After an interval of three years, the South African selectors recalled Heine to the Test attack and he joined his former colleague Adcock, recovered from injury.

Both bowlers and Lawrence were put through stringent fitness tests on the two days preceding the match. Burke, hero of a single-handed debut at Newlands (eleven wickets for 196), stood down, as did McKinnon and Elgie -- the last named to make way for the tenth new South African cap -- H. Tiger Lance. Barton for Sparling was New Zealand's only change.

After Reid won the toss, Adcock, slightly below normal pace, bowled well but Heine's display did not appear to justify the dropping of Burke. Lawrence was the danger man, adding a match aggregate of nine for 109 to the nine for 98 he captured in the second Test on the same pitch. Reid, the only New Zealander to play him with confidence, had another glorious innings nipped in the bud by a phenomenal diving catch, held two-handed by Bland as he flew through the air.

A fine opening partnership of 134 by McGlew and Barlow, followed by another McGlew century; a rampant display by McLean, who joined McGlew and Waite by reaching the 2,000 Test run mark, and a promising innings by Farrer all contributed towards a first innings advantage of exactly 300 runs.

New Zealand's effort to offset this deficit was disappointing. McGregor fell without scoring. Dowling suffered a like fate and five wickets had gone for 84 before Reid assumed command. In a fantastic innings he scored 142 runs of the 184 added whilst he was at the wicket.

Harris and Bartlett provided some support and Barton, although severely handicapped by a dislocated shoulder, played a remarkably defiant innings.

Waite recaptured the world's wicket-keeping Test record by claiming five victims which raised his aggregate in four Tests to 24 wickets (21 c, 3 st). Adcock joined H.J. Tayfield to become the second South African to capture 100 Test wickets and McGlew and McLean added to their laurels in a new third-wicket record of 112 in Tests against New Zealand. This surpassed the 103 by the same players in the first match.