Ken Borland

Kagiso Rabada is once again the No.1 bowler in red-ball cricket according to the ICC world rankings, but as much as he believes Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game, South Africa’s spearhead says winning the World Test Championship is not at the top of his bucket list.

The Proteas, whose inability to win a limited-overs World Cup has baffled cricket-lovers around the globe, are in position to make the World Test Championship final next year, even though they are currently lying fifth in the standings with a win percentage of 54.17. But their last four Tests in this cycle are all at home and winning all of those games, against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, will lift that figure to 69.44%, which will guarantee them a place in the final at Lord’s from June 11 to 15 next year.

A couple of draws and two wins could also be enough, depending on the results of the Tests between Australia and India and New Zealand and England.

In the last calendar year, South Africa have come closest to breaking their World Cup hoodoo, reaching the semi-finals of the 50-over event last November in India and making the final of the T20 tournament in the West Indies and USA in June 2024. They seemed on-course to win that final against India, but superb bowling at the death, led by Jasprit Bumrah, saw them fall short by just seven agonising runs.

Rabada, who reached 300 Test wickets in the least-ever number of balls during the recent 2-0 series win in Bangladesh, has said previously that individual milestones are not his main motivation, but winning a World Cup for South Africa is his chief goal.

But, in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom at his home ground of the Wanderers, Rabada said claiming the World Test Championship crown would not scratch that itch, even though the longest format is his favourite.

“The T20 World Cup was extremely heartbreaking, but I feel we rose to the occasion,” Rabada said. “We are edging closer and closer to winning a World Cup and it’s just a matter of making that last, full step. But it was nice to be in that moment, we now know what it takes. You need a bit of luck as well.

“But having that experience is important, coming so close under high pressure, experiencing that will be invaluable going forward. I think the lesson we take from that final is not to over-complicate things, but the lessons will apply to each individual differently. But there was so much agony and once you feel it, you can’t unfeel it.

“Winning the World Test Championship would not completely satisfy me, although I would still be very proud and it would be amazing to do it. But the 50-over World Cup has so much value and history; the World Test Championship is not there yet, it’s a new thing.

“For me, winning the ODI World Cup is the holy mecca. You lose one game in the playoffs there and you’re gone. Whereas the World Test Championship is about who the best team is over a two-year period. We are now at crunch time in that tournament,” Rabada said.

Trying to decipher the South African team’s resting policies can at times feel like picking through dirty laundry, but the 29-year-old Rabada is frank about the management of his workloads, which has seen him sitting out the current T20 series against India.

“I’ve learnt to listen and understand my body better and I know I won’t feel the same as I did in my early twenties. I’ve bowled a lot of overs and it’s been a high workload. So looking at my path moving forward, I’m going to prioritise Test and ODI cricket.

“It’s not just about physical fatigue but also mental, and I believe it’s the smart decision to preserve myself. It also gives opportunities for others to step up and come through.

“But Test cricket is the best and all the greats played that. Even the most dominant T20 players, they play Test cricket. It’s the hardest and best format,” Rabada said.

With 313 wickets in 66 Tests at an average of just 21.49, 157 ODI wickets in 101 matches while conceding a touch over five runs-an-over, and 71 scalps in 65 T20 Internationals, it is easy to think Rabada is at his peak.

But the athletic U19 World Cup winner says there is still room for improvement.

“I don’t know if I’m at my best yet. I just want to keep pushing the limits. It could sound crazy, but I believe you never know how much you can get out of yourself.”

And, given that he is now clearly one of the strongest leaders in the Proteas set-up, what about captaincy?

“Taking more of a leadership role has come naturally really, it’s the circle of life and I’ve been in the Proteas team now for nine years. I’ve just taken it in my stride and I’m happy to be one of the leaders. I feel it’s something I’m meant to take on and I’m not shy about it.

“It’s a natural process when you consider the experience and knowledge that I’ve gained. So I’m willing to express myself and pass down that knowledge, when there are people who want to hear it. It’s because I have a lot of care for this team, why wouldn’t I want to be involved in the decision-making?

“As far as the actual captaincy goes, I have thought of it. Pat Cummins actually asked me about it and he said he found it difficult to separate it from playing his own game. He said as a bowler, you need a lot of assistance to be captain.

“But it’s something I would not rule out, but I won’t be strongly advocating for it. It must just happen naturally,” Rabada said.

