Brad Morgan
12 November 2007
The Proteas got the first of their two summer home series off to a record-breaking start at the weekend with a 358-run win over New Zealand in the first test at the Wanderers, eclipsing by two runs their previous biggest victory in terms of runs, which had been achieved against England at Lords in 1994.
It was an excellent all-round victory, combining good batting, bowling, and fielding and, when all was done and dusted, three players had written their names in the record books: Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, and predictably, Jacques Kallis.
Kallis wasn't named man of the match – that honour went to Steyn – but he recorded the biggest milestones and continued his torrid start to the season which has seen him score 636 runs in only six innings.
Amazing average
That astonishing tally has included four centuries, a fifty, and 29 in the first innings against the Kiwis, working out to an average of 159!
The glut of runs flowing from Kallis' bat keeps elevating him into forever rarer company. During the second innings against the Black Caps, in which he tallied 186, the second highest score of his caeer, Kallis became only the eighth batsman in history to score 9 000 test runs.
The century was also his 28th in tests, leaving him seventh on the all-time list and four of the players ahead of him no longer play the game: only Sachin Tendulkar, the record holder with 37, and Ricky Ponting (33) are still active.
In elite company
More remarkable, though, is a comparison between Kallis' test statistics and those of Sir Garry Sobers, the great West Indian, often recognised as the finest all-rounder ever to have played the game.
In 93 tests and 160 innings, Sobers scored 8 032 runs at an average of 57.78. Kallis, so far, in 110 tests and 188 innings, has scored 9 066 runs at almost exactly the same average, 57.74 to be precise.
Sobers claimed 109 catches in his career, while Kallis has pouched 109!
With the ball, Sobers picked up 235 wickets at 34.03. Kallis, who has bowled roughly 7 000 deliveries less than Sobers did, has captured 219 wickets at 31.33.
An all-time great
I'm not for a moment going to claim Kallis is better than Sobers was; comparing players from different eras is simply an exercise in conjecture, yet the bare-faced figures do, at least, indicate that the South African star has established himself among the all-time greats of the game.
For good measure, it is also worth mentioning that Kallis is now the highest run scorer in tests between South Africa and New Zealand. His total stands at 1 225 runs, with former SA captain Jackie McGlew – with 1 100 – the only other batsman to reach four figures. Stephen Fleming is New Zealand's best with 975.
The first test
But back to the test… It started well for the Black Caps as
they bowled South Africa out for only 226 after SA skipper Graeme Smith had elected to bat after winning the toss.
Herschelle Gibbs led South Africa's batting effort, with 63 in tricky conditions. Mark Boucher, always a good man in a tough situation, weighed-in with 43, while AB de Villiers did his bit with 33, but it was the Black Caps who would have been the happier team after the completion of the innings.
Shane Bond knocked over 4 for 73 and Chris Martin captured 3 for 67 as the Kiwi opening bowlers made good use of the helpful conditions and pitch. Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who was captaining his country for the first time, snared 2 for 26 against a team he has traditionally struggled against.
It looked good for the Kiwis, but the Proteas picked up two wickets before stumps on the opening day as New Zealand finished on 41 for 2.
Fell apart
The next morning things fell apart for the tourists as they were bowled out
for 118 in ony 41.3 overs. SA's speedsters bowled a testing length and had the New Zealand batsmen in two minds time after time.
That indecision meant the bowlers found the edge of the bat quite often and, when they did, they were backed up by safe and sharp catching by the fielders, which was in marked contrast to the Black Caps, who are usually very good in the field, but grassed a number of chances in the match for which they were severely punished.
Fleming put together an innings of 40, but found little support as Ross Taylor managed the second best knock of only 15.
Dale Steyn, bowling with real speed and good shape, claimed a career best 5 for 34, while Makhaya Ntini picked up 3 for 47, and Kallis sent down only four overs but knocked over 2 for 11.
With only 344 runs scored for the loss of 20 wickets inside two days, it looked as if the contest could be a low-scoring affair, but South Africa's batsmen had other ideas.
SA second
innings
The Kiwis struck early to reduce the Proteas to 20 for 2, with Gibbs out for eight and Smith for nine, but it proved an energy-sapping and long wait for Vettori's men between claiming the second and third wickets.
Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis combined to take the contest well and truly out of the hands of New Zealand with a partnership of 330, which was the highest yet by either side in matches between South Africa and New Zealand.
Kallis batted with authority and control, while Amla was more circumspect but rarely troubled on a pitch that was not easy to bat on.
As mentioned earlier, Kallis totalled 186, with the only disappointment about his innings being that he was dismissed for the ninth time between 150 and an elusive double-century. Only 11 batsmen in history have scored 25 test hundreds; only Kallis, among them, has yet to score a double-century. No doubt, it will come one day.
Amla finished undefeated on a career-best 176. He displayed remarkable focus during a stay of eight-and-a-half hours at the crease and the quality of his innings, together with that of Kallis, became clearer when New Zealand batted again after Smith had declared on 422 for 3.
Early inroads
The SA pacemen made early inroads into the Black Caps' innings, reducing them to 57 for 3 overnight and it wasn't long before they were among the wickets the next morning when Steyn dismissed Scott Styris with only three runs added to the total.
Brendon McCullum fought bravely, but he suffered a heavy working-over from Steyn before the quickie had him comfortably caught at gully by Herschelle Gibbs for 26.
Kallis removed Michael Papps for five before Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori combined for a stand of 45. Oram then holed out for 40 off Paul Harris, who hadn't even been used in the first innings and ultimately bowled only six overs in the match; a big contribution from the left-arm spinner was needed.
Steyn followed up by dismissing Ian O'Brien and Chris Martin for ducks. Shane Bond was absent through injury, leaving South Africa victors by a huge margin.
10 wickets
Steyn completed his second five-for in the match - 5 for 59 - and ended it with his first 10-wicket haul in test cricket: 10 for 93.
SA captain Smith was delighted with his team's performance, especially with his bowlers, although he was less than satisfied with the pitch.
His New Zealand counterpart, Daniel Vettori, didn't use the pitch as an excuse, instead saying his team's batting had been disappointing, adding that it had been a concern heading into the test.
Injuries
The Kiwis, admittedly, endured horrendous luck with injuries as Fleming was forced to spend some time in the pavilion, instead of fielding, after being struck on the forearm by Steyn.
Opening batsman Michael Papps couldn't take to the field before number-seven in the second innings after being struck low by a stomach bug, while Jacob Oram strained a hamstring and, most damaging of all, Shane Bond, New Zealand's bowling spearhead, was ruled out of the rest of the series with an abdominal tear.
Two replacements, fast bowler Kyle Mills and batsman Jamie How, have been called up to bolster the battered Black Caps, but whether or not they'll have enough time to adjust to South African conditions and help the tourists remains to be seen.
Suffice to say that it is going to be an uphill climb for the Kiwis with the second test beginning on Friday at SuperSport Park in Centurion and South Africa in-form and in a confident mood.
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