From ban to battle: Kagiso Rabada set for World Test Championship showdown at Lord's
'They come at you and I think that gets the best out of me,' Rabada said about the expected verbal battle against Australia.
South Africa's leading pace bowler, Kagiso Rabada, is expecting a verbal jousting as the team prepares for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Lord's in England next week.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) confirmed on their website that the fast bowler had metabolite of Cocaine in his system after he was tested during the SA20 tournament in February.
Rabada sat through a month-long ban in April — which was brought down from the stipulated three months, after completing Saids' substance abuse treatment programme.
'Any type of verbal abuse, or the media wanting to say something is normal. That's the field that we play in,' Rabada said.
'You can't be ignorant of it, you have to be aware of it, but it's not anything that's going to slow me down.'
South Africa will look to Rabada to set the tone with the ball in the final as the leading wicket-taker in the side, and the fifth highest overall for South Africa.
Rabada is expecting opponents Australia to have a go at him too, but it's something he's embracing, acknowledging that being riled up often extracts his best performances.
'They come at you, and I think that gets the best out of me,' he said. 'They've been notorious for that over the years.'
Home of Cricket
Keshav Maharaj and Rabada are the only two members of South Africa's WTC squad to have played more than one Test match at the ground widely referred to as 'the Home of Cricket'.
Rabada has fond memories of his second occasion there too, picking up a player-of-the-match award and having his name on the famous honours board after collecting five wickets for 52 runs in the first innings of South Africa's innings-and-12-run defeat of England in 2022.
'Lord's is a special ground and I'm glad to be on the honours board there and to be there along with some great company, and hopefully I can be on there again, that would be great,' he said. 'But if I don't get on it and we win, I'd rather take that.'
The surface at the ground is likely to aid Maharaj's left-arm orthodox, according to Rabada.
'You have an idea of what Lord's will play like, but you just never know,' he said. 'Lord's can move around on the first day and then it sort of gets a bit placid, it gets nice to bat on.
'But there's always something there. Right now, it's kind of dry in England. It hasn't rained so the square is probably going to dry out a bit, so it might take some spin.
'Lord's normally takes some spin. It's about understanding what sort of climate you're going to get and then bowling according to what game-plan you want to adapt to, depending on if it's going to nip around a bit or stay low a bit.
'Generally, as the game goes on at Lord's it normally gets a bit lower, so let's see.'
Another element to adjust to at the venue in London, outside of the occasion, is the idiosyncrasies of the square. The square has a 2.5-metre slope that takes adjusting to for bowlers.
Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen — who are in South Africa's WTC squad — also played in the match in 2022, so would have experienced the slope before. Dane Paterson, who plays for Middlesex, whose home ground is Lord's, would also be well adjusted.
'It's pretty interesting but it's just about trying to hit the top of off stump, whether you're bowling up the slope or down the slope,' Rabada said.
'People overthink the slope.'
On-field focus
While Rabada has shifted his focus firmly onto what needs to happen on the field, he has played very little cricket since returning from his ban — only playing two matches for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He went at over 10 runs to the over on both occasions.
But how does the bowler feel heading into the biggest red-ball match of his career?
'I feel good, I'm ready. I'm not focused on the result, I'm focused on playing.
'My body feels good, my mind feels good. I'm ready to play. I'm excited to see what Australia can bring to us.' DM
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
Proteas women welcome Kapp ahead of her 150th ODI
WHILE Temba Bavuma is set to lead the Proteas Test squad in the World Test Championship at Lord's today, Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt is bracing to lead her side in the first of three One Day Internationals (ODIs) in the Caribbean today. After having a rather poor tour of Sri Lanka last month, where the side failed to reach the final of the Tri-Series against the hosts and India Women, Wolvaardt welcomes senior player Marizanne Kapp, who missed the Sri Lanka tour. Kapp is set to play her 150th ODI at the Cave Hill today, joining the likes of Mignon du Preez to cross the 150 ODI games mark. Wolvaardt told the media on Tuesday that they are excited to welcome a player of the calibre of Kapp back into the squad. "It is massive (to have Kapp back into the side). I think Kapi is obviously the best bowler in the world, and she bats pretty well as well. She's like two players in one, so it's awesome to have her back in the lineup," said Wolvaardt. "I think just her experience as well, she's been in the Caribbean a bunch of times, so just having that knowledge and being able to chat to her, I think, will be massive for the series. Just the presence she has within the group and within the seamers group as well. "I know she chats a lot to some of the young seamers like Dirkie (Annerie Dercksen) and helps them develop their skills. She has so much to offer. I'm very excited to have her back. "Knowing Kapi, she'll probably not want to make it a thing (reaching 150 ODIs). She's quite humble in the way that she plays and doesn't really look at milestones like that. "But I'm sure when she takes the field for the 150th, we'll try and make it a big deal and make sure it's a special moment for her. Obviously, playing that many games for your country is something super special and deserves to be recognised, even though she may not want to admit it." Kapp's presence will boost the side's chances of bouncing back after having had a poor Tri-Series in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, the West Indies are also coming from a dismal tour of England, where they were whitewashed in both the three-match ODI and T20I series. However, Hayley Matthews returns to the West Indies Women's side as well as Chinelle Henry, a set of players who are known to be game changers. "They didn't have the best series over in England, but they have made a couple of changes. Hayley Matthews is back. Chinelle Henry is back as well, and she's been a key player for them in the last few months," Wolvaardt told the media on Tuesday. "You can never take a team lightly in their home conditions. It could be a completely different ball game here with them being at home, having knowledge about the ground that we're playing on. "They're definitely not a team that you can take lightly at all. They're a team that can easily take the game away from you with much power they have. We're still going to do our due diligence with our planning and make sure that we're on top of our game come tomorrow." The first of three ODIs between the two sides is set to get underway at 4 pm SAST on Wednesday.