Caring for the Proteas and their performance comes naturally too for Rabada. As does his undiluted passion for the game: The fifth-leading wicket-taker in South Africa’s Test history insisted on conducting this interview sitting outside on the balcony of the president’s lounge at the Wanderers, so he could watch the progress of his Central Gauteng Lions domestic team as they opened their four-day campaign.

Having dealt with their T20 World Cup disappointment in level-headed fashion, South Africa’s cricketers have shown a mature outlook on their narrow defeat to India in the final at Bridgetown, Barbados, and are excited for the future, according to head coach Rob Walter.

The Proteas looked poised to end their miserable record in world cups in their first appearance in a men’s final as they reached the last five overs needing 30 runs from 30 balls with six wickets in hand. But India were exceptional at the death, Jasprit Bumrah bowling two of those closing overs and conceding just six runs while also taking a wicket, being well-backed by fellow seamers Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, while Suryakumar Yadav took an incredible boundary catch in the final over as South Africa fell an agonising seven runs short.

“When you lose that way, it always hurts and you think about all those small margins during the game. But you only end up torturing yourself thinking about one run here or there,” Walter told SportsBoom.com upon his return to Johannesburg on Thursday.

“You have to give India credit, Bumrah was incredible in the two overs he had left, he’s a world-class bowler who made a big difference at the end. But I’m also very proud of how we acquitted ourselves, the guys showed a lot of resilience and courage.

“Reaching the final shows that we’ve made great strides as a team and I’m excited for the future. Just look at our attack and the pacemen who didn’t play (Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi & Nandre Burger) – we’ve probably got seven quick bowlers who can make an impact at that level.

“And everyone said India’s spinners would choke us in the middle overs, but look at how our batsmen attacked them, they made a play and we got to parity at the back end. We won a lot of big moments through the tournament and we didn’t do much wrong in the final,” Walter said.

Captain Aiden Markram handled the immediate devastation of defeat with aplomb in the couple of hours after the final. While admitting he was gutted, he spoke mostly about the pride he felt in his team and his confidence that they will fight another day.

Previous Proteas captains have left the world cup looking drained of all inspiration, their faces as glum as someone who has just had a beloved family member pass away.

“Everyone was shattered after the final, but Aiden found a way to put a smile on his face,” Keshav Maharaj said. “That optimism is something we could feed off as a team, it restored our belief and it shows how far we have come as a team. We will bounce back and I’m pretty sure Aiden will be one of the first South Africans holding the world cup. As our leader, he is very much in command and we respect him greatly.”

While South Africa’s part in the great spectacle of a gripping final will go down in cricketing lore, Walter believes the team is steadily building towards winning an ICC trophy. The 48-year-old coach said the low of being 24 for four at the start of the 50-over World Cup semi-final against Australia at Eden Gardens in November last year was the genesis of their new-found belief in the big moments.

“We may have lost the game in the end, but that match was a massive win for us psychologically. From 24 for four, we played outstandingly well and gave ourselves a chance, we did the same with the ball.

“I still believe that semi-final will be the catalyst to us finally winning a world cup, and in the T20 World Cup now we just kept chipping away and clawing our way back, there’s a lot of resilience in this team,” Walter said.

Leinster are in pain, according to Leo Cullen, after their disappointing exit at the semi-final stage of the United Rugby Championship, but the head coach said the group are still confident they have the ability to continue winning trophies.

Leinster were edged out 25-20 by the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday evening and are now trophyless for a third season, having also been beaten by Toulouse in a Champions Cup final that went to extra time.

The Bulls claimed the winning try in the 67^th minute when wing Sergeal Petersen used one hand to snatch an up-and-under out of the grasp of replacement centre Ciaran Frawley and dived over the line.

“It’s a sixth playoff game we have now lost and it is painful to go through, there is a pretty empty feeling in the dressing room. But there is still a strong belief in the group, as a club we are still highly ambitious and everyone wants to win trophies,” Cullen said after the gripping semifinal.

“It was an unbelievably tight game and really just a moment separated the teams, an aerial contest, just a hand in the air, so there was nothing in it in terms of the result. An individual moment won the game, we were all-square and then there was one big moment, an unbelievable piece of skill at the end.

“The players should be proud of their efforts, I cannot fault that or their character, but there are fine margins in knockout rugby. When you lose, you feel a million miles away, but in the Champions Cup final we were just a drop goal away from the win as well.

“We’ve had some special moments this season, but we’ve just not quite been good enough in the final or this playoff game. We’ve picked up experience of how to navigate at a tough place to come, but it’s disappointing to have the same result. Both of them have been one-score losses and we will go away and reflect, build and go again. Our focus will be on making sure we are better in the big moments. We will get back to work and we’re the ones chasing now,” Cullen said.

