NEWS » ard in the eighth on a solo homer by Conor Gillaspie,

South Africa got an early sighting of the future on the third day of the Hobart Test and the good news is that it appears bright. In Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock, they have a middle-order pair who balance caution and creativity, and at 26 and 23 years old respectively, could serve them for at least the next five years.Both have roots in Johannesburg, the city of gold, where they each attended prestigious sporting schools - Bavuma was at St Davids, de Kock at King Edward VII - and played for the Lions. But it is here in Hobart, some might say the city of cold, where their Test tryst has truly blossomed. They put on 144 together, the highest sixth-wicket partnership by a visiting team at the Bellerive Oval, and stretched South Africas lead to what may turn out to be a match-winning one.In a morning session that ground Australias attack down, Bavuma and de Kock underlined the difference between the two sides. Its not just that South Africas batsmen have the temperament to spend time in the middle, its that their newer batsmen do. Australias middle-order has not yet shown that temperament. It isnt the first time on this tour that Bavuma and de Kock have done this - in Perth, South Africa were 81 for 5 when the pair come together and added 71, which helped the visitors move to 242.In Hobart, when Bavuma and de Kock came together on the first day, South Africa were already ahead. They had recovered from 76 for 4, when Bavuma had walked in to bat, to 132 for 5. Bavuma was on 28 off 51 balls, had survived a few early scares and earned the praise of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. I love Temba Bavuma, keep going big man, Smith tweeted.If South Africa were to extend their advantage, Bavuma needed a partner and thats where de Kock was crucial. They complemented each other perfectly.Bavuma has already shown an appetite for a fight. In Perth, he spent two hours and 17 minutes helping Faf du Plessis save South Africa from a first-innings collapse. He has an ability to absorb pressure.De Kock has the capacity to transfer pressure back to the bowler. He is an energetic player who does not allow anyone to dictate his approach. Perhaps, he has a bit of the David Warner license to play his natural game, but he does not abuse that. He is inventive, risk-taking and quick-scoring.With a stubborn batsman at one end and a busy one at the other, Australia spent the morning session under the pump. They were able to make things look more difficult for Bavuma, especially in Mitchell Starcs opening spell. He moved the ball away, probed the area outside off stump, trying to incite the drive, but Bavuma was not tempted. He is a compact player with a tight technique, who makes the opposition work for his wicket. Josh Hazlewood almost claimed it - he got a ball to kick up and Bavuma nearly played on while trying to fend it. He survived and got two off the next ball to reach his second fifty on this tour.De Kock had begun the day 10 runs behind Bavuma, but caught up quickly. His fifty came off 70 balls, and then he surged past Bavuma. While Bavuma fought through the 50s, de Kock raced to 80. He created run-scoring opportunities by playing late, piercing gaps and maintained a consistent scoring rate throughout his innings. De Kocks first fifty had taken him 70 balls and the second took 69. Instinctive shots is how he described what he did on Monday.Compare that to the 119 balls Bavuma faced for his fifty, and you have an idea of the difference between them. For a team, having two players of this calibre is ideal and the results are showing.In this year, de Kock has scored 560 runs in six Tests at an average of 80.00, while Bavuma has accumulated 465 runs in seven Tests at 58.12. Hashim Amla - 611 runs at 55.54 - is the only South Africa batsman to have scored more runs in 2016.Among de Kocks knocks was a maiden hundred in Centurion and five successive scores of fifty or more, including this century. His consistency has cemented him in the Test XI and comparisons with the best are mushrooming. The most notable one is with Adam Gilchrist, and now that de Kock has scored a second Test century, on Gilchrists birthday and at the same ground where the former Australia wicketkeeper scored his maiden hundred, those could continue. He maintains its not something he is trying to do.I dont try and be like him. Thats just the way I play. I dont see myself being like him. I just see the ball, hit the ball. I have my own game plan. Some days, I can get off to a good start and keep a good momentum. Some days, I have to grind it out, de Kock said.On other days, Bavuma does the grinding. He has been spoken of as a batsman similar to Gus Logie, partly because of his height, mostly because of his fight. By lunch, Bavuma had faced 201 deliveries. Australias entire first innings lasted only 197.With Bavuma and de Kock coming of age, South Africa could have a few selection headaches when a fit AB de Villiers returns to the XI. One possibility is for de Kock to move to the top-two, especially if Stephen Cook keeps misfiring. but with concerns surrounding workload, it may not happen. Another solution is to leave Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy to fight it out, but with du Plessis making a strong case to stay on as captain, that may also prove tricky. For now, its a problem South Africa wont mind having. Nike Air Max Clearance Sale .