CAPE TOWN: South African fast bowler Dale Steyn and batsman Jacques Kallis both achieved significant milestones as their team dominated the first day of the first Test against New Zealand at Newlands on Wednesday.
Steyn captured his 300th Test wicket when he bowled Doug Bracewell, who was seventh man out in New Zealand's collapse to 45 all out before lunch.
Kallis became only the fourth batsman to reach 13000 runs in Tests when he went past 20 in South Africa's reply.
Steyn, 29, was playing in his 61st Test. Only Australia's Dennis Lillee, who achieved the feat in his 56th Test, and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (58) have reached the milestone in fewer matches.
Steyn, currently the world's number one ranked Test bowler, joined West Indian Malcolm Marshall and New Zealand's Richard Hadlee in taking 300 wickets in 61 matches.
"It's an unbelievable achievement," said South African captain Graeme Smith before the match. "He's our go-to guy. He's got there really quickly. He always seems to make an impact for us. He's the type of guy as a captain he's an asset to have. You can throw him the ball and you know he'll make a play for you somewhere during the Test match. When he gets that bit between his teeth you really start to see things happening."
Steyn had to wait until the third ball of his second spell to take his first wicket of the match and was overshadowed by new ball partner Vernon Philander who took the first five wickets and finished with five for seven off six overs.
Kallis, 37, joined Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid in the 13 000 club. Kallis went into the match with a batting average of 56.92, the highest of all batsmen who have scored more than 10 000 runs.
"I'm running out of things to say about Jakes," said Smith. "I'm happy that he's starting to get the due he deserves. He's an incredible player for us. I don't think many people understand how immense it is to get to 13 000 runs. Hopefully South Africans will be very, very proud of him. He's put South African cricket on the map in a big way. He'll go down as an all-time great."
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