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New Zealand versus South Africa, II Test, Christchurch

Gary Stead (27 years) became the 207th player to appear for New Zealand in Tests. He incidentally captains Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic cricket.

In New Zealand's first innings, Adam Parore reached his 2000th run in Tests in his 48th Test and 83rd innings. He becomes the 16th New Zealander and the 191st player in Test history to do so

The first wicket partnership of 127 runs between Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs was South Africa's first 100-run partnership for this wicket since the 140 run partnership put on by Kirsten and Adam Bacher at Adelaide against Australia in January, 1998. Since then, 17 Test matches have been played by South Africa.

Gibbs, playing in his 13th Test match, became the first non-white South African to score a hundred. In doing so he also scored the fourth slowest hundred for South Africa. It came in 383 minutes.

Gibbs' 211 came in 659 minutes, the exact time Daryll Cullinan took when he scored his unbeaten 275 in the previous Test at Auckland. Now both Gibbs and Cullinan have played the longest innings by a South African in Tests in terms of minutes.

Before this innings, Gibbs had only two fifties to his name, with a highest of 54 made against Australia at Sydney in 1997-98. Gibbs also supassed his highest first-class score of 200 (unbeaten) for South Africans against India A at Nagpur in December, 1996. Gibbs, in the second innings, had scored 171 at Nagpur.

The unbeaten partnership of 315 runs between Gibbs and Jacques Kallis was the highest for South Africa for the 2nd wicket in Tests. It surpasses the previous best of 238 runs between Gary Kirsten and Kallis against England at Manchester in 1998.

It was South Africa's third highest partnership for any wicket in Tests. The best remains the 341 for the 3rd wicket between Eddie Barlow and Graeme Pollock against Australia at Adelaide in 1963-64 and 319, also for the 3rd wicket between Alan Melville and Dudley Nourse against England at Nottingham in 1947.

The Gibbs-Kallis effort was the best "unbeaten" partnership by a South African pair in Tests. The previous best was the "unbeaten" 162 runs for the 3rd wicket between Eric Rowan and Dudley Nourse against England at Johannesburg (Ellis Park) in 1948-49.

Only two other "unbeaten" Test partnerships have exceeded the Gibbs-Kallis effort. They are 344* between Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar for the 2nd wicket against West Indies at Calcutta in 1978-79 and 332* between Steve Waugh and Allan Border for the 5th wicket against England at Leeds in 1993.

It was the fourth highest partnership for any wicket against New Zealand in Tests. The top partnerships against New Zealand are 413 for the first wicket, between Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy of India, Madras, 1955-56, 369 for the 2nd wicket between John Edrich and Ken Barrington for England, Leeds, 1965, 350 for the fourth wicket between Mushtaq Mohammad and Asif Iqbal for Pakistan, Dunedin, 1972-73.

It was the highest partnership for any wicket at this venue. It betters the previous best of 242 for the fifth wicket between Walter Hammond and Leslie Ames in 1932-33.

The partnership of 315* was South Africa's highest for any wicket against New Zealand. It betters the previous best of 246 for the 7th wicket between Jackie McGlew and Anton Murray at Wellington in 1952-53.

Interestingly, it was South Africa's first century partnership for the 2nd wicket against New Zealand. The previous best was 97 runs between Gary Kirsten and John Commins at Durban in 1994-95.

South Africa's total of 442 for one wicket declared was the highest total by a team declaring with a loss of just one wicket. The previous record was held by India when it declared at 361 for one against the West Indies at Calcutta in 1978-79.

Bryan Young in the second innings reached his 2000th run in Tests in his 34th Test and 66th innings. He becomes the 17th New Zealander and the 192nd player in Test history to do so.

The first wicket partnership of 107 between Young and Matt Horne in the second innings was New Zealand's first 100-plus partnership in the last 23 Tests against any country since January, 1996 when Craig Spearman and Roger Twose put on 214 runs against Zimbabwe at Auckland. Interestingly, the previous century partnership before the Spearman-Twose effort was 111 between Mark Greatbatch and John Wright against Australia at Wellington in March, 1993. This means that Young and Horne put on New Zealand's only third century partnership for the first wicket since its last 49 Test matches in a span of six years.