Centurion – South Africa continued to make steady progress through the afternoon session against a tiring New Zealand attack reaching tea on 437/6.
After a largely laborious first session in which they managed just 75 runs, South Africa continued gathering runs in pedestrian fashion, scoring 79 in 27 overs between lunch and the tea break.
The scoring was initially more sprightly after lunch, thanks mainly to stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis, who punished some short pitched bowling with good pull shots, including one that flew over deep backward square leg for six.
Du Plessis’ partnership of 84 runs for the sixth wicket with Stiaan van Zyl helped to further solidify South Africa’s already powerful position in this second Sunfoil Test. Van Zyl’s innings was an understandably nervous one in his first Test since January against England following which he was dropped from the side after a lengthy, but failed stint as an opener.
He scored 35, which contained some lovely drives - a feature of Van Zyl’s play - but there were also periods in which he was becalmed eschewing runs against deliveries which deserved to be dispatched to the fence. He was eventually dismissed 15 minutes before tea when he drove loosely at Neil Wagner, with the thick edge flying low to Ross Taylor standing in a fly slip position.
The session was dominated by Du Plessis, who kept out the Black Caps bowlers but also sought out the boundary better than was the case in the morning session.
He went into tea not out on 95, with Vernon Philander on 6.
For New Zealand, left arm seamer Wagner was again the outstanding performer, and his figures at the interval of 4/76 from 33 overs of toil are deserved statistics.
It was noticeable how the New Zealand bowlers’ energy had started to lag as the unseasonably hot sun began to take it’s toll.
South Africa will probably look to declare about an hour after tea to give their bowlers a chance to run in at the Kiwis on a pitch where the occasional delivery is still misbehaving, even with a tired attack and a ball that is now 62 overs old.