They've taken an unassailable lead, and the third game is a dead rubber. On a Napier track that promised plenty of runs, New Zealand managed a below-par score, suffering a collapse that they were unable to recover from. They had few answers against a classy Hashim Amla in the chase; his partnership with Faf du Plessis setting the tempo for the innings, something JP Duminy helped maintain. The bright spot for New Zealand in their bowling was the performance of Tarun Nethula, and hs duel with Amla, but the hosts showed little fight otherwise after they lost McCullum in their innings.
We'll get you the details from the presentation in just a bit.
McCullum: "8 for 60-odd is not acceptable. We need to have a good hard look at our game, 300 would have been competitive. It was definitely a 300 wicket, they were able to steal the momentum from us in the middle stages. Tarun was exceptional, we didn't field that well. He was good for us, and Andy bowled with good pace and asked a few questions as well. We didn't have enough runs for them. There's a big Test series to come as well, so the game in Auckland is big for a number of reasons."
AB: "We played consistently well today, Morne bowled exceptionally for us and set the trend. Morne just wickets at the right time for us. Always nice when someone starts well up the order like Amla this time, he made it easy for the middle order. Faff is a world-class talent, I'm looking forward to watching him grow into a world-class player. We'd like to do it 3-0."
Morne Morkel is Man of the Match: "I'm very grateful I can put in that kind of performance for the team. I was surprised by the pace and bounce in the wicket, and it's going well for me at the moment. Allan Donald has been great with the bowlers, he's got the experience. Auckland will be quick and bouncy, we've got the momentum with us."
Thanks for tuning in, folks, and sending us your feedback. There's one more match remaining this series and it'll be interesting to see how South Africa fare in these conditions in the Tests. Do join us soon. The report for this game will be updated shortly. Take care, and goodbye.
Should be all over, this over
END OF OVER:38 | 14 Runs | SA: 229/4 (2 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 6.02, RRR: 0.16)
- AB de Villiers30 (34b)
- Justin Ontong16 (18b)
- Tim Southee8-0-61-0
- Kyle Mills6-1-39-1
Maddy: "Interesting stat....Justin Ontong is 32 yrs old, his highest score in Tests is 32, ODIs is 32 and T20s is also 32....what a coincidence."
Chants of "Booooring" emanating from the crowd, or a section of the crowd