orms reply could not have got off to a worse start. Having hit seven off the

The language of modern sport lies in buzzwords and the one this week was adaptation. Neither South Africa, nor New Zealand, nor anyone else for that matter, knew what to expect from SuperSport Park in winter, but it turned out that was not what the hosts required adjusting to. Rather, they had to contend with two other quandaries: the loss of a certain starter in Dean Elgar and the shaky form of someone who has flirted with being dropped in JP Duminy. They dealt with both sans major drama to finish day one in control.Remember that South Africa are a team that prefers to play to plan. The most common criticism leveled at them is that they are unable to adjust to spontaneous challenges. On the eve of the Test, after the fielding drills were complete, Elgar was walking off the park when he wobbled on the boundary rope and sustained a grade three tear to his ankle. After all the concerns about player safety on the Kingsmead outfield, it turned out a pristine surface could be just as dangerous and contribute even more to derailing team strategy.Although his career is only 26 Tests old, Elgar is the senior opening partner and one of the most experienced members of the line-up. More importantly, South Africa did not have a reserve opener in their ranks which would have caused some consternation when choosing a replacement.They had three options: Stiaan van Zyl, who had opened in eights Test before and failed, Temba Bavuma, who opened in one and showed promise, and Quinton de Kock, who had never opened in Tests and had not done the job in South African domestic cricket since February 2014. The South Africa we know would have picked experience over an experiment and gone with either van Zyl or Bavuma. The South Africa we saw opted for de Kock.In numbers terms, the decision made sense because while van Zyl averaged 15.60 as an opener, and Bavuma scored 22 and 34 when he was given the chance, de Kock has opened 16 times in first-class cricket and averages 37.25 in the position. Perhaps the only reason he has not been seriously debated as an opener before is because his role with the gloves militates against it. Imagine if he had to keep for two days and then immediately go out to bat, or bat through the innings and then keep. That theory may not be tested in this match and it is likely the debate will continue after de Kock provided 82 reasons he could be considered for a longer-term role.De Kock survived a tense first hour in which New Zealands seamers probed his defences and Tim Southee almost broke through. The ball of the morning moved off the seam and snuck past the offstump and - as was the case for New Zealand for most of the day - was close but not close enough.The tug-of-war between de Kocks attempts to assert himself and New Zealands to justify their captains decision to bowl first provided the most engaging cricket on New Zealands African safari so far. De Kock creamed Doug Bracewell through the covers; later in the over, Bracewell drew a top edge and, in the next over, drew him forward and beat the bat. De Kock whipped Bracewell off the pads and, off the next ball, Bracewell found an inside edge which BJ Watling could not hold on to. With even the outside edges off de Kocks bat seemingly timed well enough to reach the boundary, it became clear he was winning the battle.For South Africa, to have someone with de Kocks lively temperament at the other end along the more conservative Stephen Cook did wonders for the opening stand. Cook did not need to rush into run-scoring, which he may not have been able to do anyway because he rarely looked entirely comfortable at the crease. Instead, he built slowly.Through grit, grind and some good fortune, the pair put on the first century-stand for a South Africa top two since Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen in December 2013, and that set South Africa up. Even when things did not come easily - and the end of day score may suggest they did - they had the security of that stand to build on.New Zealand will feel hard done by after what can be considered a decent days work scuppered by luck playing hide and seek with them. When it wasnt denying Bracewell, who found several edges none of which went to hand, it was duping the umpires. Twice, Ian Gould turned down appeals for lbw - against Stephen Cook off Neil Wagner and against Duminy off Trent Boult- and twice, Kane Williamson did not review. In both instances, a review would have overturned the not-out decision. On the two occasions Gould raised his finger, to dismiss Hashim Amla off Boult and Duminy off Bracewell, the decisions were overturned on review.Duminy was the biggest beneficiary. Promoted to No. 4 for the second Test in succession, he has also had to adjust but mostly to the pressure over his place. The last time Duminy scored fifty was more than two years ago, against Zimbabwe in August 2014 - 10 completed innings ago. That could have become 11 when he edged the first ball he faced, but, fortunately for him, it went wide of second slip, to the boundary.During Duminys dry spell, there would be flickers of form that were snubbed out by poor shot selection and he threatened the same today. After rolling his wrists to send a short ball over long leg and leaning into drives, he pulled out a premeditated lap scoop which, if he made contact with, may have ended his career. He wore it instead and batted on. Duminy still has a long way to go to convince the critics there is significant life left in him as a Test cricketer but he had to start somewhere.So did South Africa. For all their concerns about a series becoming a one-off shootout and the uncertainty over the surface, they could not have had a better day in their bid to begin their climb back up the rankings.Cheap Air Max 720 Clearance . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Air Max Clearance . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Discount Air Max 720 .