Predicting cricket results and how a league table might look once all nine teams have played other opponents over series of varying lengths is anything but a precise science. More like guesswork, albeit of the educated sort.
But South Africa’s test coach Shukri Conrad did his sums before the two-test series against the West Indies and concluded that his team probably needed to win seven of their remaining eight tests to have a decent chance of qualifying for the World Test Championship to be staged in London in June next year.
The Proteas seal a series victory over the West Indies 🏆 pic.twitter.com/1cWujZZDTu
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 17, 2024
Having (probably) been denied victory by the rain in the first test in Trinidad and prevailing by 40 runs in a cracking game in Guyana, it leaves Conrad and his charges with six tests to play before the WTC final. And they need to win all of them. Two In Bangladesh in October and two each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home in November and December.
Asked whether the Test Championship was weighing heavily on him, Conrad was cheerful: “No, it’s not an unwanted thing in our lives, it’s always nice if there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s not the only reason we play test cricket but it’s a good thing that there is something for test teams to aim for at the end of each cycle,” he said from Guyana on Sunday.
“There are World Cups in the other formats and there is no reason why test cricket shouldn’t have something like this,” Conrad said. “We’re thrilled that there might be something for us at the end, if we win all of our tests.”
PRAISE FOR RABADA AND MAHARAJ
Conrad heaped praise on the brilliant Kagiso Rabada and also Keshav Maharaj who claimed 13 wickets in the two tests for leading the attack which kept the Proteas in the game despite some indifferent batting at times. He also commended allrounder Wiaan Mulder for claiming the man-of-the-match award in Guyana with six wickets and a vital 34 in the second innings.
“He has been in and around the side for a while now without getting an extended run, and his performances didn’t always merit an extended run. But he was outstanding in this series and I’m sure he can become an important part of the unit going forward,” Conrad said.
“They’ve indicated clearly what they need from me and I’ve tried to get better, consistently. They want me to score more runs and hopefully that’s in the pipeline for me, but I’m just trying to do my best and keep it as simple as I can,” Mulder said after the test.
“I tried to bowl as many wobble-seam balls as I could, I felt there was enough in the pitch to trouble the batsmen, fortunately I didn’t need to swing the ball, when I try and swing it I miss my lengths quite often. Actually, it still swung even when I was trying to bowl wobble seam balls! But I was happy with what I tried to do which was basically hit the top of off stump,” Mulder said having claimed career-best figures of 4-32 in the West Indies first innings.
Maharaj spoke about his remarkable ability to keep playing all three formats and to remain ‘test ready’ despite not playing the longest format for over six months:
“I’ve always prided myself on my test cricket so I’m always making sure my workloads are up and working on the right lengths and plans, and I’ve always got a red ball in my back so I’m often fidgeting with that and making sure I stay loyal to the game,” Maharaj said.
NEGOTIATING TRICKY SITUATIONS
Captain Temba Bavuma was understandably delighted with the outcome but also realistic.
“That was a proper game of test cricket and I’m happy the weather played its part, too,” Bavuma joked. “Both teams were in the game for a long time, at no point did I think we had won it until we took the last wicket and fortunately things went our way.
“There were a couple of ‘soft’ periods in the game which is down to a bit of inexperience in the team but, having said that, there is also a lot of quality in the team and a couple of guys have been around the block before, especially with the ball, and we really leaned on them in difficult times.
“Rabada leading the pace attack and Keshav in the spin department, that really gets a team through some tricky situations and, even with the bat, nobody managed to go through to a big score but plenty of guys contributed runs at critical times,” Bavuma said.
“We are still quite inexperienced and we’re still trying to find the way we want to play the game but, the more we play and the more experience we get I have no doubt we can become a formidable tea. We definitely need to sharpen up on various facets of the game but at this point about continuing to build and grow as a unit,” Bavuma said.