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South Africa 505 for 7 (Elgar 91*, Steyn 4*) v New Zealand
Faf du Plessis took a painful blow early in the day but recovered to lead South Africa's batting © Gallo Images
With the professionalism that is becoming their forte, South Africa piled up an imposing total in Port Elizabeth. Faf du Plessis scored his second Test hundred in just his fourth Test and Dean Elgar made it to the brink of his first although it remained to be seen whether he would be given the chance of three figures with Graeme Smith keen to declare despite more than three days remaining.
When Dale Steyn arrived he seemingly brought the message that Elgar had until tea and the left hander collected two boundaries in four balls against Trent Boult. A massive six over long-on against Neil Wagner gave him a kick, then he began turning down singles only to still lose the strike to Steyn before tea.
Elgar, who started with a pair in Perth and made a jittery 21 at Newlands last week, was again nervous at the start of his innings but this time managed to ride through a tricky period. A strong pull off Wagner settled him and he then began to expand against Jeetan Patel. It was not always pretty from Elgar, especially outside off stump, but he ensured he did not waste his opportunity against a tiring attack.
Du Plessis was also stuck in the nineties, but only for 40 minutes. He went to lunch on 99 having played out consecutive maidens from Colin Munro, who made one delivery jump off a length to take the glove, but he must have been at ease during the break as the first ball he faced on resumption, from Patel, he drove into the stands to bring up his hundred. His lofted driving was a feature of the innings as he played them against seam and spin.
Du Plessis showed during his epic rearguard in Adelaide that he has a game that can adapt to various situations despite him having made his name in the one-day arena. With the ball moving, he defended solidly, left well and waited for the poor delivery having regained his composure after a nasty blow in a sensitive area in the first over of the day from Doug Bracewell. As ever, it provided amusement to those who sat in the comfort of the dressing room.
There was a hint of desperation when New Zealand reviewed an lbw shout from Wagner with him on 80. He eventually became Munro's first Test wicket, after a stand of 131 with Elgar, when he got a leading edge high into the off side when aiming over leg. The dismissal saw his average plummeting down to 111.25. It has been one of most serene starts to a Test career in recent memory.
The opening ten overs of the day had brought just 11 runs and the prized wicket of Hashim Amla as New Zealand probed away under cloudy skies. After passing the outside edge on a number of occasions, it was probably Boult's worst delivery of his opening spell which broke through when Amla flicked at a ball down the leg side and nicked through to BJ Watling ending a stand of 113. Boult's celebration amounted to a sheepish grin, but after seeing Amla dropped on 48 yesterday, even removing him for 110 will have brought a sense of relief.
The problem for New Zealand was the support for Bracewell and Boult. Wagner proved expensive and before lunch, Patel and Munro, who later had Robin Petersen taken at deep midwicket, were operating in tandem. There was spin on offer for Patel, although that was a better sign for South Africa than for the visitors.
Faf du Plessis took a painful blow early in the day but recovered to lead South Africa's batting © Gallo Images
With the professionalism that is becoming their forte, South Africa piled up an imposing total in Port Elizabeth. Faf du Plessis scored his second Test hundred in just his fourth Test and Dean Elgar made it to the brink of his first although it remained to be seen whether he would be given the chance of three figures with Graeme Smith keen to declare despite more than three days remaining.
When Dale Steyn arrived he seemingly brought the message that Elgar had until tea and the left hander collected two boundaries in four balls against Trent Boult. A massive six over long-on against Neil Wagner gave him a kick, then he began turning down singles only to still lose the strike to Steyn before tea.
Elgar, who started with a pair in Perth and made a jittery 21 at Newlands last week, was again nervous at the start of his innings but this time managed to ride through a tricky period. A strong pull off Wagner settled him and he then began to expand against Jeetan Patel. It was not always pretty from Elgar, especially outside off stump, but he ensured he did not waste his opportunity against a tiring attack.
Du Plessis was also stuck in the nineties, but only for 40 minutes. He went to lunch on 99 having played out consecutive maidens from Colin Munro, who made one delivery jump off a length to take the glove, but he must have been at ease during the break as the first ball he faced on resumption, from Patel, he drove into the stands to bring up his hundred. His lofted driving was a feature of the innings as he played them against seam and spin.
Du Plessis showed during his epic rearguard in Adelaide that he has a game that can adapt to various situations despite him having made his name in the one-day arena. With the ball moving, he defended solidly, left well and waited for the poor delivery having regained his composure after a nasty blow in a sensitive area in the first over of the day from Doug Bracewell. As ever, it provided amusement to those who sat in the comfort of the dressing room.
There was a hint of desperation when New Zealand reviewed an lbw shout from Wagner with him on 80. He eventually became Munro's first Test wicket, after a stand of 131 with Elgar, when he got a leading edge high into the off side when aiming over leg. The dismissal saw his average plummeting down to 111.25. It has been one of most serene starts to a Test career in recent memory.
The opening ten overs of the day had brought just 11 runs and the prized wicket of Hashim Amla as New Zealand probed away under cloudy skies. After passing the outside edge on a number of occasions, it was probably Boult's worst delivery of his opening spell which broke through when Amla flicked at a ball down the leg side and nicked through to BJ Watling ending a stand of 113. Boult's celebration amounted to a sheepish grin, but after seeing Amla dropped on 48 yesterday, even removing him for 110 will have brought a sense of relief.
The problem for New Zealand was the support for Bracewell and Boult. Wagner proved expensive and before lunch, Patel and Munro, who later had Robin Petersen taken at deep midwicket, were operating in tandem. There was spin on offer for Patel, although that was a better sign for South Africa than for the visitors.