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night.Western Storm 165 for 5 (Taylor 74*, Lee 53) beat Surrey Stars 161 for 6 (Sciver 90*) by five wicketsScorecardStafanie Taylors unbeaten 74 guided Western Storm to an unlikely but thrilling five wicket victory over Surrey Stars in the Kia Womens Super League at the Brightside Ground.Taylor, who dropped England star Natalie Sciver (90 not out) on two during the Surrey innings, put on an unbeaten 71 with Sophie Luff (21 not out) to see the Storm home in the final over of a remarkable game in Bristol.The Storm appeared dead and buried when Surrey, who hit 161 for 6 off their 20 overs, reduced the hosts to 17 for 3 in the fourth over. However, Taylor made up for her earlier error to earn the hosts a second victory in three games.Having chosen to bat first, Surrey made a steady start thanks to Englands Tammy Beaumont and fellow opener Bryony Smith. However, having reached 19, Smith tried one expansive shot too many and was bowled by Englands Anya Shrubsole, for 19.Beaumont and Cordelia Griffiths added 18 for the second wicket and Beaumont and Sciver 26 for the third before the former was finally out, for 13, run out by a smart piece of fielding from Taylor.Sciver, who was dropped by Taylor on 2, at deep square leg, batted with great purpose despite losing fourth wicket partner Marizanne Kapp, for two, at 90 for 4.The Storm, who also came into the game having won one and lost one of their opening games, did their best to stem the tide and bowled well between overs 11 and 14. Unfortunately, they were made to pay dearly for Taylors slip in the deep, as Sciver edged closer to 50. The gifted all--rounder finally reached her half century off 29 balls with nine fours and a six.ddddddddddddWith Beth Morgan, she added 29 for the fifth wicket, before Morgan gifted Freya Davies her second wicket at 119 for 5, in the 16th over. Sciver continued to heap misery on Taylor, hitting the West Indian all-rounder for four successive boundaries in the 17th over as Surrey piled on the runs.In the end, Surrey reached 161 for 6 with Sciver unbeaten on a quite brilliant 90, off 45 balls with 16 fours and two sixes.The Storms reply could not have got off to a worse start. Having hit seven off the opening over, they lost their first wicket when Rachel Priest was run out for seven at 8 for 1. Captain Knight departed at 16 for 2 and when Fran Wilson was trapped leg before, at 17 for 3, the Storms chances appeared to have disappeared.Lee was sublime. She struck two straight sixes into the Ashley Down Road flats before Taylor followed suit, over mid wicket. Lee reached her 50 off 35 balls with eight fours and two sixes, but was oThe language of modern sport lies in buzzwords and the one this week was adaptation. Neither South Africa, nor New Zealand, nor anyone else for that matter, knew what to expect from SuperSport Park in winter, but it turned out that was not what the hosts required adjusting to. Rather, they had to contend with two other quandaries: the loss of a certain starter in Dean Elgar and the shaky form of someone who has flirted with being dropped in JP Duminy. They dealt with both sans major drama to finish day one in control.Remember that South Africa are a team that prefers to play to plan. The most common criticism leveled at them is that they are unable to adjust to spontaneous challenges. On the eve of the Test, after the fielding drills were complete, Elgar was walking off the park when he wobbled on the boundary rope and sustained a grade three tear to his ankle. After all the concerns about player safety on the Kingsmead outfield, it turned out a pristine surface could be just as dangerous and contribute even more to derailing team strategy.Although his career is only 26 Tests old, Elgar is the senior opening partner and one of the most experienced members of the line-up. More importantly, South Africa did not have a reserve opener in their ranks which would have caused some consternation when choosing a replacement.They had three options: Stiaan van Zyl, who had opened in eights Test before and failed, Temba Bavuma, who opened in one and showed promise, and Quinton de Kock, who had never opened in Tests and had not done the job in South African domestic cricket since February 2014. The South Africa we know would have picked experience over an experiment and gone with either van Zyl or Bavuma. The South Africa we saw opted for de Kock.In numbers terms, the decision made sense because while van Zyl averaged 15.60 as an opener, and Bavuma scored 22 and 34 when he was given the chance, de Kock has opened 16 times in first-class cricket and averages 37.25 in the position. Perhaps the only reason he has not been seriously debated as an opener before is because his role with the gloves militates against it. Imagine if he had to keep for two days and then immediately go out to bat, or bat through the innings and then keep. That theory may not be tested in this match and it is likely the debate will continue after de Kock provided 82 reasons he could be considered for a longer-term role.De Kock survived a tense first hour in which New Zealands seamers probed his defences and Tim Southee almost broke through. The ball of the morning moved off the seam and snuck past the offstump and - as was the case for New Zealand for most of the day - was close but not close enough.The tug-of-war between de Kocks attempts to assert himself and New Zealands to justify their captains decision to bowl first provided the most engaging cricket on New Zealands African safari so far. De Kock creamed Doug Bracewell through the covers; later in the over, Bracewell drew a top edge and, in the next over, drew him forward and beat the bat. De Kock whipped Bracewell off the pads and, off the next ball, Bracewell found an inside edge which BJ Watling could not hold on to. With even the outside edges off de Kocks bat seemingly timed well enough to reach the boundary, it became clear he was winning the battle.For South Africa, to have someone with de Kocks lively temperament at the other end along the more conservative Stephen Cook did