McMillan and Astle make merry in the breeze

Any hangover left over from defeat in the first Test match was blown away in the sea breeze at East London's Buffalo Park on Saturday as Stephen Fleming's New Zealand tourists rattled up 311 for four declared before grabbing three Border wickets in the early evening.

Most pleasing for the Kiwis would have been the unbroken 141-run stand for the fifth wicket between Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan who helped themselves to 69 and 76 respectively and looked good for a century apiece before the declaration came.

But New Zealand would also have found encouragement from the difficulties encountered by the home team when they went in to bat. Andrew Penn took two good fast bowler's wicket and Brooke Walker produced the perfect leg break to take the outside edge as Steven Pope pushed forward for Craig Spearman to take the catch at slip.

The good work achieved by New Zealand has to be balanced by the fact that Border were without their first-choice seam attack and although youngsters Monde Zondeki, Liam Graham and Matts Matomela bowled with enthusiasm they all have some way to go before they can compete at first-class level.

Still, New Zealand's job was to deal with the opposition at hand, and this they did with some aplomb. Mark Richardson and Spearman batted calmly throughout the morning and into the afternoon for an opening stand worth 98 before Richardson was unluckily run out at the bowler's end when Graham deflected Spearman's straight drive onto the stumps.

He made 45, Spearman went on to make 56 before he was caught at slip and Mathew Fleming and Stephen Fleming both got themselves in and then got themselves out for 28 and 29 respectively.

Then Astle and McMillan came together to tear the Border bowling apart in the hour after tea. Astle played straight, driving through the covers superbly and McMillan improvised, reverse sweeping the offspinner Geoff Love for four and uppercutting Matemola over third man for six.

The declaration left Border with 12 overs before the close. Penn, in his first first-class game in South Africa, caught the shoulder of opener Craig Sugden's bat and nightwatchman Love's glove for two catches to Sinclair in the gully. Ian Mitchell played a couple of thumping drives, but then Walker took Pope's wicket to finish off a very good for New Zealand.