Monday mash-up: Project Ravindra

Notes from the Oval II, ruthless Ireland, and vale 'King' John

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NZ 511; South Africa 80-4

A very good day for New Zealand where the class disparity between the two teams became more apparent.

South Africa’s best two batters are at the crease now and will have to do something pretty special to steer the Proteas towards 311 and potential safety, but speculating on what might happen tomorrow is missing the point of the day and that point is pretty simple: Rachin Ravindra.

Ravindra became the fourth New Zealander to turn a maiden century into a double, although that is a confected stat because it doesn’t say how many innings it took to get there. Devon Conway (200) and Mathew Sinclair (214) did it in their first knocks, which is obviously a level above what Ravindra and Martin Donnelly (206) achieved. Donnelly did it at Lord’s against a full-strength England team in his eighth test innings, so with the necessary respect, Ravindra’s sits below that too.

Those caveats aside, Ravindra’s 240, made in his seventh test innings, is a mighty feat. As Kane Williamson, who earlier spewed up a catch on 118 as he tried to lift the run rate, attested to, the conditions and the nagging accuracy of the South African attack meant it was never “plain sailing”.

A less concocted stat is that he just nailed the 12th highest individual innings in New Zealand history.

Of those above him, only Bryan Young would fall short of being labelled a New Zealand great.

Projecting where ones career might land after seven innings is a fool’s errand, so by that definition it’s one I’m appropriately qualified to tackle.