Morkel's late reaction and a first for van Wyk
ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton
Firdose Moonda in
15-Mar-2012
Dale Steyn combined with Vernon Philander to rip out five New Zealand wickets for no runs • Getty Images
Delayed appeal of the day
South Africa did not have as much success as they would have liked in the morning session and eventually their desperation came through. The post-drinks passage had yielded just one run and pressure was building when Morne Morkel struck Brendon McCullum on his back pad. Mark Boucher and the slip cordon all went up immediately but Morkel had simply continued in his follow through to pick the ball up. On hearing the chorus continue, he though it wise to join in. He swiftly turned on his heel, arms in the air and let out a loud yell, somewhat unconvincingly to Billy Doctrove, who had already decided that it was going down leg.
South Africa did not have as much success as they would have liked in the morning session and eventually their desperation came through. The post-drinks passage had yielded just one run and pressure was building when Morne Morkel struck Brendon McCullum on his back pad. Mark Boucher and the slip cordon all went up immediately but Morkel had simply continued in his follow through to pick the ball up. On hearing the chorus continue, he though it wise to join in. He swiftly turned on his heel, arms in the air and let out a loud yell, somewhat unconvincingly to Billy Doctrove, who had already decided that it was going down leg.
Wet blanket of the day
After the rained out final day in Dunedin, the last thing anyone wanted to see was more rain, but 45 minutes after lunch, it arrived. A barely-there drizzle caused the umpires to call for the covers when almost no-one in the ground seemed to be affected by it. None of the spectators moved, no umbrellas were up and even Lonwabo Tsotsobe and JP Duminy continued playing their amateur game of football undisturbed. Doctrove and Richard Kettleborough must have known something the rest of us didn't, because minutes later a light shower passed over the ground. And left. And came back. Over an hour of play was wasted because of it and as soon as it dried up, tea was taken, only for another hour to be spent watching rain.
After the rained out final day in Dunedin, the last thing anyone wanted to see was more rain, but 45 minutes after lunch, it arrived. A barely-there drizzle caused the umpires to call for the covers when almost no-one in the ground seemed to be affected by it. None of the spectators moved, no umbrellas were up and even Lonwabo Tsotsobe and JP Duminy continued playing their amateur game of football undisturbed. Doctrove and Richard Kettleborough must have known something the rest of us didn't, because minutes later a light shower passed over the ground. And left. And came back. Over an hour of play was wasted because of it and as soon as it dried up, tea was taken, only for another hour to be spent watching rain.
Wicket of the day
It's tough to pick between the five wickets that fell for no runs to derail New Zealand from a position of relative security to one that completely justified Graeme Smith's decision to put them in. The wicket that captured the collapse best was the one that fell in the middle. Dale Steyn had found his rhythm in menacing fashion and was hitting the mid-140s when he attacked Kane Williamson with a short ball that was aimed at offstump. Williamson had no choice but to play at it and fended it off the glove to Smith at first slip.
It's tough to pick between the five wickets that fell for no runs to derail New Zealand from a position of relative security to one that completely justified Graeme Smith's decision to put them in. The wicket that captured the collapse best was the one that fell in the middle. Dale Steyn had found his rhythm in menacing fashion and was hitting the mid-140s when he attacked Kane Williamson with a short ball that was aimed at offstump. Williamson had no choice but to play at it and fended it off the glove to Smith at first slip.
Closed-eyes shot of the day
Mark Gillespie came to the crease with an all or nothing approach and he started off giving it his all. Off the 15th ball he faced, a short one from Vernon Philander, he took his eyes off and tried to take cover but left his bat out. The ball took the top edge and sailed over the leg-side boundary and into the stands for an audacious six.
Mark Gillespie came to the crease with an all or nothing approach and he started off giving it his all. Off the 15th ball he faced, a short one from Vernon Philander, he took his eyes off and tried to take cover but left his bat out. The ball took the top edge and sailed over the leg-side boundary and into the stands for an audacious six.
Catch of the day
Alviro Petersen timed his leapt to perfection to dismiss Gillespie off Imran Tahir's bowling. Graeme Smith took two sharp catches at first slip after missing a tough chance earlier on. But Kruger van Wyk had waited an entire Test match to take his first catch as wicketkeeper and it finally came in the fifth over of his second. Graeme Smith chased a wide Chris Martin delivery and van Wyk had to dive full stretch to his right to take the catch as it died on him to open his account in international cricket.
Alviro Petersen timed his leapt to perfection to dismiss Gillespie off Imran Tahir's bowling. Graeme Smith took two sharp catches at first slip after missing a tough chance earlier on. But Kruger van Wyk had waited an entire Test match to take his first catch as wicketkeeper and it finally came in the fifth over of his second. Graeme Smith chased a wide Chris Martin delivery and van Wyk had to dive full stretch to his right to take the catch as it died on him to open his account in international cricket.
Edited by Tariq Engineer
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent