Sky’s the limit for the Proteas

When the Proteas men’s cricket team qualified for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s earlier this year, not many gave them a chance of beating perennial performers Australia in the red-ball decider at Lord’s mid-June.

Critics brought up the Proteas poor record in any knockout match since readmission in 1991. They weren’t wrong. As any South African cricket fan will attest, we have an awful record when it comes to any international knockout match.

Proteas last win

The last senior International Cricket Council (ICC) final they won was the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998, before that tournament grew in stature.

Fans know all too well that we dominate teams in bilateral series, yet when the big tournaments come, we find ways to implode. We’ve been there and had to cry in the T-shirt we bought.

Other doubters said the Proteas were lucky to have qualified because they hadn’t played the big teams in tricky conditions over the two year cycle. That’s harsh as the Proteas could only control what was put before them and beat their proposed opposition, which they did consistently.

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Proteas brave warriors

Not that Temba Bavuma and his brave warriors will care about the criticism now that they are world Test champions, having beaten the Aussies by five wickets at the home of cricket on Saturday.

Set 282 runs for victory, Aiden Markram paved the way for victory with a wonderful 100 after Bavuma, hobbling due to a hamstring injury, compiled a gritty half-century.

Kagiso Rabada finished with match figures of 9/110 to give his batsmen the opportunity to push for the win.

Set 282 runs for victory, Aiden Markram paved the way for victory with a wonderful 100 after Bavuma, hobbling due to a hamstring injury, compiled a gritty half-century. Kagiso Rabada finished with match figures of 9/110 to give his batsmen the opportunity to push for the win.

What Proteas lack

The Proteas are a young side. Australian kingpin Steve Smith has scored almost double the amount of Test centuries than the entire South African team combined. Australia’s four-prong bowling attack have 1 522 wickets among them.

The Proteas attack have just more than a third of that number. But what the Proteas lack in experience, they delivered bucketloads of determination and belief. The next Test cycle will be tough as defending champions.

The fixtures aren’t easy and many are away from home. But if they can grow and continue to believe, the sky’s the limit for Shukri Conrad’s team.

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