Lou Vincent and Craig Cumming steadied New Zealand in difficult conditions on the first day of the second and final Test against South Africa at Centurion and, for only the second time in the series, walked in at lunch on top.
With Jacob Oram and Shane Bond absent through injury, Daniel Vettori - in his second Test as captain - chose to bat on a pitch with a decided number of cracks and with a green tinge. It's been a torrid two weeks for New Zealand given their hammering in the first Test and, almost immediately, their decision to bat appeared to be questionable at best as Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini found prodigious bounce off a good length.
Michael Papps lacked any conviction and, like Cumming, was wary to come onto the front foot. When he did, Ntini found his outside edge and Herschelle Gibbs plucked a fine, low catch to his right at gully to immediately put New Zealand on the defensive at 26 for 1. There was a horrible sense of inevitability and South Africa were buzzing.
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