Kallis backs South Africa on tough pitch

Jacques Kallis: 'I'd rather be in our seat than theirs' © Getty Images

Jacques Kallis is confident that South Africa's 229-run lead over New Zealand puts them in the driving seat after three days of the first Test. Kallis struck a vital, and often painful, 62 as South Africa fought back from 73 for 4.

"I'd rather be in our seat than theirs," Kallis told reporters. "The wicket is very much up and down and if we get enough balls in the right area we will put them under pressure. The new ball becomes a lottery, although it gets a little easier after that."

He added that he has been far from impressed with the pitches throughout the South Africa summer. "The whole summer I've been very disappointed with our wickets, they haven't been conducive to attractive cricket. They've been hard-grafting wickets and it's something we've got to look at seriously.

"We're getting big crowds in and we want wickets that are going to produce big scores. You want a fair contest where the batsmen feel confident about going forward."

Kallis was quick to heap praise on AB de Villiers, who struck a gutsy 97 before falling shortly before the close. "He played fantastically today," he said. "It was the type of innings where you had to absorb and wait for the ball to get a bit softer, then he kicked on and played aggressively.

"Unfortunately he got out, perhaps that was a little bit of impatience. He deserved a hundred, it's a pity he didn't get there."

Meanwhile, James Franklin, the New Zealand left-arm bowler, suggested that seeing off the South African bowlers early in the day would be crucial to their chances of getting to the fourth-innings target. "We want to get them all out as early as possible tomorrow, so that we can go about the run-chase the right way. The wicket seems to get easier as the day goes on."