MAHARAJ AND DUMINY SHINE
Spinners give Proteas another string to their bow
Wellington — South African spinners last took a dozen or more wickets in a Test not played in subcontinent conditions more than 60 years ago. In February 1957‚ Hugh Tayfield claimed 13/232 to help SA win the fourth Test against England by 17 runs at the Wanderers. Three weeks earlier‚ Tayfield and Clive van Ryneveld had combined to take 12/177 in the drawn Kingsmead Test. Those records stood until this past weekend‚ when Keshav Maharaj and JP Duminy grabbed 12/138 to bowl SA to an eight-wicket victory over New Zealand in three days at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. That marked only the 15th time in the 410 Tests SA have played anywhere that their slow bowlers have taken 10 or more wickets — or 3.66% of the time. A lot can happen to a cricket culture in 60 years. SA’s‚ for instance‚ veered away from spin and towards fast bowling. And‚ it bears pointing out, considering Maharaj and Duminy are of colour‚ apartheid is no longer the law of the land. These days‚ merit plays a far greate...
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