Proteas target World test Champs final with Pakistan series win

The Proteas will be aiming to secure their place in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s next year, when they take on Pakistan in their two-test series starting at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Boxing Day.

The Proteas know that just a single win in the series will secure their place in the final, regardless of other results, but they will be hungry to continue their fantastic recent form in the longest format of the game and clinch another series sweep.

Earlier this year in February Cricket South Africa (CSA) were heavily criticised after they chose to prioritise their flagship T20 tournament, the SA20, and send a weakened test team featuring no regulars to New Zealand for their two-test series.

Despite a decent showing from essentially a third string team, they were comfortably defeated by the Black Caps, leaving the Proteas far off the pace on the World Test Championship table.

The Proteas then turned it on, after returning to full strength for their two-test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean, and have gone on to win three straight test series, and their last five tests in a row to power to the top of the

That included drawing the first game in Port of Spain, before winning the second in Providence to clinch a one-nil series win.

DOMINATION IN BANGLADESH

Next they headed to Bangladesh for their two test series in October and absolutely dominated, clinching two thumping wins in Mirpur and Chattogram to sweep the series.

After three straight away series the Proteas finally returned home at the end of November and start of December for their two-test series against Sri Lanka, with the games played at Kingsmead in Durban and St George’s Park in Gqeberha.

In the first test the Proteas were bowled out cheaply for 191, only to roll Sri Lanka over for a record low 42 in their first innings, which allowed the hosts to amass 366/5 declared in their second innings and bowl the visitors out for a 282 to secure a thumping 233-run win.

The second test was an entertaining battle that went to five days, with the Proteas batting first and scoring 358 all out, followed by Sri Lanka replying with 328 all out, before the hosts managed 317 in the second innings before the visitors were bowled all out for 238 to seal a 109-run win.

After the series sweep a chuffed Proteas captain Temba Bavuma boldly declared that they saw themselves as the best test team in the world.

“We obviously see ourselves as No 1. We still have two games to go so we don’t know what the maths looks like. But I think just from what we are doing on the field of play we want to continue that,” said Bavuma.

“We will enjoy the victory now. Then in a couple of weeks’ time we will start speaking about Pakistan and what we want to do there.

“We have been playing good cricket and there are reasons for that, and we obviously want to continue for longer.”

BUFFER ROOM

Heading into the Pakistan series the Proteas now have the leisure of being able to slip up and still secure a place in the Test Championship finale.

But they will probably be eager to continue their run of wins, and with games in Centurion and the New Years test at Newlands in Cape Town, they will be quietly confident.

However they will have to get over a chastening three-nil series whitewash in the ODI series against Pakistan, with a large number of the players involved in the test side.

The multiformat series had started well with the Proteas clinching a two-nil win in the T20I series, triumphing in Durban and Centurion, before the third game in Johannesburg was washed out.

But they then flopped in the ODI series, suffering defeats in Paarl, Cape Town and Johannesburg, to head into the test series off a humbling whitewash.

After the Pink Day ODI defeat at the Wanderers on Sunday captain Bavuma admitted that the players will have to shake off the disappointment and ready themselves for what could be a hard fought test series.

“There are quite a number of us that will be donning the whites again in a couple of days. So it is important that we get over whatever negative emotions that we have and make sure that we are ready come the 26th to take them on in the red ball game,” said Bavuma.

If the Proteas lose or draw both tests against Pakistan they will still have a chance of making the World test Champs final, but it will open the door for Australia, India and Sri Lanka, who are the only other teams that can qualify, to possibly get ahead of them.