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South Africa promised to throw the first punch as part of the new approach to Test cricket and they did. But they didnt land nearly as many as would they have wanted as they staggered through the first day of their first Test in seven months sans a major contribution from anyone in the line-up.It may have been a little easier for South Africa to stomach where they sit now had New Zealands attack been a little more aggressive. Although Trent Boults bowled two threatening spells, Tim Southee found movement and Neil Wagner got his short ball going, New Zealand were not a constant threat. In their attempts to assert themselves, South Africa brought on their own demise to some extent and will have to find other ways of being forceful upfront.With an overhead cloud, warm air and two of the best swing bowlers on the circuit, Southee and Boult, to face, Faf du Plessis made his first statement of intent when he chose to bat. Conventional wisdom still favours putting runs on the board before allowing the opposition to, but with South Africa, by their own admission scarred from last summer and specifically their tour of India in which only AB de Villiers - not playing this series because of injury - crossed the fifty mark, it was a brave decision.The first ball drew the immediate gasps of the few hundred people in the ground when it seemed to swing violently. Stephen Cook looked to play to square leg but his outside edge ended up bobbling through gully. But the ball had not danced around a corner, Cook was just early on the shot. Thats not to say there was no movement. Southee found enough to keep the openers watchful but it was Trent Boult who properly challenged them, with deliveries that moved late.Picture a puppy whose owner teases him by pretending to throw a ball. The puppy cranes his neck, even begins to run after the imaginary object, only to find that the ball is still in the mans hand. Dean Elgar was that puppy. Sometimes he played too late, others times he was beaten and he never looked entirely comfortable.Much like Graeme Smith used to, Elgar survived through will rather than technique, which only made the way he got out look worse. He allowed Doug Bracewell to tempt him into the drive twice in the over. When Bracewell did it a third time, Elgar bit again and nicked a catch to second slip.Hashim Amlas response to the loss of the two openers was to send the ball to the boundary seven times in the next five overs but its not as though New Zealand werent asking for it. Southee had offered several spank-me deliveries, often after he had strung together some better ones, and Amla spanked. Overpitched? Four. Short and wide? Four. Bracewell? Four. Four. Four.Who was this man and what had he done with the Amla who averaged less than 19 at the ground that was his home for more than a decade before he chose the Cape Town-based Cobras as his domestic team? He was a man making a statement. So was the person who decided to send in JP Duminy at No. 4, perhaps to keep the left-right hand combination going, but also to allow a man who is experienced enough to be taking more responsibility. Duminy squandered the chance. Although he looked better than he did through all of last summer, especially on the front foot, his first sign of uncertainty came when he swept in the penultimate over before lunch. A short leg was in place for that exact shot and Duminy almost played the ball into his hands. It was hardly surprising then, that Duminy fell into another trap after the break when a fine leg was waiting for a mistimed pull and, on cue, Duminy top-edged Wagner straight to the man. His shot selection would come into discussion about his future in the Test side.Duminy has now failed to pass fifty in 10 completed innings dating back to August 2014 in Zimbabwe but whether South Africa have the depth to replace him still needs to be examined. For now, Temba Bavuma has shown he can hold his own. He began in the same aggressive vein as Amla but then followed du Plessis lead and shut shop mid-way through the second session.In 14 overs before tea, South Africa eked out just 15 runs but not because New Zealand forced that on them. The bowling was not particularly miserly, Kane Williamson had spread the field and the scoreboard needed runs. Du Plessis and Bavuma showed they had perfected the leave and the block, which may come in handy on another day, but only served to stall a decent start on this one.When du Plessis innings was ended by a headline-grabber of a catch from his opposite number, he had spent an hour and 53 minutes at the crease and faced 84 balls and all he had to show for it was a demonstration of why an overly defensive approach does not always work. In this situation, the reality was that if the watchfulness did not turn into something worthwhile, it would be in danger of being a wasted effort. So it was.Quinton de Kock was never in danger of doing that. He top-edged the first ball he faced and not even the realisation that he only got away because the fielder was too square to take the catch could force him into a more conservative style of play. De Kock took advantage of a New Zealand attack that went searching with width, and played some of the shots of the day. A full-blooded drive to long-on, a carve through the covers and then two charges to drill the ball over mid-off and through midwicket off Mitchell Santner. Like Elgar, de Kock went one strike too many. The third time he ran down the pitch to Santner, he did not get the contact he wanted and skied the ball to mid-off to end an innings that could have gone on to better Amlas.So, South Africa find themselves on the ropes again, a position they are used to fighting back from. In pre-match build-up, du Plessis even went as far as to say there was a stage when South Africa were the only team around who were willing to take the time to dig themselves out of holes. They did not want to have to call on that skill but they have left themselves no choice. If things are to go their way in the rest of this Test match, they will have to counterpunch. Wholesale Nike Shoes Ireland . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Cheap Air Max 95 Ireland . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. http://www.discountairmax95ireland.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Air Max 95 Ireland Discount . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Air Max 95 Ireland Online . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec.Cricket commentator Jack Bannister has died at the age of 85. Bannisters employers Talksport, where he was still working as a cricket correspondent, announced the news on Saturday morning.Born in Wolverhampton, Bannister spent his entire playing career as a seam bowler with Warwickshire between 1950 and 1968, finishing with 1,198 first-class wickets at an average of 21.91 from 374 matches.He made his name as a commentator with the BBC in the 1980s before moving on to Talksport.Sky Sports cricket reporter Tim Abraham, currently in South Africa covering Englands tour, tweeted: Been filming around the ground to return to the sad news of Jack Bannisters passing. Encouraging to me and great listen.David Lloyd said: Its a really sad day. He was a true friend. He was a wonderful friend of Richie Benaud too, they were always in correspondence with each other.He was one of the most knowledgeable blokes I have ever met in cricket, a wonderful man, a great golf partner and well miss him very much. David Lloyd: Jack was a true friend Jack was a true man of cricket, one of the very best. He was great, great fun. When he was in his prime everybody knew him and everybody had a good word for him.Former England bowler Daarren Gough, a colleague of Bannisters at Talksport, tweeted: RIP Jack Bannister.dddddddddddd A great man who was opinionated, honest, knowledgeable and passionate. A top cricketer, writer, broadcaster will be missed.Former England international Jonathan Agnew, a presenter on the BBC, also paid his tributes, writing on Twitter: Very sad to hear of the death of a great cricketing servant and good friend, Jack Bannister.Mick Quinn, former Newcastle footballer, and currently a presenter at Talksport, tweeted: Sad News. Former Cricketer and Talksport Cricket man Jack Bannister has passed away. Our Jack will be missed. And a Warwickshire statement read: Sad to hear of Jack Bannisters passing. A true Bear and a pro in the comm box. Our thoughts are with his family.Bannister also helped set up the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) following the end of his playing career.Jason Ratcliffe, the assistant chief executive of the PCA and chairman of the Warwickshire Old County Cricketers Association, said: There is no denying that every cricketer owes Jack a huge debt of gratitude because he was one of the pioneers who were responsible for laying the foundations for the organisation we have now. Also See: Sir Ian Botham David Lloyd Nasser Hussain Bob Willis ' ' '