Ryan Rickelton made a battling century as South Africa overcame a shaky start on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at St George’s Park on Thursday. The left-handed Rickelton hit 101 as South Africa reached 269 for seven at the close. Rickelton, 28, has been a peripheral figure in the South African Test team since making his debut two-and-a-half years ago. He was playing in only his eighth Test out of a possible 19 and came into the match with a highest score of 42.

“It’s a lot of relief more than anything,” said Rickelton. “I take a lot of pride in my cricket and have always felt I could play at this level.”

But making a significant mark on the game had proved elusive. “I’ve been around this team for a period of time. I’ve been in and I’ve been out in all formats. To tick it off for myself is probably the most important thing.”

Having “jumped at the opportunity to bat at three”, Rickelton had to face the eighth ball of the match after Tony de Zorzi was leg before wicket to Asitha Fernando without a run on the board.

South Africa slumped to 44 for three against aggressive Sri Lankan bowling before Rickelton and in-form captain Temba Bavuma (78) added 133 for the fourth wicket with Bavuma dominating the scoring.

“Temba is playing incredibly well at the moment. He was stroking it nicely and it took a lot of pressure off me.”

Bavuma, who made 70 and 113 in South Africa’s win in the first Test, gloved a catch to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis off Asitha Fernando when Sri Lanka opted to attack the batsmen with short-pitched bowling.

David Bedingham was dropped twice off short balls from Fernando before he was bowled by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya for six.

Rickelton, though, was content to duck under the barrage of bouncers. “The bounce was a bit inconsistent. I decided I wasn’t going to give it away. I was willing to take some hits on the body.”

Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne (48 not out) rebuilt the innings with a sixth-wicket stand of 77 before Rickelton and Marco Jansen fell in the space of seven balls against the second new ball shortly before the close.

Rickelton, normally a free-flowing batsman, batted patiently, reaching his fifty off 121 balls and his century off 231 deliveries.

He added only one more run before jabbing Lahiru Kumara to Pathum Nissanka at gully.

Kumara, who reached the milestone of 100 Test wickets when he bowled Aiden Markram for 20, took three for 54 as he and his fellow fast bowlers kept the batsmen under pressure for much of the day.

“We bowled in good areas,” said Kumara. “There was hardly any help on the wicket, so we had to rely on good lines and lengths. There’s a bit of help with the new ball but as the ball gets older we have to work hard.”