Fiery South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, no stranger to beating Australia, believes the prospect of facing them in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June has already sparked anticipation and motivation in his side. Reigning champions Australia secured their spot in the WTC final with a six-wicket victory over India in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, clinching the series 3-1. South Africa were the first team to qualify after defeating Pakistan by 10 wickets in the Boxing Day Test.
“It’s actually quite some distance away, but a big occasion like the World Test Championship final gets you up for it,” Rabada said on SuperSport after taking a six-wicket haul in his side’s 10-wicket, second-Test demolition of Pakistan that completed a 2-0 sweep.
Up against defending champions Australia, the Proteas will start as underdogs but Rabada, who twice played a big part in winning series against Australia in 2016-17 and 2017-18, is confident of pulling off an upset.
“South Africa versus Australia has always been an intense rivalry, because we play cricket quite similar. We play hard — and they’re going to come hard at us, and we know that. But we also know how to beat them,” he said.
About the significance of Test cricket, Rabada said: “One hundred per cent, Test cricket is still alive. It’s our best format that we’ve been playing right now.
“When you look at South African cricket and all our legends, they’ve all been great Test cricketers. The world’s best players are Test cricketers, and this series against Pakistan has been a wonderful advertisement for Test cricket, especially in South Africa.” The Proteas don’t have any Test assignment in the build-up to the WTC Final at Lord’s from June 11-16 and coach Shukri Conard has said they’re looking at the possibility of a one-off match against either Ireland or Afghanistan.
“We’re going to try and get a Test match, possibly in the UK, against Ireland or Afghanistan, whoever is free. And if unsuccessful, we’ll obviously go out a couple of days earlier, and make sure we camp there really well, probably in Canterbury,” said Conrad.
The coach was also all praise for his skipper Temba Bavuma for playing a key role in South Africa’s resurgence.
“He’s played unbelievably well this summer, and full marks to him,” Conrad said.
“I think any captain who wants to lead from the front, they want to lead through performance as well, and that’s what Temba’s done exceptionally well.
“He’s not lost a game as captain of South Africa (winning eight out of nine Tests). Leading from the front, turning out the performances he’s had, he’s probably in the form of his life.
“I haven’t seen him play any better, and that obviously gives you a lot of confidence when you’re captaining as well. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be captaining us.”
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