WELLINGTON, March 28: An unbeaten 41 from Scott Styris steadied New Zealand as they reached 128 for five in their second innings on the third day of the third and final Test against South Africa on Sunday.
New Zealand, who had looked in danger of handing the game to South Africa at 111-5, had a lead of 109 when bad light stopped play five overs short. Chris Cairns was on seven.
The home team began their second innings with a 19-run deficit after South Africa had chalked up a total of 316. Michael Papps was the first Kiwi wicket to fall, trapped lbw for a duck by Shaun Pollock in the opening over.
Skipper Stephen Fleming then took 57 balls for his nine before he attempted to hook Andre Nel and was caught behind by Mark Boucher. Mathew Sinclair hit a breezy 21 before he was lbw to Pollock without offering a stroke and Mark Richardson, who had made a painstaking 37 off 142 balls, attempted to lift Nicky Boje over mid-wicket but hit the ball straight to Graeme Smith.
Brendon McCullum was then bowled for three attempting to sweep Boje. Earlier, New Zealand seamer Chris Martin followed up his 11 wickets in the second Test with a five-wicket haul as South Africa collapsed in their first innings.
Scoreboard
NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 297 (M.S. Sinclair 74, C.L. Cairns 69, B.B. McCullum 55; N. Boje 4-65).
SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 237-3):
G.C. Smith b Cairns 47
H.H. Gibbs c sub b Martin 77
J.A. Rudolph not out 93
G. Kirsten c McCullum b Martin 1
M. van Jaarsveld c Oram b Martin 59
J.H. Kallis c McCullum b Martin 0
M.V. Boucher c Papps b Martin 0
S.M. Pollock c Fleming b Oram 5
N. Boje b Cairns 25
M. Ntini c McCullum b Cairns 4
A. Nel c Oram b Cairns 0
EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-4) 5
TOTAL (all out, 99.5 overs) 316
FALL OF WKTS: 1-103, 2-130, 3-136, 4-251, 5-265, 6-265, 7-270, 8-304, 9-308.
