Khanyiso Tshwaku selects a few moments from the first day’s play at Newlands
Viv Richards moment of the day
Comparisons with Sir Viv Richards have to be well timed and must have more substance than style. His trademark shot was the wristy flick through midwicket. Hashim Amla brought it out off Trent Boult off a ball that pitched on offstump and moved away. It was better than the press box lunch and the internet connection.
Gesture of the day
Dale Steyn deserved all the accolades coming to him as 300 wickets is no mean feat. However, the match ball always goes to the man with the 5-fer and it was fitting when Steyn, whose milestone was always going to hog the headlines, handed the ball to Vernon Philander, whose haul left New Zealand dead in the water.
Ball of the day
Philander had the ball on a drawstring, moving it this way and that. Dean Brownlie was always out of his depth at number four, two places higher than normal, but his pavilion ball was out of the top drawer. It came into him, pitched short of a length and moved away, kissing the shoulder of his bat in the process with the ball finding Graeme Smith’s safe hands at first slip.
Milestone man of the day
The first day was one of milestones, with Jacques Kallis becoming only the fourth batsman after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting to achieve the feat. However, Doug Bracewell must have woken up thinking that he would not play a part in them.
He did so, being Steyn’s 300th with his offstump sent cartwheeling and offered up the delivery that Kallis streakily drove to third man for his 13?000th Test run. Bracewell has a place in history.
DRS moment of the day
Bracewell had a busy morning, trapping Graeme Smith early in the South African innings. He nearly had Hashim Amla trapped in front with the very next ball, but the decision review system was put into play. It returned with a thin inside edge, which no umpire would have picked up and ensured South Africa had no further damage before lunch.
