Cricket South Africa have congratulated the Proteas for their landmark achievements in the first Test against New Zealand at Newlands in Cape Town, and on their innings and 27-run victory.

The Proteas won on the third day with almost half the playing time to spare, with only Dean Brownlie's century giving the Black Caps anything to cheer about as they were comprehensively outplayed.

CSA Acting CEO Jacques Faul was full of praise for the side, highlighting the various records that cropped up in the game.

He said: "Jacques Kallis' achievement in reaching 13 000 Test match runs and Dale Steyn's of joining the 300 wicket club are landmark achievements in the annals of our great game.

"Jacques is also getting close to joining the 300 wickets club which will represent a unique double in the history of the game.

"Dale also took his 50th Test wicket at Sahara Park Newlands and his 50th against New Zealand and these are also noteworthy achievements.

"We take great pride in the achievements of the Proteas Castle Lager squad both as individuals and as a team and they have got the New Year off to a great start. To win any Test match inside three days is a stand-out effort.

"It was also wonderful to see Sahara Park Newlands close to capacity on all three days and I would like to thank our fans in the Western Cape for their wonderful support.

"Hopefully this is a trend that will continue throughout the New Zealand tour and the following tour by Pakistan. We also had capacity crowds for the three matches in the KFC T20 Series and there is no doubt that the Proteas are taking cricket in this country to a new level of popularity."

The second and final Test will be played in Port Elizabeth, from 11 January.