New Zealand's bowlers reigned supreme on Day 1 of the first Test in Durban on Friday after stand-in captain, Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bat. Hashim Amla scored a stroke-filled half-century for the Proteas and there were handy contributions from Temba Bavuma (46) and Quinton de Kock (33) down the order but Neil Wagner with figures of 3/47 was the pick of New Zealand's four-pronged pace attack. Bad light ended the day's play with the hosts in trouble at 236/8.
For the first time, New Zealand find themselves above South Africa in the International Cricket Council Test rankings. The Kiwis carried on their good work from their tour against Zimbabwe where they won 2-0, and did not allow South Africa to get any easy runs in the first hour of the day's play. Trent Boult got plenty of movement away from the batsmen and Stephen Cook was dismissed off one such brilliant delivery that pitched on middle, kissed the batsman's edge and went to 'keeper BJ Watling.
The void left by AB de Villiers, missing out due to injury, also left a gaping hole in the South African middle order. Amla though, operated on a different plane, striking a flurry of boundaries.
Proceedings were rocky at the other end. Wagner removed JP Duminy, who was promoted to no. 4 while the disciplined left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner yielded the wickets of Du Plessis and the well-set Bavuma. The scoring was over four an over in the final session, and the major contributor was de Kock, driving and cutting with abandon. He struck two consecutive boundaries off Santner before a stunning catch by Doug Bracewell at mid-off ended the southpaw's stay at the crease.
Vernon Philander, making a comeback into the side, played a meek shot from Wagner's bowling towards the end of the day's play. Bad light at Durban ensured an early finish.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 236/8 (Hashim Amla 53, Temba Bavuma 46; Neil Wagner 3/47, Mitchell Santner 2/22) vs New Zealand