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Bloemfontein
17 - 21 November 2000
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. South Africa lost a wicket in the first and last over of the first session to be 2 for 97 and thus the honours were shared in the crucial first session of the series. However, South Africa started to dominate in the afternoon session as they moved their score to 205 for the loss of only one more wicket at tea. The evening session proved even worse for New Zealand as their bowling became increasingly wayward and they failed to take a wicket as the total moved to 3 for 270 with Kallis not out on 153.
After a 90-minute delay due to overnight rain, South Africa continued in a similar fashion to the previous morning losing two wickets in the session as the score moved to 5 for 305. New Zealand struck back in the extended afternoon session by claiming three more wickets, however, the South African batsmen continued to score freely as the total moved to 8 for 436 at the tea break. South Africa eventually declared when Pollock was dismissed during another extended session with the score 9 for 471. Kallis (160) top scored for South Africa while O'Connor (3 for 87 off 30 overs) and Martin (3 for 89 off 22.1 overs) shared the bowling honours for New Zealand. The New Zealanders batted out the rest of the day to be 2 for 54 when stumps were drawn early due to bad light
South Africa took a stranglehold on the test on the third morning as they dismissed four more batsmen before lunch. With the score 6 for 183, New Zealand needed another 89 runs to avoid the follow on. New Zealand failed to reach this target in the afternoon session when they were all out for 229 at tea. While Pollock was the most successful bowler with 4 for 37 off 22 overs, Allan Donald was the centre of attention as he took his 300th test wicket during the session. With a first innings lead of 242 runs, Pollock enforced the follow on and the New Zealand batsmen batted out the final session of the day to be one for 82.
On the fourth morning, New Zealand set about batting to save the test. Needing 242 runs to make South Africa bat again, they lost only one wicket in the session while moving the score to 2 for 145. South Africa then struck twice in the afternoon session while the total moved to 4 for 214 at the tea break and the New Zealanders could begin to contemplate setting a final innings target. Fleming (99) had held the innings together and he was dismissed just after New Zealand had erased the deficit in the evening session. At stumps, they were 5 for 260 and had a lead of 18 runs with five wickets in hand. However, the batting line up does not include Chris Cairns and this may prove critical on the final day.
The final morning started to tip back to South Africa as they managed to dislodge two more batsmen before lunch with the total 7 for 332 and an overall lead of 90 runs. The New Zealand tail lasted a further thirty minutes after the break and moved the total to 342 and a final innings target for South Africa of 100 runs. The best of the South African bowlers was Ntini with 6 for 66 off 31.4 overs. South Africa then had to score at around 2 runs per over to secure victory. South Africa lost wickets at regular intervals through the afternoon giving some hope to the New Zealanders. However, they eventually achieved the 100 run target for victory with five wickets in hand. Dippenaar (27) top scored for South Africa while Tuffey took 3 for 38 off 8 overs.
Second Test
Port Elizabeth
30 November - 4 December 2000
South Africa won the toss and asked New Zealand to bat first. New Zealand made a patient start but South Africa broke through in the half-hour before lunch to take two wickets. New Zealand went to lunch at 2 for 66. South Africa then removed two more wickets in the hour after lunch as New Zealand slumped to 4 for 101. New Zealand batted through the rest of the session without further loss to be 4 for 145 with Sinclair batting confidently. South Africa broke through three times in the evening session, including McMillan (39). However, at stumps, New Zealand had moved the total to 7 for 206 with Sinclair not out on 88.
Sinclair (150) passed his century in the second morning's session while New Zealand made it through to lunch losing only O'Connor (20) to be 8 for 276. South Africa dismissed the visitors in the afternoon session for a total of 298. The bowling honours were shared by Donald (4 for 69 off 26.3 overs) and Pollock (4 for 64 off 32 overs). South Africa were 60 without loss in reply before tea. New Zealand broke through three times in the evening session to see South Africa 3 for 123at stumps.
The third morning saw New Zealand dismiss another three batsmen, including Cullinan (33) and Pollock (33) as South Africa went to lunch at 6 for 198. However, South Africa made better progress in the afternoon session as New Zealand only claimed one wicket. At tea, South Africa was 7 for 286 and looking to gain a first innings lead. The evening session belonged to South Africa as McKenzie (120) batted with the tail to move the total to 8 for 361 at stumps and a 63 run lead.
New Zealand took the final two wickets within the first three overs of the fourth day to see South Africa all out for their overnight total of 361 runs ad a 63 run lead. Martin was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 104 off 29 overs. New Zealand then lost two wickets for 58 runs by the lunch break. The afternoon session proved critical as South Africa claimed 5 more wickets, including top scorer Richardson (60) as New Zealand crumbled to 7 for 122 at tea and a lead of 59 runs. South Africa wrapped up the innings for a total of 148 during the evening session. Klusener took the last three wickets to have 3 for 8 off 9.3 overs and was the most successful bowler. With a target of 86 runs, South Africa lost one wicket for 296 runs before stumps.
South Africa lost two more wickets on the final morning on the way to victory. Kirsten top scored with 47 while O'Connor, Martin and Walmsley each claimed a wicket.
Third Test
Johannesburg
8 - 12 December 2000
Rain prevented any play on the first day. On the second morning South Africa won the toss and elected to field first. Considering the loss of one days play, the four catches they dropped before lunch could have proved costly. They did manage to hold one catch in the session to have New Zealand 1 for 83 at lunch. Whatever was said around the lunch table in the South African rooms must have been fairly lively as they returned to the field and took five wickets in the session - without missing a chance. New Zealand crumbed to 6 for 121 in a session they would rather forget with all but one reaching double figures. Test debutant Marshall (40*) held the rest of the innings together as New Zealand lurched to 200 runs before losing their last wicket. Top scorer was Richardson (46) while Ntini was the most successful of the bowlers with 3 for 29 off 18 overs. South Africa batted out the remaining overs to be 1 for 18 at stumps.
The weather again interfered and prevented any play on both the third and fourth days condemning the Test to a draw - unless there was a double declaration. New Zealand were interested in spicing up the final day, but inexplicably, South Africa were not.
After a 45 minute delay due to the wet conditions, South Africa added 98 to the over night total for the loss of Boje (22) to be 2 for 116 at lunch. The batting practice continued through the afternoon session as Dippenaar (100) brought up his maiden Test Century and was promptly dismissed without adding another run. By the time the players left the field South Africa were 3 for 261. Martin was the most successful bowler with 2 for 43 off 15 overs.
