Donald: Proteas’ Test final win ‘slams door shut on past pain’

Allan Donald, who was a central figure in one of South African cricket’s most heartbreaking and painful moments, says the Proteas’ World Test Championship final win last weekend takes away some of the pain of the 1999 World Cup exit and other big tournament losses.

The victory by the Proteas against Australia at Lord’s in the Test final was South Africa’s first major triumph in men’s cricket since 1998 when the national team won the Champions Trophy.

On Saturday at Lord’s Temba Bavuma’s team beat Australia by five wickets to end years of heartbreak for the national team at several T20 and ODI tournaments.

‘The gate is now shut’

“To get that over the line shuts the door that’s over 30-odd years old,” Donald told website cricblog.net.

“It’s something that’s taken a lot of pain away as you know. Not really going to go into that detail [laughs], but you know what I’m talking about with us and ICC events.”

Donald was famously run out in the final over and South Africa needing one run to win an ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia at Lord’s in 1999, following a mix-up with Lance Klusener, which resulted in a tied match that ended South Africa’s run in the tournament.

“It really is a day [last Saturday] for the past players who were involved in the ’99 World Cup and the guys who followed them … I think we can safely say now that gate is now shut,” added Donald.

The former fast bowler said the Test final win could be a catalyst for more success.

“They’ve broken this deadlock now. I think this will… and hopefully open the door for more success. I already look forward to the 2027 [ODI] World Cup, I think it’s going to be a really interesting one. A lot of those players who played today [the World Test Championship final] will be involved in that World Cup.”

Another Proteas player, Rassie van der Dussen, who’s also experienced plenty of disappointment in Proteas colours, but in more recent times, said the win at Lord’s was also for all the past players.

“This is a feat that goes hand in hand with the song that the Proteas sing: the fire stays burning, to those before us, and those to come, we play together as one,” he told SportsBoom.co.za.

‘This win will make people sit up’

“Through all those ICC events and all those knockout matches that we lost, there are moments and guys that feel responsible for that, and this puts to bed that.”

The top order batter added the victory would restore South Africans’ belief in the Proteas team.

“I think what impact it will have is it will make people take Proteas cricket seriously again. The reason I say this is because in the last few years, even though we’ve got to the semifinals, people always compare cricket and rugby. It’s like the cricket is good, but rugby wins World Cups type of thing.

“I think this win now … It’s going to make people sit up and say, you know what?

“They’re actually doing some good things at Cricket South Africa, and the Proteas are actually doing some good things. I think it’s a culmination of years of, I want to say graft, and years of being honest, and putting in good work, and getting the right people in the right places, and years of good guys just putting their head down, and putting in the work, and keeping believing.

“It’s a culmination of all that, because like I said, in the last few years, it’s always been like, the Springboks are the main thing, and I’m not taking anything away from them, obviously. We all love our rugby, and what they’ve done for the country has been amazing. 

“But I just think this win is going to … we haven’t won four World Cups yet … but almost in a way, just put us on the same level, and people that realise that, listen, cricket is also serious about what they’re doing.”