The Citizen
9 hours ago
- The Citizen
SA chase another major cricket title: ‘It would be special,' says Bavuma
The South Africans surprised by selecting all-rounder Wiaan Mulder in the number three batting position. South Africa's Temba Bavuma speaks to the media at a press conference at Lord's cricket ground in London on Tuesday. Picture: Henry Nicholls / AFP South Africa's latest bid for a major cricketing title gets under way at Lord's in London on Wednesday when the Proteas take on their fiercest rivals, Australia, for the World Test Championship crown. While Australia have won several ODI and T20 titles, South Africa have yet to lift a trophy of any real significance. They have come close, especially in the last few years, but glory has continued to elude them. But now they have another chance, against Pat Cummins' powerful Aussies, in the World Test Championship final. Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said going all the way in the final would be 'special'. 'To be regarded as a top cricketing nation we must be playing for silverware … we've now ticked that, so going over the line is the next step. 'Winning the title would be a massive feather in the caps for this group [of players]. We often speak about excellence, about doing something special for each other and our country, well now we have an opportunity to do that. 'It would be special [to end the wait for a world title]. Just being here is a highlight of my career, but it would be nice if we backed it up with something … winning this would be special in a lot of ways.' Surprises in team selections Both teams sprung surprises when they named their playing XIs on Tuesday, with South Africa opting for Lungi Ngidi ahead of Dane Paterson in the bowling attack, while Australia have decided to go with Marnus Labuschagne at the top of the order, as they continue to look for a suitable replacement for the now retired David Warner. 'It was one of the tougher decisions that had to be made,' said Bavuma on Tuesday about having to pick between Ngidi and Paterson. 'Pato did so much for us at the end of last season, but from a tactical point of view, Lungi gives us a bit more pace and he's also got a good record, and that's taking nothing away from Pato. Lungi has played here [at Lord's] before, and he has the experience, not that Pato hasn't. 'But, we feel Lungi will complement the bowling attack a bit more. We also have [Wiaan] Mulder, who gives us something similar to what Pato can do.' Bavuma added the team had full confidence in all-rounder Mulder batting at number three in the order. 'He's taken confidence from being backed there in recent times and all we want is for him to go out and play his game.'
TimesLIVE
9 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Bavuma reflects on the next chapter of his 'interesting story'
South Africa and Australia are revelling in just being here. Test cricket's biggest stage, Lord's, the World Test Championship England ain't here. No wonder Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins looked so chilled yesterday. For Bavuma, this might be bigger than it is for Cummins. The Australian captain has celebrated many successes, lifted both the Test mace and the 50-over World Cup and he can draw comparisons like he did on Tuesday about which one means more. 'Personally, I think that the 2023 World Cup title is going to be tough to beat. But this is a good one,' Cummins remarked. Bavuma and South African cricket don't have that luxury. 'For us to be regarded as a top cricketing nation, we've got to be in these positions where we can go for silverware,' he said. 'Obviously, getting over the line is part of the whole story. And I think for this bunch of players, for this group, for Shukri, I think it'll be a massive feather in our cap.' 'We always speak about excellence. We always speak about doing something special for the country and also for each other. So here's another opportunity for us to do that.' Dark clouds hung over Lord's on Tuesday morning as a handful of Proteas players, excluding Bavuma, had an optional training session. Only Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham of the starting line-up decided to have a hit. Part of coming to England early was to allow the players to get accustomed to conditions and do the bulk of their work in Arundel. There's an emotional element to all of this that Bavuma explained was critical to manage. 'A lot of preparation has been about understanding what the occasion is about being at Lord's.' 'From a motivation point of view there is not much that I can do. For us now, it's the fact of playing the game, not to get caught up in the story and what's to be. We accept and understand it will be tough to play against Australia. The time for emotion and the stories are things we have to put behind us, it's time to be ready to play what's in front of us.' As is the case for the captains it's been a busy few days in the build-up — both were at an ICC event on Monday night where seven players, including Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla were inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Bavuma's story — the childhood games in the streets of Langa, adjusting to being at private school, the challenges of being the first black African batter in the Proteas team and then the captaincy were all subjects he touched on again. 'I try to focus on the cricket as much as I can, not to get drowned by the emotional side of it. But it is important, it's a thing, I try to soak it inasmuch as I can, in that moment and then switch to playing mode. 'My story is an interesting one, a beautiful one in a lot of ways and hopefully there are more happy ones within it.' Bavuma in 2025 is by his own admission a very different player to the one who made his debut in 2014. He was reluctant back then to explain with depth too much about his background. 'I can speak about it openly now, without much anxiety. Four or five years ago, I probably wouldn't have answered the question.' 'I look at it with a lot more gratitude now. It's a part of my journey, unique to me and I guess it comes with me being the first in a lot of things.' By the time the Proteas's training session had ended and Bavuma hopped on the bus to go back to the team's hotel, the sun popped out. The next chapter of Bavuma's tale is one he admitted included a dream where it shone on him as he lifted a trophy for South Africa. 'It would be a special moment, not just for myself, for the team, but also for the people back home. It would be nice to have it be a part of the story.'
