Importance Score: 52 / 100 🔵
In the thrilling World Test Championship final, you can defeat a South African team – and Australia may very well do so by Friday – but it seems impossible to make them acknowledge defeat. This team perpetually battles back, defying expectations long after others would have surrendered. They seemed on the verge of losing this crucial match on Wednesday evening, after four rapid wickets in the first 20 overs of their innings, and again on Thursday afternoon when five more wickets tumbled. Despite being 102 runs behind with all ten Australian wickets to take, they mounted another fierce comeback, showcasing their resilience in this cricket test.
South Africa’s Unyielding Spirit
There was a sense of impending action in the morning; heavy grey clouds hung over St John’s Wood, creating a tense atmosphere around the ground. It materialized as a determined counterattack.
Bavuma’s Early Aggression
Temba Bavuma aggressively swung at Mitchell Starc’s initial delivery of the day, missing. He repeated the attempt on the second ball, again without success. On the sixth ball, he managed to guide a couple of runs through cover. As Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” South Africa’s batsmen struggled to land a blow on Australia’s bowlers the previous evening. However, Bavuma now attacked with the ferocity of someone retaliating against a tormentor.
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In Starc’s second over, the third of the day, Bavuma connected powerfully, smashing a glorious four through cover, and then repeating the feat later in the same over.
A Fleeting Shift in Momentum
For a brief period, it felt as though the World Test Championship final was swinging back in South Africa’s favor. Bavuma drove a full delivery from Josh Hazlewood through cover for four and launched a short ball from Pat Cummins into the Grand Stand for six. At the opposite end, David Bedingham, playing with control and precision, accumulated singles and guided an occasional on-drive down the ground for four. As the partnership exceeded 40, then 50, then 60, the thought of a potential comeback began to grow. However, Bavuma, attempting another drive through cover off Cummins, hesitated at the last moment.
Had he committed to the shot with the same conviction he displayed earlier against Starc, he might have succeeded. Instead, the ball travelled low and slow, within the reach of a diving Marnus Labuschagne, who made a fantastic catch. Bedingham, leveraging his extensive experience from years of English club and county cricket, valiantly attempted to anchor one end as wickets fell rapidly at the other. Ultimately, they trailed by 74 runs, slightly more than any individual batsman had managed in a single innings thus far in the match.
South Africa’s Bowling Prowess
While their batting may have faltered, South Africa’s bowling attack proved formidable. Within an hour, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi dramatically shifted the match’s complexion once more. Rabada claimed two wickets in three balls, while Ngidi took three in four overs, dismantling Australia’s top-order batting lineup in a flurry of bats, pads, and helmets.
Challenges and Context
Truthfully, South Africa’s presence in this final is somewhat unexpected. Their cricket board has seemingly deprioritized Test cricket, focusing on their own version of the Indian Premier League, the SA20. They sent a weakened team to a Test series in New Zealand the previous year, and their qualification for this final was largely due to winning the minimum number of matches stipulated in the preceding months. Ngidi, for example, has participated in only two first-class matches in the past 18 months and, with no home Test matches scheduled until October 2026, his opportunities are unlikely to increase significantly.
A Nation in Conflict
South Africa remains a major force in cricket, having been the world’s top-ranked team just over a decade ago. Yet, their leading Test batsman, Dean Elgar, recently played for Essex in the Blast, having left South African cricket due to a lack of opportunities. This context perhaps explains the passion and intensity with which they are contesting this game.