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Cheap Nike Air Max Nz . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. http://www.airmaxcheapnz.com/ . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Discount Nike Air Max Nz . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Clearance Nike Air Max Nz . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. CHICAGO -- With just five wins in late July, the temptation is to think that James Shields is having an off year. Not true, said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. Shields tossed seven shutout innings on Friday night to lead the Royals to a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, and Yost believes that performance was right in line with the way the veteran right-hander has pitched this season. "Forget the record," Yost said. "The record doesnt tell a quarter of the story of the way hes pitched all year. Hes been really, really good. Hes an innings eater (and) he keeps us in the game every time. Weve just struggled to score runs for him. "But tonight was good that he got a W. He pitched great." Shields (5-7) allowed eight hits and walked two but faced only one real scoring threat, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning. He lowered his ERA to 3.09 and has been especially effective on the road, where he improved to 4-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 12 starts. Afterward, Shields preferred to talk about the team. The Royals (49-51) have won four straight and six of eight since the All-Star break. "I think were playing some decent baseball right now," Shields said. "I think theres always room to improve, but right now were on a little bit of a roll and its nice. I think were playing on all cylinders right now. Our defence has been playing amazing. Obviously, Lorenzo Cain made a couple of nice catches tonight and the pitchers are making pitches when they need to." Chicago starter Jose Quintana (5-3) also pitched well but allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings to pick up the loss. "Hes a good pitcher and its just one of those things where he doesnt get really what he deserves," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He was sharp." Royals right-fielder David Lough led off the top of the third inning with a home run into the right-field bullpen to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Thats where the score stayed until the seventh, when the Royals stretched the lead to 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Tejada that scored Salvador Perez, who lled off the inning with a double.dddddddddddd The White Soxs best threat against Shields came in the sixth, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But catcher Josh Phegley grounded into a fielders choice to third base on the first pitch to end the inning. Shields showed his veteran savvy in working out of the jam. With Gordon Beckham at the plate with runners on second and third with two outs, Shields fed the White Sox second baseman a steady diet of breaking balls. Beckham was 0 for 2 to that point, but both outs were drives to deep centre. "Beckhams a pretty good hitter and hes got pretty good numbers against me," Shields said. "He hit the ball hard twice earlier in the game and I had the catcher right behind him. I felt like there was a base open and Im not going to give him too much to hit in that situation." Beckham walked to load the bases, but Shields got Phegley to ground out softly on a slider. The Sox finally got on the board in the eighth on a solo homer by Conor Gillaspie, but the Royals added three insurance runs in the ninth on run-scoring hits by Cain and Mike Moustakas, and a sacrifice fly by Lough. NOTES: White Sox RHP Jesse Crain, who has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a right shoulder strain, played catch on Thursday and said afterward, "It definitely wasnt better today." Crain, who has a 0.74 ERA in 38 appearances this season, said he will take four or five days off before throwing again next week. ... Although hes not ready to commit to it long-term, Royals manager Ned Yost said he will keep first baseman Eric Hosmer batting second for now. "Traditionally, a situational guy hits second," Yost said. The slugging Hosmer was hitting .321 with a .519 slugging percentage in July before Friday. ... Beckham was back in the lineup after missing five games with a strained left wrist, the same wrist he had surgery on earlier this season. "Theres some soreness but no pain, so its go time," he said. ... Royals RHP Wade Davis (4-9) faces LHP Chris Sale (6-9) Saturday night in the second game of the series. ' ' '