When Matt Henry woke up in his Christchurch hotel room Thursday it was to a day of warm promise. He was about to play his 15th test match for New Zealand in a stop-start career of seven years and to do it in his hometown in front of friends and family. He looked forward as a new-ball bowler to the chance of bowling first on a green seaming pitch at Hagley Oval. All he needed was for his captain Tom Latham to win the toss.
Latham did - for the first time in a half-dozen matches as New Zealand captain. A little more than four hours later Henry had taken career-best figures of 7-23 and South Africa had been bowled out for 95, its lowest score against New Zealand.
The high promise of the morning had been thoroughly fulfilled.
Henry had raced through the South Africa order, taking three wickets before lunch to leave the Proteas 44-4, then four more including two with consecutive deliveries in the second session before the innings ended in the 50th over, well before tea.
By stumps on the first day of the first test, New Zealand was 116-3, leading by 21. Henry Nicholls was 37 not out, the highest score of a first day on which 13 wickets fell, and South Africa-born Neil Wagner, the nightwatchman, was 2.
Nicholls shared a vital 75-run partnership with Devon Conway for the second wicket which steered New Zealand into the lead. Conway, also South Africa-born and playing against his countrymen for the first time, was out for 36 just before stumps.
New Zealand went into the match with a patchwork batting lineup in the absence of captain Kane Williamson who is still laid low by an elbow injury and Ross Taylor, who retired last month from test matches.
Williamson and Taylor jointly represent almost 15,000 runs, 198 tests and 43 centuries.