CENTURION: Makhaya Ntini completed his second successive 10-wicket haul as South Africa beat New Zealand by 128 runs on the fifth day of the first Test at Centurion Park on Wednesday. Ntini and fellow new ball bowler Dale Steyn captured five wickets each as New Zealand was bowled out for 120.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said the extra pace of Ntini and Steyn, who both bowled as much as 15 kilometres an hour faster than any of his bowlers, made a big difference on a pitch of unpredictable bounce.

Difficult conditions

He said the pitch made conditions difficult. "You won't get too many batsmen wanting to come back and play on it. But there are times when you just have to knuckle down and grind out performances. South Africa had a couple more performances than ours," said the New Zealand skipper.

Fleming said he hoped fast bowler Shane Bond, who could not play because of a knee injury, would be fit for the second Test starting in Cape Town on April 27. "His pace does make a difference. There is plenty of time but the concern is that this injury has been around for a while and there has been no real improvement," said Fleming. Fast bowler Michael Mason will be joining the team as cover for Bond.

South African captain Graeme Smith said his team had learnt from two tough series against Australia when it lost five out of six matches. He said South Africa had produced key performances in the middle stages of the Test.

"Jacques Kallis ground out his 62 and A.B. de Villiers played superbly for his 97. Then Makhaya (Ntini) and Dale (Steyn) backed it up with their bowling in the second innings," said Smith.

Ntini took five for 51 and Steyn five for 47. Man-of-the-match Ntini finished with match figures of 10 for 146. It was his fourth 10-wicket haul and he became the first South African to do the feat in successive matches after taking 10 for 178 in a losing cause against Australia earlier this month.

Smith hailed Ntini's performance and said the fast bowler had benefited from an enforced lay-off when a knee injury caused him to miss the second half of South Africa's tour of Australia earlier in the season. "He bowled with pace and precision. There was a crack on the wicket and he worked it all day. That just tells you what sort of bowler he's become. He's a thinking bowler. As a captain, it's wonderful to be able to throw the ball to him. Something always happens. We just need to work on some guys to back him up," said Smith. — AFP, AP

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