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- Proteas opener Sarel Erwee hopes the top-order's collective improvement has set the tone for a series-levelling performance.
- The Proteas made 238/3 on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
- Erwee made 108, his maiden Test ton in only his second Test.
Proteas opener Sarel Erwee said their opening day performance in the second Test against New Zealand on Friday has the potential to set the tone for a series-leveling win.
Erwee's 108, his maiden Test ton, was the backbone of South Africa's 238/3 after captain Dean Elgar went against local knowledge in winning the toss and batting first.
Elgar (41) and Aiden Markram (42) played valuable supporting acts, but in a team that seems to be in perpetual transition, Erwee's ton was the lighthouse that gave the Proteas a safe docking at the end of the first day.
SCORECARD | New Zealand v South Africa, Second Test, Day One
Erwee said it was necessary they put up a fight after their dispiriting first Test performance where they were rolled by an innings and 276 runs.
"We needed to show up and deliver a punch. It's down to sticking to our basics and when you do so, you'll get a lot of things right," Erwee said.
"To come out the way we did today as a team and with the way the guys batted today, it's something that's uplifting for us going forward over the next four days."
"We're here to win the Test and square the series, so you have to front up and that's what we did today."
Elgar's decision to bat first flew not only in face of local knowledge, but that of playing Test cricket in New Zealand.
Elgar's toss success, his first-ever as Proteas Test captain and SA's first Test toss win since the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi last year, was only the fourth time a team chose to bat first in the Land of the Long White Cloud in 45 Tests.
As much as it's an option that could backfire, being one down in the series meant the Proteas had to bat first in order to be in a position to dictate any terms that could come their way.
Erwee said the need to channel their new energies of wanting to win the current Test made them forget about the indignity of the first Test.
"You can think about the last Test, but that's in the past now. It's a new game with new energies with a goal in mind," Erwee said.
"If it means you must bat first on a greenish wicket, then so be it. That's the nature of the game and if that's how we need to win the game, then so be it."
