Close - South Africa 26 for 0 (Kirsten 11, Gibbs 15) trailZimbabwe (419 for 9 declared) by 393 runs

Just as it looked as if it would die from terminal boredom, this match finally spluttered into life of sorts after lunch, but with neither side showing any signs of taking the initiative a draw remains the most likely outcome.

The morning session followed the pattern established on the first day; South Africa tried to suffocate the batsmen into submission with ultra-negative fields while the Zimbabwe batsmen generally lacked the ability to break through the stranglehold. Until mid-afternoon only Andy Flower had shown the skill to take the attack to the bowlers.

Flower, who came to the wicket in the seventh over of the day following the dismissal of Hamilton Masakadza, caught behind driving at a wide delivery from Andre Nel, injected pace into the innings and forced Shaun Pollock to shuffle bowlers who had up to then been allowed to settle into their rhythms. Flower had made 67 in a fourth-wicket stand of 86 when he was deceived by Henderson, the ball lifting more than the batsman expected and lobbing to silly mid-off. He was replaced by his brother, Grant, who continued in attacking vein, hitting 44 before a mix-up with Stuart Carlisle led to his run out. Carlisle, meanwhile, had become almost comatose in a painfully negative innings, punctuated by one sublime shot when he lofted Henderson for a massive six. It was a solitary counter-attack in an innings of almost four-and-a-half hours which, to the relief of the crowd, ended shortly before tea when he was trapped lbw by Pollock. The death throes of the Zimbabwe innings were positively frenetic compared with what had been offered by their front line batsmen. Heath Streak looked to force the pace and then Paul Strang cut loose, taking just 28 balls to hit an unbeaten 38 before Zimbabwe declared. The South African bowlers were economic, but given the defensive fields set by Shaun Pollock that was hardly surprising. Claude Henderson bore the brunt of the occasional counterattacks by the batsmen, gaining four wickets as his reward for perseverance during a marathon 68 overs. The ease with which Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs negotiated the potentially tricky final hour indicated that the Zimbabweans face a long day in the field tomorrow. Streak is unlikely to be as generous with his fielding positions as he was in Harare, so another day of attrition looks to be in store. The geography might say that this match is taking place in southern Africa but the weather most certainly does not. The hardy spectators, whose attire would not have been out of place at Durham in April, sought solace in tea and coffee. The players did likewise; the first drinks interval saw them served steaming hot drinks in an attempt to stave off hypothermia. The spectators main concern for most of the day was staying awake.

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