WTC Final: Bavuma's Proteas chase long-awaited global glory
A win in the World Test Championship final would not just allow South Africa to focus and invest more on red-ball cricket but also encourage the up-and-coming young talents in the country to prioritise the longer format. Former South Africa cricketer and noted coach Eric Simons, who has been on and off coaching the South African team, insists that the Bavuma led-side has nothing to lose and that they will go all out against Australia. "A lot of interest (back home) as you would expect for a team playing in a prestigious event such as the WTC. South Africa is a very passionate sporting nation and a match like this brings many people together, even those that generally do not follow cricket. The interest will no doubt pick up when the match starts and the conversations can have direct context," Simons told The New Indian Express.
"Although the WTC is a relatively new ICC initiative in the context of other ICC events, it has already developed a significant status. CSA made a conscious decision to qualify for the event in spite of it being an uphill battle to reach it based on the position the team was in a few months ago. Selection of the different format squads appeared to show the importance CSA put on qualification as they made sure the best XI was available, New Zealand series being the exception for other reasons," he added.
Although Australia are the defending champs and are coming into the match as favourites, Simons believes that it allows South Africa to come out all guns blazing. The fact that they have brought on Stuart Broad as a mentor to make the most of his experience with the Dukes ball could also come in handy. "Australia are justifiably the favourites but that is not a bad situation for the SA to be in. Backs to the wall and nothing to lose attitude will be a good mindset to have going into the match. It would appear they might have a slight edge, so yes, but there are a few SA players with significant experience and whose play suits the conditions. Also some local players/coaches have been drafted to assist with preparations. Also with the Duke's ball being used, both teams who play 99% of their cricket with Kookaburra will have to adapt," Simons said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
WTC Final: ' I'm still trying to fathom how I've done that' Steve Smith on his dismissal to Aiden Markram
achieved a new milestone as the most successful overseas batter at Lord's cricket ground during day one of the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa, despite being dismissed for 66 runs by part-time spinner after helping Australia recover from early trouble to post 212 all out. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Smith's innings proved crucial in stabilizing Australia after they were reduced to 4-67, forming a 79-run partnership with Beau Webster for the fifth wicket. During his knock, Smith surpassed Don Bradman's tally of 551 runs and Warren Bardsley's record of 575 runs at Lord's, which had stood for nearly a century. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! South Africa's decision to bowl first under gloomy conditions proved effective as their pace attack, led by , created significant problems for Australia's top order. "I felt in a nice place, I love batting here at Lord's," Smith said. "I enjoyed my time out there while I was out there (but) left a few in the shed unfortunately." Smith expressed bewilderment at his dismissal to Markram's off-spin. "Don't nick the part-time off-spinner. Down the slope. I'm still trying to fathom how I've done that," he said. WTC Final: Steve Smith on future, facing South Africa and revised format Speaking about the pitch conditions, Smith provided detailed insights. "I feel day one here it always offers a little bit of something, even when the colour of the wicket was quite white. I've seen one-day wickets that we've played on here where it's been similar and it's actually seamed quite a bit, particularly with the newer ball. So I always feel like it offers something, particularly early on in the game. As the grass dies down, I think it's going to offer less. " Kagiso Rabada continued his impressive record at Lord's, claiming his second five-wicket haul at the venue. His performance helped him surpass Morne Morkel's record of 15 wickets to become South Africa's most successful bowler at Lord's with 18 wickets. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Quiz: Rabada also moved past Allan Donald's career Test wicket tally of 330, climbing to fourth place on South Africa's all-time list with 332 wickets. Reflecting on the day's play, Rabada shared his observations about the conditions. "The ball was nipping quite a bit and at times moving off the slope a lot. But I still felt like batters could get in. If you just bowled well and got more balls in the right area for a long period of time, then that's when you could create chances." Smith remained optimistic about Australia's position in the match. "Hopefully we can get a few early wickets in the morning, go through them and have a bit of a lead – that's the ideal scenario for us right now," he said. The match represents a significant opportunity for both teams in the World Test Championship final, with Australia looking to defend their position as the number one ranked Test side and South Africa aiming to capitalize on their strong bowling performance.
