In a Test match that Tom Latham feels was "even stevens" for the first three days, South Africa's batting on the fourth day proved to be the difference between a series win and the eventual 1-1 shared result, according to the New Zealand captain.
New Zealand lost the Test by 198 runs - their second home Test loss this summer after losing to Bangladesh in the New Year's Test - and Latham, leading the side in Kane Williamson's extended absence because of injury, said South Africa did what his side couldn't: build partnerships, especially lower down the order.
"From 1-0 to here is quite disappointing on our front," Latham said after the game. "We knew coming in that we had to front up again and we knew South Africa were going to bring their best. Unfortunately, we weren't able to stick with them for long enough [on day four] and get those breakthroughs. They were able to put a good score and then coming into our second innings, we couldn't build partnerships, especially among our top four."
After South Africa had taken a 71-run first-innings lead, the visitors started the fourth morning on 140 for 5, but managed to get to 354 for 9 before declaring, setting a target of 426. Kyle Verreynne, who finished unbeaten on 136 in the third innings, put on partnerships of 78 for the sixth wicket with Wiaan Mulder and 78 for the eighth with Kagiso Rabada, the runs coming at 7.43 in the latter stand.
"I think there were times throughout the Test match where momentum shifted from team to team," Latham said. "We were able to stay with South Africa for long periods but they managed to get their heads in front yesterday with lower-order partnerships. From a batting point of view, we were unable to do that. If we were able to do that, things might have looked different. Both in the first and second innings."
In the fourth innings, the only bright spot for New Zealand was Devon Conway's 92, which gave them a chance of, perhaps, drawing the contest, as there was some possibility of rain on the final day. But New Zealand were met with some hostile bowling from Rabada and Marco Jansen, both taking three wickets each, and Keshav Maharaj, who also picked up three wickets.
However, despite Maharaj's success, Latham did not feel that New Zealand missed a spinner in their side and felt the best available XI had been put on the park.
"They were 200 ahead for five down [in South Africa's second innings]. If we were able to get a couple of wickets then, things might have shifted right away in our favour," Latham said. "The score they put on was obviously going to be tough to get on that wicket, especially with fresh bowlers.
"I don't think we missed a spinner. Regardless of what side we put on, we have a way we like to go about things. Even though the wicket was slightly flatter, there wasn't a huge amount of turn and we certainly thought we had a team that was good enough to win.
"Certainly happy with the side we have. We have full belief in the side we have and the XI we put out. From a batting point of view, in New Zealand, some surfaces - sometimes it is not easy, sometimes it is not your day, and I think we've shown over long periods of time that we can be successful on these wickets. We had a couple of guys missing who will come back to the squad and then we will reassess."
Entering the home summer, New Zealand were considered favourites to win all four Tests, more so since they entered 2022 on the back of 17 consecutive home Tests without a loss. But points dropped against Bangladesh and then against South Africa, added to the series loss in India, have now put the defending Test world champions in a precarious position; they might not be able to reach the final of the 2021-23 edition.
With away tours of England and Pakistan to follow, along with a home series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand at sixth have their backs against the wall. However, Latham was gung-ho about claiming full points in England.
"As a whole, we had four Test matches in New Zealand and wanted to win them all, and unfortunately we weren't able to do that. We played some good cricket in between and there were couple of games where we didn't quite play our best," he said. "We've got three Tests in England as our next tour and the goal there will be to win three Tests over there. From an England point of view, we played a couple of Tests over there last year [including the WTC final against India], so conditions are familiar.
"Obviously you set out to win every Test at home. When we head to England, it will be important we shift our focus to that and win that series over there. Whatever Test it is, whether the first of a championship cycle or the last one, you always set out with the ambition of winning. So we now focus on the next Test match."