In one of the most thrilling finishes even by the standards of Test cricket today, South Africa went a long way to throw off their reputation as chokers by defeating Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion, thus becoming the first country to secure a place in the World Test Championship final in June at Lord’s.
The other finalists are likely to be the winner of the current series between Australia and India.
Over the cycle of the last two years South Africa have nipped into the WTC final by playing two-Test series, while England, Australia and India, have been slugging it out in five-Test series.
The drawback to two-Test series is that batsmen, if they get on top of opposition bowlers, never have time to fill their boots. The advantage is that pace bowlers are always fresh, and in Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen South Africa have a new-ball partnership to rival Mitchell Starc and either Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins.
South Africa’s narrow win over Pakistan gave them seven victories against three defeats in this cycle. Two of those defeats came when their board made the crass and entirely money-motivated decision to send a second XI to New Zealand, keeping their best players for their SA T20 franchise league.
The stand-out victories by South Africa were one against India at home, and two more in Bangladesh. So often vulnerable to spin in Asia, South Africa won their first clean sweep in a series in Asia since 2008 when beating Bangladesh 2-0.
South Africa wanted only 148 to seal their place in the WTC final for the first time (the previous winners have been New Zealand and Australia). But the Centurion pitch was spicy and Pakistan’s penny had finally dropped: instead of being obsessed with pace, they had recalled Mohammad Abbas, the medium-fast metronome who routinely bangs out 50-plus first-class wickets for Hampshire, after Pakistan had excluded him from their attack for three years.
Abbas took two wickets for three runs in South Africa’s overnight score of 27 for three, and kept on bowling from the Hennops River end through the fourth morning and for the rest of the match, varying his unerring length with the odd bouncer which Hampshire’s bowling coach, Graeme Welch, has encouraged him to deliver.
It was a critical moment when South Africa’s captain was cramped by one such Abbas bouncer and shovelled the ball to fine leg. As so often, Pakistan’s fielding did not rise to this occasion: Naseem Shah could have caught it inside the boundary but stepped over the line and could not recover, as T20 fielders frequently do. South Africa would have been 51 for four, their captain – and Bavuma has secured his previously questioned position by rising into the top-10 Test batting rankings – gone.
South Africa got on top as Bavuma raised the total to 96 for four, Aiden Markram having been bowled for a valuable 37 by an Abbas ball that kept low (taken together with his first innings of 89, Markram was player of the match). Whereupon, in a bizarre incident, Bavuma departed from composure, ran down the pitch for a wild hack and missed, but the ball flicked his hip pocket, and, after being given caught behind, did not call for a review.
Promptly South Africa threatened to implode, which has been known before, as they lost three wickets on 99. Abbas dismissed two middle-order players, including Corbin Bosch, the debutant all-rounder who had to come down to earth after his counterattacking 81 and taking a wicket with his first ball in Tests, while Kyle Verreynne pushed tentatively and edged into his stumps. Still 49 to win, against an inspired Abbas, and only two wickets left.
Cool heads took South Africa for once over the line. One was Jansen, whose nervy bowling had contributed to South Africa losing the last World Twenty20 final in Barbados, but whose batting stood as tall as he is when under pressure here. And as a left-arm swing bowler he gives South Africa’s attack the potency to win the Lord’s final if their batting can scrape enough runs.
Rabada was the other cool head (possibly helped by his father being a brain surgeon). He is second in the world Test bowling rankings, behind India’s Jasprit Bumrah alone, but it was his left-handed batting which South Africa needed now.
Rabada played a couple of judicious shots before lunch at 116 for eight: at 32 for South Africa to win, Abbas might have preferred to carry on bowling, without an interval. After it Rabada tucked into the bowlers at the other end from Abbas, taking eight off an over by Naseem Shah and stepping back to club Aamer Jamal, a fresh bowler, straight for four and off-drive the next ball for four as well, leaving only four to win.
“Good advert for Test cricket,” Bavuma said afterwards. “Glad that we were able to get the result.” Asked about the talk at lunch, he admitted: “Not much of a conversation, I was still sulking in the toilet. Aiden, leading the boys, tried to keep them positive. I’d like to say there was still confidence and belief. I came out when we needed about 15 runs – did not come out fully into the viewing area. It was a tough one [emotionally].
“Looking at the way we started our campaign, against India and then New Zealand with a not-so-strong team (a second XI against the latter) and the way we have gone through with our performances . . . not many gave us a chance,” Bavuma added.
“We haven’t been ruthless but have found a way to ensure the result was on our side. Today was a testament and speaks to the character of not just this group. We can pick on certain individuals at times, but performances like this give reason to say that these guys are here for a reason, and are the best [to be representing South Africa].”
No token selections, in other words; and if they win the WTC final, it truly will be a new South Africa.
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