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Means a lot to get past Allan Donald': Kagiso Rabada after becoming 4th highest wicket taker for South Africa with five wickets vs Australia
Kagiso Rabada made his way into the record books on Wednesday when he became the 4th highest wicket taker for South Africa, leapfrogging the legendary Allan Donald when he took a 5-wicket haul against Australia in the opening day of the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Rabada now has 332 wickets and is just behind Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421) and Makhaya Ntini (390) in the all time list. He also went past Morne Morkel for most wickets among SA bowlers at Lord's with 18 wickets and became the third SA bowler with multiple five-fors at Lord's after Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini. 'Coming here about a week ago, could already feel the atmosphere. Great to see the support for us. Feels like a home game. Means a lot to play for South Africa. Given my all each and every time. Happy to do the job. It was moving around a bit. With the new ball it seemed harder to score. As the ball got softer and they showed intent, they got some runs away. But you always felt that, on this wicket, especially with the way they were playing, any ball had their name on it,' Rabada said in the mid-innings interview. 'That's all secondary (climbing the wicket-takers list for SA). Primary is to keep running in and doing the job. Means a lot to get past Allan Donald, what a legend,' he added. Rabada accounted for Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc while Marco Jansen snapped up Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Nathan Lyon as Australia were skittled out for 212 runs. Earlier, Steve Smith led an Australia fightback to put the defending champions on 190-5 at tea. Smith scored 66 before being dismissed by part-time spinner Aiden Markram and featured in a 79-run fifth wicket partnership with Beau Webster as Australia steadied their innings after South Africa had taken four wickets before lunch. Smith was playing for the first time since March and showed no signs of being rusty in a busy innings, continuing his form at Lord's where he had previously scored a double century. But he will be disappointed with the manner of his dismissal, attempting to slog Markram and getting a healthy edge to Marco Jansen at slip with the tall bowler juggling the ball twice before holding the catch.
India.com
43 minutes ago
- India.com
Steve Smith scripts history, becomes first non-English batter to achieve this feat in 99 years
Steve Smith. New Delhi: Steve Smith's strong performance in the first day of the World Test Championship 2025 final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 11 solidified his place in Test cricket history. After South Africa elected to field, Smith entered the crease in the eighth over. Rabada exploited the cloudy weather, removing Khawaja (0) and Green (4) in the seventh over. Marco Jansen dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head early in the session. However, Smith's 66-run innings off 111 balls kept Australia's progress steady despite difficult playing conditions, until Aiden Markram eventually bowled him out. Smith surpassed Warren Bardsley's 99-year-old record for the most runs scored by a non-English batter at Lord's Cricket Ground. This is Smith's fifth fifty-plus score at the venue, making him only the second overseas player after Shivnarine Chanderpaul to achieve this milestone. His previous notable performances at Lord's include a double century in 2015, 92 runs in 2019, and a century in 2023. Steve Smith holds the second-highest Test run total by a visiting batsman in England, surpassed only by Don Bradman. He also surpassed Viv Richards' record for most scores of 50 or more by a non-English batsman in England, achieving 18 such scores compared to Richards' 17. Smith surpassed Ajinkya Rahane's record, achieving the unprecedented feat of scoring over 200 runs in the World Test Championship final. His performance built upon his previous century (121 runs) in the first innings of the 2023 final against India, adding another 34 runs in the second innings to reach this milestone. In the World Test Championship final, Steve Smith achieved a unique feat, becoming the first player to score multiple fifties. Several other players also reached fifty runs, including Rahnae, Alex Carey, Devon Conway, Travis Head, Shardul Thakur, and Kane Williamson. Head is the only other player besides Smith to have scored a century in the match. Smith's recent performance places him second only to Virat Kohli in the number of 50+ scores in ICC knockout matches, with seven compared to Kohli's ten. He also shares second place for most 50+ scores in ICC event finals, tied with Adam Gilchrist and Virat Kohli at three. Kumar Sangakkara leads this category with four such scores.
