Proteas slump to second worst defeat in first Test against New Zealand

Day 3 of 5:

South Africa 95 and 111

New Zealand 482

New Zealand won by an innings and 276 runs

Johannesburg - South Africa capitulated 35 minutes after the scheduled lunch break suffering its second largest innings defeat in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.

In one of the worst performances by a Proteas team, Dean Elgar’s men faced just 91 overs in their two innings and were overwhelmed by the world Test champions.

New Zealand, missing three of their biggest stars, was extremely efficient; accurate and relentless with their bowling, solid with the bat and they held all their catches. Matt Henry, who only played in the Test because Trent Boult was at his wife’s side for the birth of the couple's third child, finished with match figures of 9/55 and he also scored an unbeaten 58 in New Zealand’s innings.

The Black Caps earned a significant advantage when Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bowl, on a grassy track under cloudy skies on Thursday, but South Africa’s batting lacked intensity and despite the tricky conditions getting rolled over for under 100 in their first innings was woeful.