McKenzie happy with spin performance
SOURCE: unkown, 16/12/2001 (Thanks Sabina)

Exciting South African middle order batsman Neil McKenzie wore the bruises as a badge of honour after keeping his team in the first cricket Test against Australia here Sunday with an impressive knock of 87.

McKenzie, whose father Kevin played for Transvaal in the apartheid-isolation era of the 1980s, was denied a richly-deserved century in his first Test against Australia when he was lbw to part-timer Damien Martyn late in the day.

South Africa were subsequently dismissed for 374 in reply to Australia's first innings 439 and at stumps Australia were three without loss in their second innings for an overall lead of 68.

The 26-year-old right-hander's brilliant knock in 218 minutes was studded with 16 boundaries in his 19th Test.

McKenzie said he relished the chance to test himself against Australia's in-your-face, intense brand of cricket.

"It's always nice to have a few bruises after the day and you've got a few runs. I've got a few runs and I've got a few bruises so it's not a bad day."

McKenzie said he welcomed attempts to sledge him, which he said was always part of contests between the world's top two Test playing nations.

"It's a big thing if they don't say anything, then you start wondering why they're not saying something," he said.

"I think they play their cricket the same way we play our cricket, that's hard on the field.

"There's no inches given out there, whenever they see they can say something that's going to rattle you, they're going to do it and we're going to do it straight back."

McKenzie was most impressive playing off the back foot against the second new ball with its more even bounce, pulling and cutting the Australian pacemen to the square boundaries in dismissive style.

He said the less certain bounce as the ball lost its shine made it more difficult to play cross-bat strokes on a wearing pitch.

But McKenzie was equally pleased with the way in which he handled mercurial legspinner Shane Warne, who finished with 5-113.

His reputation leading into the tour as a batsman that could be troubled by spinners had Warne believing he could be his victim.

But McKenzie said he was working hard on his technique against spin.

"I'm just relishing facing all the top spinners in the world, against Sri Lanka, India and now Australia," he said.

"I've always got something to work on and people have been telling me that's spin, so I've been working quite hard on the spin and seeing how it goes."