South Africa Tour of New Zealand Tests February 2022: Series Drawn 1-1 — Matt Henry 7/23 and 58* Helps NZ Win 1st Test by Innings and 276 Runs (SA Bowled Out 95 and 111), Erwee 108, de Grandhomme 120*, Rabada 5/60 and Jansen 4/98 as South Africa Win 2nd Test by 198 Runs

South Africa's tour of New Zealand in February 2022 produced a compelling 2-match Test series that ended 1-1, with each team winning one match emphatically. 1st Test Hagley Oval Christchurch (February 17-19, 2022): New Zealand won by an innings and 276 runs — South Africa 95 & 111; New Zealand 482. Matt Henry was the dominant performer, taking 7/23 in South Africa's 1st innings — dismissing the top order with pace and movement to bowl South Africa out for 95. Henry's 7/23 was one of the most destructive opening-innings performances in recent New Zealand Test history. He also contributed 58 not out in New Zealand's 482, batting as a lower-order batter. Tim Southee then took 5 wickets in South Africa's 2nd innings, dismissing them again cheaply (111) as New Zealand completed the innings win by 276 runs — South Africa's second-biggest defeat by an innings margin in Test cricket history at the time. The match was completed inside three days. 2nd Test Hagley Oval Christchurch (February 25 - March 1, 2022): South Africa won by 198 runs — South Africa 364 & 354/9 declared; New Zealand 293 & 227. Sarel Erwee scored 108 in South Africa's 1st innings — a patient innings that set the tone for South Africa's recovery from their 1st-Test humiliation. Neil Wagner, New Zealand's left-arm orthodox inswing bowler, took 4/102 in South Africa's 1st innings. New Zealand's 1st innings of 293 featured Colin de Grandhomme's 120 not out, but Kagiso Rabada took 5/60 and Marco Jansen 4/98 to restrict New Zealand to a 71-run deficit. South Africa's 354/9 declared in the 2nd innings set New Zealand a target of 426 — effectively a series-levelling declaration. Devon Conway scored 92 in New Zealand's 2nd innings, but Rabada (3/46) and Jansen (3/63) finished the job, bowling New Zealand out for 227 to complete a 198-run victory that levelled the series 1-1.

Matt Henry's 7/23: South Africa's Collapse and the Innings Win

Matt Henry's 7/23 in the 1st Test at Christchurch was one of the standout individual bowling performances of the early 2022 Test calendar. Henry dismissed the South African batting lineup with pace, seam movement, and precise line and length on a surface that offered assistance to the New Zealand quicks from the first session. South Africa's 95 was their lowest score in a Test 1st innings in recent memory — only their 2nd time being bowled out for fewer than 100 in the first innings since 1932, according to the ESPNcricinfo match report. The 95 was driven partly by New Zealand's bowling excellence and partly by South Africa's top-order vulnerability in overseas conditions at that point in their development. Henry then took 5 of the 10 wickets in South Africa's 2nd innings (combined with Southee's 5-for), meaning Henry and Southee shared all 10 South African wickets across the 2nd innings and Henry took 7 of the 10 in the 1st. New Zealand's 482 — with Henry's 58* an unusual lower-order contribution that extended their lead before declaring — gave them a buffer of 387 that South Africa could not overcome. The innings margin of 276 matched one of South Africa's largest-ever defeats in Test cricket.

South Africa's Fightback: Erwee 108, Rabada 5/60, and the Series Leveller

The 2nd Test at Christchurch was a completely different match — South Africa demonstrating their ability to respond after being bowled out for under 100 in the 1st Test. Sarel Erwee's 108 in South Africa's 1st innings was the foundation innings of the fightback: a debut Test century that demonstrated both his technical soundness against New Zealand's pace attack and South Africa's selection intent in giving the left-handed opener a Test opportunity. For New Zealand, de Grandhomme's 120 not out was a fighting knock in the 1st innings that restricted South Africa's lead, but Rabada's 5/60 and Jansen's 4/98 were match-defining bowling spells — exploiting the second-new-ball and reverse swing to compress New Zealand's 1st-innings total. South Africa's 354/9 declared in the 2nd innings set a 426-run target that New Zealand could not realistically chase on the Christchurch surface. Conway's 92 was the most complete innings in New Zealand's chase attempt, but Rabada and Jansen's combined 6 wickets in the 2nd innings (3/46 and 3/63 respectively) gave South Africa their series-levelling win by 198 runs.