South Africa strike confident note ahead of WTC final
LONDON - South Africa are quietly confident of an upset victory in the World Test Championship final with coach Shukri Conrad warning defending champions Australia not to underestimate his inexperienced batting line-up.
South Africa go into the five-day clash at Lord's, which starts on Wednesday, as underdogs but Conrad struck an optimistic tone at a press conference on Monday.
"The inexperience is very apparent in terms of the number of tests played and their place in the ICC rankings. So, I think it's pretty normal that the chat is all about the bowlers when you've got guys like Kagiso Rabada, ranked two in the world, and Marco (Jansen) and (spinner) Keshav (Maharaj)," he said.
"But I think there's a quiet confidence among the batting group. They got a lot of confidence, with hundreds for different players at different stages. So yeah, while there might not be superstar names among them, I think as a collective we're pretty confident."
South Africa's path to the WTC final has been questioned, given they played only 12 tests over the two-year 2023-25 cycle while Australia played seven more. South Africa also did not meet Australia or England and booked their place with series wins over Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
"Enough has been spoken about that to be honest," Conrad said. "We are here and that's all that matters and now we get a chance to walk away as the world test champions, playing Australia. It doesn't get any bigger than that."
"We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch, we play well as a unit, and if there are any vulnerabilities among them (Australia), I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that," Conrad added. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Czech Lehecka opens grass campaign with win in Stuttgart
FILE PHOTO: May 31, 2025; Paris, FR; Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic celebrates winning a game during his match against Jannik Sinner of Italy on day seven at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS Czech Lehecka opens grass campaign with win in Stuttgart Rising Czech force Jiri Lehecka began his Wimbledon build-up in impressive fashion with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday. The eighth seed, whose last match on grass was in the Wimbledon fourth round in 2023, quickly got up to speed to overpower Bonzi, firing down 13 aces. Lehecka, 23, will face 2023 Stuttgart runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff next after he thumped down 30 aces during a 6-4 6-4 victory over Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, his first win against a top-50 opponent this season. American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima came through a battle against Britain's Jacob Fearnley, winning 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1. Top seed at the ATP 250 event is Alexander Zverev. Action also began at the Libema Open in Den Bosch with two-time runner-up Jordan Thompson beginning another run with a 6-4 6-4 defeat of American Aleksandar Kovacevic. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Man City sign Ait-Nouri from Wolves on five-year deal
MANCHESTER, England - Algeria defender Rayan Ait-Nouri has joined Manchester City from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a five-year deal ahead of this month's Club World Cup, City announced on Monday. Financial details were not disclosed but British media reported City paid a fee of around 33.7 million pounds ($45.69 million) to sign the 24-year-old, who had one year left on his Wolves contract. Ait-Nouri initially joined Wolves on loan from Ligue 1 side Angers in 2020, before making the move permanent the following year. He leaves Wolves after five seasons, having made 157 appearances with 12 goals and 19 assists. Wolves are now without two of their key players from last season, after Brazil forward Matheus Cunha's transfer to Manchester United on June 1. City finished third in the 2024-25 Premier League season and only secured a Champions League berth on the final day of the campaign. Pep Guardiola's side are next in action at the Club World Cup in the United States. They face Wydad AC in their opening game on June 18, before taking on Al-Ain and Juventus in their other Group G fixtures. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Scottish prop Fagerson out of Lions tour with injury, Bealham called up
Scotland prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British & Irish Lions upcoming tour to Australia on Monday, having failed to recover from a calf injury, and Ireland's Finlay Bealham has been added to the squad. Fagerson started all five of Scotland's Six Nations matches this year, but suffered the injury during training with his club Glasgow Warriors in April and the 29-year-old tighthead has not played since. "It's tough on Zander to miss out so close to the Tour, but now Finlay gets an opportunity to come in and add to the group," Lions head coach Andy Farrell said. "This is unfortunately part and parcel of the game, so we always have to be prepared for that." The Lions squad gathered in Dublin on Monday ahead of a six-day training camp in Portugal with England's Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour also travelling to train with the squad. Players involved in the Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals will join up next week in Ireland where the Lions begin with a game against Argentina on June 20. The Lions will have five tour games before the first test in Brisbane on July 19. The second and third tests are on July 26 and August 2. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
