9th Match: New Zealand v South Africa at Adelaide, 27 Jan 2002 CricInfo Live Report

9th Match: New Zealand v South Africa at Adelaide, 27 Jan 2002
Peter Robinson

Pre-game: Toss,
South Africa innings: 25 overs, Innings,
New Zealand innings: 25 overs, Result,

SOUTH AFRICA OPEN UP VB SERIES WITH 93-RUN WIN OVER NEW ZEALAND

After three straight defeats, South Africa opened up the VB Series with a 93-run victory over New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

By bowling out New Zealand for 160 in reply to their 253 for five, South Africa picked up a bonus point and leapfrogged Australia into second place on the log. With just three matches remaining before the finals, all three teams are still in contention and South Africa’s win on Sunday has raised the intriguing possibility of all three teams finishing with 17 points. In which case, the finalists would be decided on net run rate.

New Zealand never managed to get their innings going, reaching 88 for three at the halfway stage before sliding steadily downhill.

Craig McMillan, who at no stage appeared to settle, was the fourth man out as left-arm spinner Nicky Boje came into the attack advantage of the pressure gradually built up by the seamers. McMillan made 16 off 34 deliveries before heaving Boje to Justin Ontong on the midwicket boundary at 102 for four.

Chris Cairns then made 9 before chopping Boje to Jonty Rhodes in the covers at 130 for five and then Stephen Fleming fell in the next over, lifting a drive off Allan Donald to Herschelle Gibbs at cover for 43 at 134 for six.

Adam Parore seemed to have been caught at slip by Shaun Pollock off Donald at slip off the first ball he faced, but television replays could not establish whether Pollock had taken the catch cleanly and Parore was reprieved.

But with the required run rate slipping out of control, New Zealand found themselves in the position of having to reach 202 to deny South Africa the bonus point, but Boje continued to work his way through the batting.

He bowled Parore for 7 as the New Zealand swung across the line at 145 for seven and then had Daniel Vettori caught at short fine leg top-edging a sweep for a duck two balls later.

Donald picked up his second wicket of the innings when he trapped James Franklin lbw for 2 at 148 for nine and the innings ended when the luckless Makahaya Ntini finally saw a catch stick as Shane Bond hooked him high to Donald at fine leg.

Mark Boucher earned the man of the match award for his 57 off 32 balls and Boje was the pick of the South African bowlers with four for 31.

EARLY WICKETS SET NEW ZEALAND RUN CHASE BACK IN ADELAIDE

Three wickets falling at regular intervals pegged New Zealand back as they set after a winning target of 254 in their VB Series match against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. After 25 overs, New Zealand were 88 for three with captain Stephen Fleming on 21 and Craig McMillan on 12. A further 166 at better than a run a ball were required for victory.

The South Africans struck in the first over of the innings when Shaun Pollock had Nathan Astle caught at the wicket with just a single run on the board. Astle, who made 95 against Australia on Saturday, was out to the first delivery he faced.

Astle’s departure brought Lou Vincent to the crease to join Brendon McCullum and the two youngsters, batting in similar fashion to the South African top order earlier in the day, carried the score along to 37 before Pollock struck again, deceiving Vincent with a slower ball that was chipped gently up to Allan Donald at mid-off. Vincent had made 20.

South Africa should have had a second wicket before Vincent’s dismissal, however. In Makhaya Ntini’s fourth over McCullum, then on 12, spooned up a catch towards extra cover, but Pollock, at mid-off, and Herschelle Gibbs, at cover, both left the ball to each other and Pollock’s desperate lunge at the ball came too late.

McCullum went on to reach 29 before he became the third man out, hitting across the line at Jacques Kallis to be adjudged lbw at 59 for three.

Fleming had had a close shave shortly after arriving at the crease when he nearly chopped Kallis onto his stumps and Kallis also offered a warm reception to McMillan with a sharp bouncer that had the batsman jumping uncomfortably about the crease.

