Wayne Parnell Take Five Wickets against New Zealand

Wayne Parnell repaid the faith shown in him by captain Graeme Smith with a five-wicket haul as South Africa defeated New Zealand to get their ICC Champions Trophy challenge back on track.

The 20-year-old who made his one-day international debut last January took three wickets against Sri Lanka in the opening match three days ago of the second most important ODI tournament after the World Cup.

But they came at enormous expense with 79 runs conceded in eight overs as the co-title favourites with Australia slumped to a surprise 55-run loss in a rain-shortened Centurion Park encounter.

As South African critics sharpened their knives and sought scapegoats, Smith rushed to the defence of the left-arm fast medium bowler from the southern city of Port Elizabeth.

"Wayne is still young and and it is inevitable that he is going to have ups and downs at international level," said Smith of the 'baby' of the Proteas team who was a teenager just months ago.