South Africa vs New Zealand 2017: 1st Test, Day 1 - 5 talking points

#2 Bavuma regains some form

Bavuma looked in fine form and remained unbeaten on 38

Bavuma seemed to be the only concern in the South African top 6 after the Sri Lankan series. The short statured dynamic fielder had his moments in Australia but had not clicked much with the bat to warrant an automatic selection.

If that needed to change, Bavuma needed to get back to his natural style of occupying the crease and then unleashing his classy shots. He seemed to be in his zone as he walked out at Dunedin and played out 15 dots.

He soon drove Boult to the fence before top edging a pull to the fence in the next ball. A couple of powerful shots off Patel showed that Bavuma was here to retain his place in the side. He remained unbeaten on 38 at stumps on Day 1. The middle order batsman will, however, know that he needs a big one to retain the faith of the selectors.