You do not always notice the dot balls slowly building up pressure.
But Trent Boult does. The New Zealand left-armer was part of a disciplined bowling display, in which the Black Caps delivered 39 maidens during South Africa's first innings of 308 at the University Oval.
Boult underlined just why he is considered the No1 seamer in the country with a wonderful effort. He took four for 64 from 32.4 overs, against a quality Proteas batting line-up. Twelve of those overs were maidens and it was always his game plan to play the waiting game.
''I was looking to dot the ball up,'' Boult said.
''Just keep it simple, hit the wicket and look to pull out an error from the batsman. It was nice to get a couple in the end.
''Everyone applied good pressure in stages and it was easy for Kane [Williamson] to move between bowlers and not let that foot off.''
The New Zealanders certainly impressed South African bowling coach Charl Langeveldt.
''They bowled brilliantly. They got reward for their hard work [on Wednesday].''
Boult has spent most of his career bowling in tandem with Tim Southee. But Southee was left out when the selectors opted to play two specialist spinners.
Wellington spinner Jeetan Patel was recalled and bowled really well in his first home test in seven years.
He took two for 85 from 33 overs and bowled 12 maidens as well.
He picked up the wicket of Quinton de Kock twice during the one-day series and got him again yesterday.
''He pretty much came in to do that job and he has fulfilled that role quite nicely,'' Boult said.
Black Caps left-armer Neil Wagner had his moments, as well. His double strike early on day one and his persistence yesterday was what the selectors were hoping for when he got the nod ahead of Southee.
