DALE STEYN rekindled memories of his destruction of New Zealand at the same venue nine years ago when he took his 26th five-wicket haul to bowl the Standard Bank Proteas to a comprehensive 204-run victory in the second Sunfoil Test match at SuperSport Park on Tuesday. The victory gave the Proteas the series victory as well by a 1-0 margin after the first Test had ended in a draw. If anybody needed confirmation that South Africa’s pace spearhead was back in business they got it today as he paraded all his world famous skills, intensity, stamina and speed as he rocked New Zealand by taking 3/3 off the first 11 balls he bowled at the start of the New Zealand second innings. With Vernon Philander also chiming in with the key wicket of Kane Williamson the visitors suddenly found themselves on 7/4 in pursuit of a target of 400. However, the New Zealanders were far from beaten and put up dogged and gallant resistance to withstand the Proteas pace trio for the best part of two sessions. As had been the case in the first innings with Williamson, Henry Nicholls was denied what would have been his maiden Test match century when he ran out of partners.
Nicholls nevertheless has certainly put down a marker for the future with his innings of 76 (140 balls, 12 fours). Philander and Steyn kept chipping away and then Kagiso Rabada ripped through the tail. Appropriately Steyn took the last wicket with Rabada taking the catch on the boundary to dismiss Nicholls.
Steyn finished with eight wickets in the match to put him in 11th place on the all-time list with 416 dismissals. His 26 fifers puts him in joint seventh place in that category while he has also gone past Makhaya Ntini as the leading wicket-taker at SuperSport Park with 56 dismissals. Quinton de Kock was named Man of the Match for his two half-centuries on his debut as opening batsman in addition to six catches behind the stumps, two of which to dismiss Tim Southee in the first innings and Williamson in the second were quite outstanding.
Overall it was a very good team effort although the one area that will need attention is the slip catching with a number of chances being put down in the series. With the strength of the bowling attack lying with the fast bowlers it is going to be essential to be flawless in this area when they travel to Australia in November.