The Bulls made 163 tackles with an 88% success rate, compared to Leinster’s 126 at 86%, and the visitors also shaded possession and beat more defenders, leading Cullen to praise the home side for how well they stood up to the attacking pressure piled on to them. A crowd of more than 31 000 roared them on.

“You have to give the Bulls a lot of credit for the way they fought. They would get stuck into the contest, get back on their feet and barge the breakdown again. Defence was maybe the difference tonight, they showed more intensity and fight than us.

“We created lots of opportunities, but you have to give credit to the Bulls for the way they defended, they threw their bodies on the line. You could see the response from the Bulls players to the crowd, as it lifted up their energy.

“We pounded away on attack but the Bulls held firm. You have to give them a lot of credit for the way they stood up in defence. We were very close to breaking them, but we could just not quite do it,” Cullen said.

Leinster had absorbed a strong start to the match by the Bulls, keeping the first quarter scoreless before wing James Lowe crossed over for the opening try as a blindside move took advantage of a yellow card to Petersen for a deliberate knock-on.

But they were unable to build on that lead, with the Bulls levelling matters on the half-hour, and then stretching a 10-7 halftime lead to 17-7 with a try by Petersen two minutes into the second half. Although Leinster fought back to go into the last 15 minutes at 20-20, they were doomed not to add to their tally.

“When we went seven ahead we needed to ram home that advantage, but if you don’t get the back-field right then a guy like Willie le Roux is able to manipulate that and he exposed us with a 50/22.

“But then we were able to fight our way back into the contest and build more pressure, when we were 10 points down we actually had a dominant 15-minute period as our bench made a good impact. But there were a couple of big turnovers and vital moments, and then you don’t get that opportunity again.

“It’s frustrating that we had our chances, but in the first half we weren’t able to build a bigger lead and force the Bulls to play differently and chase the lead. We just made a couple of key errors,” Cullen said.

Our DP World Lions women’s team find themselves in a de facto final for the One-Day Cup at the Wanderers on Saturday and in those situations, your success comes down to your plans and your execution thereof, according to head coach Shaun Pretorius.

The #PrideOfJozi take on the HollywoodBets Dolphins in the last round of fixtures and need to win with a bonus point in order to claim the title. It’s a straightforward equation, nett run-rate will not come into it because beating the KwaZulu-Natalians will give the DP World Lions their sixth victory of the campaign, compared to the five of the opposition.

“We’ve got to win with a bonus point and according to CSA, they will not be looking at nett run-rate to split us,” Pretorius said. “So to do that, obviously all the right boxes are going to have to be ticked, but the important thing is to win all the small phases of the game.

“It’s all about making sure you win all those small moments you can celebrate, like if they score 30 in the powerplay then we want to score 35. We are in a really good space and the dynamics of the team are very good at the moment.

“It’s an unofficial final, we will embrace that and it’s going to come down to who executes best. We will still play according to our plans and then we have to execute those. It’s no good having great plans and then not backing them up with good field placements or good shots,” Pretorius said.

The DP World Lions began the campaign superbly with three straight wins, but a torrid November, with lots of call-ups for representative sides, saw them then lose three in a row. But coach Pretorius kept faith in his charges and the repayment for that backing came through in March with back-to-back wins over the SWD Badgers and Western Province reigniting our Pride’s title hopes.

“At the break in the season we were in fifth place and now all of a sudden we are in contention to win the competition. This is a big one for us and the ladies have done really well to get here. It’s been a tough season and hard on the bodies, especially since this is the first season of professional cricket.

“But the standards have definitely picked up and I am just so thankful to CSA, the sponsors and our Lions CEO, Jono Leaf-Wright, for empowering these ladies,” Pretorius said.

While having to win with a bonus point is always a tough challenge, Pretorius says the Pride have the advantage of playing at the DP World Wanderers Stadium and they hope the famous venue will become an intimidating arena for the visitors.

“Playing at the Bullring is an advantage for us, it’s our backyard, our own conditions. The DP World Wanderers pitch is always a good wicket whether you bowl or bat first, it stays consistent through the day, it’s not going to become more up-and-down. But all the rain we’ve had might impact how quick the outfield is,” Pretorius said.

The Dolphins will bring a strong spin attack to Johannesburg and it is important the DP World Lions batting line-up does not become bogged down. Strike rotation will be important and our Pride certainly has the batters to put the visiting bowlers under a lot of pressure.