wonders for the opening stand. Cook did not need to rush into run-scoring, which he may not have been able to do anyway because he rarely looked entirely comfortable at the crease. Instead, he built slowly.Through grit, grind and some good fortune, the pair put on the first century-stand for a South Africa top two since Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen in December 2013, and that set South Africa up. Even when things did not come easily - and the end of day score may suggest they did - they had the security of that stand to build on.New Zealand will feel hard done by after what can be considered a decent days work scuppered by luck playing hide and seek with them. When it wasnt denying Bracewell, who found several edges none of which went to hand, it was duping the umpires. Twice, Ian Gould turned down appeals for lbw - against Stephen Cook off Neil Wagner and against Duminy off Trent Boult- and twice, Kane Williamson did not review. In both instances, a review would have overturned the not-out decision. On the two occasions Gould raised his finger, to dismiss Hashim Amla off Boult and Duminy off Bracewell, the decisions were overturned on review.Duminy was the biggest beneficiary. Promoted to No. 4 for the second Test in succession, he has also had to adjust but mostly to the pressure over his place. The last time Duminy scored fifty was more than two years ago, against Zimbabwe in August 2014 - 10 completed innings ago. That could have become 11 when he edged the first ball he faced, but, fortunately for him, it went wide of second slip, to the boundary.During Duminys dry spell, there would be flickers of form that were snubbed out by poor shot selection and he threatened the same today. After rolling his wrists to send a short ball over long leg and leaning into drives, he pulled out a premeditated lap scoop which, if he made contact with, may have ended his career. He wore it instead and batted on. Duminy still has a long way to go to convince the critics there is significant life left in him as a Test cricketer but he had to start somewhere.So did South Africa. For all their concerns about a series becoming a one-off shootout and the uncertainty over the surface, they could not have had a better day in their bid to begin their climb back up the rankings.Cheap Air Max 720 Clearance . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Air Max Clearance . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/ . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Discount Air Max 720 .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night.Western Storm 165 for 5 (Taylor 74*, Lee 53) beat Surrey Stars 161 for 6 (Sciver 90*) by five wicketsScorecardStafanie Taylors unbeaten 74 guided Western Storm to an unlikely but thrilling five wicket victory over Surrey Stars in the Kia Womens Super League at the Brightside Ground.Taylor, who dropped England star Natalie Sciver (90 not out) on two during the Surrey innings, put on an unbeaten 71 with Sophie Luff (21 not out) to see the Storm home in the final over of a remarkable game in Bristol.The Storm appeared dead and buried when Surrey, who hit 161 for 6 off their 20 overs, reduced the hosts to 17 for 3 in the fourth over. However, Taylor made up for her earlier error to earn the hosts a second victory in three games.Having chosen to bat first, Surrey made a steady start thanks to Englands Tammy Beaumont and fellow opener Bryony Smith. However, having reached 19, Smith tried one expansive shot too many and was bowled by Englands Anya Shrubsole, for 19.Beaumont and Cordelia Griffiths added 18 for the second wicket and Beaumont and Sciver 26 for the third before the former was finally out, for 13, run out by a smart piece of fielding from Taylor.Sciver, who was dropped by Taylor on 2, at deep square leg, batted with great purpose despite losing fourth wicket partner Marizanne Kapp, for two, at 90 for 4.The Storm, who also came into the game having won one and lost one of their opening games, did their best to stem the tide and bowled well between overs 11 and 14. Unfortunately, they were made to pay dearly for Taylors slip in the deep, as Sciver edged closer to 50. The gifted all--rounder finally reached her half century off 29 balls with nine fours and a six.ddddddddddddWith Beth Morgan, she added 29 for the fifth wicket, before Morgan gifted Freya Davies her second wicket at 119 for 5, in the 16th over. Sciver continued to heap misery on Taylor, hitting the West Indian all-rounder for four successive boundaries in the 17th over as Surrey piled on the runs.In the end, Surrey reached 161 for 6 with Sciver unbeaten on a quite brilliant 90, off 45 balls with 16 fours and two sixes.The Storms reply could not have got off to a worse start. Having hit seven off the opening over, they lost their first wicket when Rachel Priest was run out for seven at 8 for 1. Captain Knight departed at 16 for 2 and when Fran Wilson was trapped leg before, at 17 for 3, the Storms chances appeared to have disappeared.Lee was sublime. She struck two straight sixes into the Ashley Down Road flats before Taylor followed suit, over mid wicket. Lee reached her 50 off 35 balls with eight fours and two sixes, but was out shortly after, for 53, caught by Sciver off the bowling of Lea Tahuhu at 93 for 4. It was soon 94 for 5 with Georgia Hennessey trapped lbw by Sciver.Only then did the Storm come to life with Taylor and Luff hitting the ball to all four corners. Gradually they set off in pursuit of their target and with the help of some poor fielding and one or two dropped catches, they won the day in the final over during which Taylor struck two sixes and a four. ' ' ' hu at 93 for 4. It was soon 94 for 5 with Georgia Hennessey trapped lbw by Sciver.Only then did the Storm come to life with Taylor and Luff hitting the ball to all four corners. Gradually they set off in pursuit of their target and with the help of some poor fielding and one or two dropped catches, they won the day in the final over during which Taylor struck two sixes and a four. ' ' '