Watch: Debutant Nantie Hayward knocks over a young Michael Vaughan’s middle stump to claim his first wicket in Test cricket.
The 1999/00 Test series had started in absurd fashion, with Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock reducing England to 2-4 (not the other way round) inside three overs.
The debutant Vaughan (33) then played his part to help England reach 122, but they still lost by an innings, in just over three days.
Now, in the second Test match, at Port Elizabeth, South Africa replaced spinner Paul Adams with an uncapped fast bowler, rumoured to be quicker than even Donald.
Hayward had played a lone ODI back in 1998, on South Africa’s tour of England. His four overs had gone for 35.
England hit back, reducing South Africa to 91-4, then 268-7, but Lance Klusener emerged to slam 174 in 221 balls to take South Africa to 430 as Phil Tufnell claimed 4-124.
Pollock took out Mark Butcher early, but Michael Atherton (108) and new captain Nasser Hussain (82) ensured there was no encore of Johannesburg. Hayward, coming in after Donald and Pollock, toiled hard as England reached 228-2.
It was deep into the innings, but Hayward did not lose pace or hostility (he seldom did in his career). He pitched one on good length, and the ball hurried through a well-set Vaughan’s (21) defence, uprooting the middle stump.
Hayward, pumped up by his maiden wicket, bowled Atherton in his next over, and claimed Andy Caddick and Chris Silverwood to finish with 4-75, the best figures of the innings. In the second innings, he got Butcher, and finished with 1-55 as the Test match petered out to a draw.
Hayward finished with 54 wickets from 16 Test matches at 29.79. The 4-75 on debut would remain his second-best figures, as would the match figures of 5-130, after his 5-56 (match figures 7-119) against Pakistan in Durban in 2002/03.
Watch Nantie Hayward bowl Michael Vaughan to get his maiden Test wicket here:
🇿🇦 Nantie Hayward bowls @MichaelVaughan for his first wicket in Test cricket pic.twitter.com/vQjNRusqew
— When in Rome, dear boy (@WIR_DB) February 18, 2019