RHODES, BOUCHER LIFT SOUTH AFRICA TO 253/5

Jonty Rhodes and Mark Boucher sparked the innings to life with a furious fifth-wicket partnership that yielded 86 off seven-and-a-half overs to lift South Africa to a challenging 253 for five in their VB Series match against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

The stand came after the South Africans had moved cautiously to 156 for four but with Boucher throwing his bat at everything and Rhodes clipping along at a run-a-ball, South Africa gave themselves a very good chance of breaking their three-match losing streak.

The pair built on a foundation laid mostly by Herschelle Gibbs who made an uncharacteristically watchful 89 and with Rhodes making 55 off 54 deliveries and Boucher crunching 57 not out off just 32 balls, the South Africans were able to make 111 off the last 10 overs of the innings.

At the halfway mark South Africa had been 82 for two and the third wicket fell after Gibbs had taken a four and a three off Daniel Vettori to reach his 50. Neil McKenzie top-edged an attempted sweep off Vettori’s next ball and Adam Parore scampered around to the leg side to take his third catch of the innings.

McKenzie departed for 5 at 93 for three, but the arrival of Rhodes with his cheeky running between the wickets almost immediately gave impetus to a moderate scoring rate.

Gibbs, dropped at deep cover by Shane Bond off Chris Harris on 79, and Rhodes added 63 for the fourth wicket before Gibbs was bowled around his legs by Chris Cairns as he moved across his stumps at 156 for four.

His dismissal brought in Boucher and for the first time New Zealand lost their grip on the innings as the South African pair took impossible singles and turned ones into twos as they took on the bowling. Anything overpitched or wide was hit through or over the infield with the New Zealand fielding growing increasingly ragged.

Rhodes eventually fell in the penultimate over of the innings, but he had done a magnificent job for his team as had Boucher whose 50 came up off only 27 balls.

SOUTH AFRICA MAKE STEADY PROGRESS IN ADELAIDE

South Africa made steady, if unspectacular, progress as they searched for their missing form in the VB Series match against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. At the halfway stage of their innings, the South Africans had reached 84 for two with the bulk of the score coming from a 65-run second wicket partnership between Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis.

Shane Bond, who had proved so devastating against Australia on Saturday, made an early breakthrough for New Zealand with the wicket of South Africa’s most experienced batsman Gary Kirsten. Bond ran his eighth delivery across the left-hander to find the outside edge and Kirsten was comfortably taken by Adam Parore without opening his account.

The wicket fell at 9, but Gibbs and Kallis played cautiously on a pitch that offered uneven bounce to rebuild the innings. Bond and James Franklin each produced steady opening spells as the South African pair took few risks, clearly attempting to lay a solid foundation to the innings.

Gibbs, who has had a poor series by his standards, was always the more likely to come up with exhilarating strokes, driving handsomely down the ground when the ball was pitched up and cutting powerfully when offered width. But the New Zealanders kept to their disciplines and apart from Chris Cairns’ second over – off which the South Africans took nine – the bowling was tidy.

It was Cairns who finally broke the stand when Kallis pushed tentatively at a ball that left him slightly and Parore pouched his second catch of the innings. Kallis was out for 30 off 57 deliveries with the second wicket falling at 74.

Neil McKenzie joined Gibbs and after 25 overs Gibbs had moved to 44 with McKenzie on 2.

SOUTH AFRICA BAT FIRST IN ADELAIDE

South African captain Shaun Pollock won the toss and elected to bat in their crucial clash with New Zealand in the VB Series at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

The South Africans, bottom of the three-team log, desperately need a victory to keep alive their hopes of reaching the finals. New Zealand, meanwhile, all but booked their place in the finals with their Australia Day win over the hosts on Saturday.

Beneath overcast skies and with some suspicion as to how the two-day-old pitch might play, the South Africans clearly wanted to have first use of the track before bowling at New Zealand on a surface that might well play increasingly up and down as the match progressed.

The South Africans brought in Allan Donald and Justin Ontong for Steve Elworthy and Lance Klusener while James Franklin replaced Dion Nash in the New Zealand team.

Teams

South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock (capt), Justin Ontong, Nicky Boje, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini.

New Zealand: Nathan Astle, Brendon McCullum, Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming (capt), Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond.