Oram helps NZ keep their nose 50 runs in front

Jacob Oram hit his maiden Test century as New Zealand scored 509, a first innings lead of 50, before South Africa checked their progress on ...

Jacob Oram hit his maiden Test century as New Zealand scored 509, a first innings lead of 50, before South Africa checked their progress on the fourth day of the first Test on Saturday.

South Africa arrested the slide with a partnership of 92 between Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis and at close of play, with Gibbs out, they were 134-3, a lead of 84. Kallis was unbeaten on 56 and Neil McKenzie on 11.

Oram finished unbeaten on 119 when New Zealand were all out early in the afternoon session in reply to South Africa’s first innings total of 459. He reached his first Test hundred off 191 balls in 276 minutes and hit 16 fours on a pitch that had an awkward crumbling patch at one end.

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“It’s the toughest I’ve ever had to play spinners,” Oram said. “That area of the pitch cuts down the number of shots you’d like to play against someone like Paul Adams, and you had to be very watchful.”

Oram said he thought New Zealand could still win the Test. “If we get a couple of wickets in the morning anything can happen. If it comes down to a chase then I would back us to do it.”

South Africa were quickly in trouble in their second innings when they lost captain Graeme Smith, who waved at a ball from Daryl Tuffey and got a faint edge to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum for five. One run later, left-hander Jacques Rudolph was bowled by Chris Cairns and Gibbs and Kallis came together with South Africa reeling at 16-2. The pair batted commendably as they attempted to wrest the initiative away from New Zealand.

BRIEF SCORES

South Africa:

459 and 134-3 (J Kallis 56 n.o., H Gibbs 47; D Tuffey 1/14) vs New Zealand: 509 (J Oram 119 n.o., S Styris 74, M Papps 59, B McCullum 57, D Vettori 53, P Wiseman 36; S Pollock 4/98, J Kallis 3/71, P Adams 2/118) (Reuters)