got the job done.”
Kane Williamson also shone with the bat, scoring a century in each innings to continue a brilliant run of Test form.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
RSS