New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team are not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington. South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the series on the back of the victory at Seddon Park in Hamilton, which was cemented through superb fast bowling from their pace trio of Vernon Philander, who took 10 wickets, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
"The score reflected that we got pretty much thrashed ... but it was actually a lot closer than people give it credit for," Taylor told reporters on Thursday. "We did have our moments in that game and if a couple of bounces of the ball go our way then it could have been a different story. "We know that we're not far away from competing with this side. We've been on top in a few situations we just haven't been able to ram it home."
Taylor and Brendon McCullum had batted them into a strong position on day one and Mark Gillespie tore through the Proteas' batting on day two, but the hosts failed to capitalise.
Philander and Steyn took five wickets for no runs to ruin Taylor and McCullum's start, while South Africa's tail wagged furiously, contributing 165 runs for the final four wickets. The key to winning the final test in Wellington, which starts on Friday, was someone scoring a big century and being backed up by two or three others, Taylor said.
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