Kallis's chance to equal The Don

Jacques Kallis will take a shot at scoring his sixth hundred in as many Tests, a feat accomplished only by Don Bradman, when South Africa meet New Zealand in the second Test at Auckland from tomorrow. The two teams fought out an eventful draw in the first Test at Hamilton, where the bat held sway, with Kallis amassing 242 runs in imperious style.

However, John Bracewell said that he was satisfied with they way his bowlers bowled to Kallis in the first Test. Speaking to The New Zealand Herald, Bracewell said, "Our plan of bowling straighter to him is one that can be successful. He does tend to go hard at the ball early, and even tends to lunge at the ball. We had four or five lbw shouts, which on a good day may have been given."

While the batting has been in good shape, both the teams are likely to reconsider their bowling options. New Zealand may replace Paul Wiseman, the offspinner, with medium-pacer Chris Martin while South Africa are likely to include David Terbrugge for Andre Nel.

The first Test was marred by a controversy over an illegal pitch repair by the curator. Graeme Smith, the South African captain, raised the matter with the umpires and Clive Lloyd, the match referee, ordered the curator to dig out the portion of pitch which had been plugged with lump of cement. Even before the start of the second Test, the pitch at Eden Park has become a contentious issue with the NZC refusing a request from the New Zealand team to swap the original drop-in pitch with the one at the Eden Park Outer Oval.

According to a report in The Herald the New Zealand team practised at the Eden Park Outer Oval and found the Patumahoe-based drop-in to be a top-class surface, with good pace and bounce.

But Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, discussed the matter with chief executive Martin Snedden and decided against the change. Crocker said, "For starters, there was nothing wrong with the Test pitch. The other thing was that if we did make the swap, both sides would have practised on the Test pitch before play, which is a bit unorthodox."

This will be Gary Kirsten's 100th Test, as well as his penultimate one, and Shaun Pollock stands on the threshold of becoming the highest wicket-taker for South Africa in Test cricket. These milestones, apart from Kallis's century-binge, will add an interesting tinge to this Test match. New Zealand have the biggest incentive though, to move a step closer to their first-ever series win against South Africa.