Just as history seemed to be drifting away from them, the Blackcaps have produced two stunning catches to keep in the battle against South Africa in their second test at Christchurch.
Resuming day four at Hagley Oval and hoping to quickly wrap up the Proteas innings, the home side were chasing their first test series win over their rivals, but struggled to make any headway, as South African wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne brought up his maiden test fifty.
As lunch loomed, Kyle Jamieson made the breakthrough off a piece of luck, after he overstepped the bowling mark at the end of his over and was asked to rebowl the ball.
His second attempt worked a charm, as all-rounder Wiaan Mulder edged behind, where wicketkeeper Tom Latham dove to his right for an acrobatic catch.
Minutes before the lunch interval, Proteas fast bowler Marco Jansen looked like he had lofted the ball over the mid-wicket boundary for six, but watched in despair, as Blackcaps fielder Will Young chased and dove and reached behind him for a miracle left-handed catch to five his side renewed hope for the afternoon session.
South Africa will resume with a 303-run lead and three second-innings wickets in hand, as they set New Zealand a formidable chase for victory.
Join us here for live updates of the second test between the Blackcaps and South Africa
More to come
