Cricket: South Africa duck as Martin gets quacking

By RICHARD BOOCK

Chris Martin's bowling carried New Zealand to within touching distance of a historic test win last night, but it was his batting that brought him a world record.

The surprise selection in the New Zealand side for the second test, Martin followed up his six-wicket bag in the first innings with another startling effort yesterday, leaving South Africa's fightback in a state of disarray.

At stumps last night the tourists were 277 for six in their second innings, needing 22 more runs to make New Zealand bat again.

Central to any faint hopes they might still harbour are the fortunes of Jacques Rudolph, who was unbeaten on 121 at the close after sharing a 146-run third-wicket stand with master craftsman Jacques Kallis.

Martin began the day in dramatic fashion when he bowled South African captain Graeme Smith from the first ball of the innings, and returned in the last session to stun the visitors again, dismissing the doughty Gary Kirsten and the more fragile Neil McKenzie off successive balls, and then sending back Mark Boucher.

His match analysis at stumps last night - 10 for 147 off 48 overs - is already a record for a New Zealander against South Africa, eclipsing Matt Hart's eight for 134 in the first test at Johannesburg in 1994-95.

New Zealand, having put themselves in an unassailable position after a record-breaking effort with the bat on Saturday, were able to add just 11 more runs yesterday morning before losing both their remaining wickets at 595.

South Africa's record test wicket-taker, Shaun Pollock, bowled both Daryl Tuffey and Martin to boost his tally to 334, and restrict New Zealand's overall lead to 299.

Martin lasted just three balls before his stumps were demolished, in the process becoming the first player in the history of test cricket to score either 0 or 0 not out on nine consecutive occasions.

Now in his 12th test, he has not scored a run since making 4 not out at Port Elizabeth in 2000, and has only scored 12 runs in total.

However, Martin's batting was the last thing on South Africa's minds yesterday as he rekindled his international career, ending the day with the most successful spell of pace bowling at Eden Park since Gary Troup took 10 wickets against the West Indies in 1979-80.

Bowling in the region of 140km/h, he wobbled the ball disconcertingly at times, proved his mettle against the left-handers and virtually booked his trip with the New Zealand side for the winter tour to England.

New Zealand, buoyant at the end of the day and given a standing ovation as they left the field, had to work hard for their breakthrough after the early prize of Smith, and for a time seemed to be struggling with the resistance of the two Jacques.

Kallis needed one more century to equal Don Bradman's record of six in consecutive tests, and looked on track to achieve the milestone, bringing up his half-century off 69 balls and defying the New Zealand attack for 43 overs.

He was lucky to survive an lbw shout from Scott Styris when on 16 but continued to prosper until deep in the final session, when he was trapped in front by part-time bowler Craig McMillan for 71.

The blow was a turning point for the innings, leading directly to Martin's triple-strike and what seemed like the beginning of the end for the South Africans.

New Zealand have never beaten South Africa in a home test or a test series, but will be well-placed to push for glory this morning, especially if they can remove the classy Rudolph and his veteran partner Shaun Pollock.

"There's a good chance for us and not much chance for them," coach John Bracewell said at the end of the day. "We had a plan after tea of going into a holding pattern more or less, getting some maidens under our belt and asserting some pressure in a different way, and it worked.

"It's not the sort of pitch that you can bombard people, it's about putting in your dot balls and trying to build the pressure."

* Tuffey will sit out the third and final test against South Africa with a deep haematoma of his left thigh, and more concern over his patella tendon problem.

Tuffey bowled only four overs yesterday before leaving the field and being replaced by substitute fieldsman James Marshall.

Bracewell said last night that New Zealand Cricket's medical team would discuss Tuffey's plight today and try to arrange a programme that would allow him to be ready for the tour of England, which begins late next month.


ON THE DUCK TRAIL

Most consecutive test scores of 0 or 0*

9 Chris Martin (New Zealand)

8 Dinanath Ramnarine (West Indies)

6 Brian Statham (England)

6 Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (India)