Africa-Press – South-Africa. Proteas coach Shukri Conrad has dismissed talk of a “big three” in Test cricket comprising Australia, India and England, saying his victorious team belonged at the main table.
Critics had spoken about South Africa having an easier path to the World Test Championship final at Lord’s last week, where they won by five wickets against Australia, but Conrad brushed that aside.
“I don’t think we ever, ever felt that we, that there is a big three [Australia, England and India]. Only in their own minds are there a big three. We’ve never felt that there’s a big three,” the coach told a press conference at Cricket South Africa’s headquarters in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“We might not have played England or Australia in the build-up to the final, but we managed to play Australia in the final and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Temba Bavuma’s men beat Australia by five wickets on the fourth day of the decider at Lord’s in London.
“We always feel that we belong at the main table. We never even felt that we were underdogs. We never had conversations in any of our team talks.”
For Conrad, the favourite’s tag enjoyed by Australia stemmed from other factors.
“Everybody dubbed Australia as the favourites, probably on the back of their experience more than anything else.
“We were one of the main teams in the world. And like I said also, we created our own reality. We were number one, we’re the first champions now… The top three, they created their own reality and unfortunately none of them is a champion.”
Conrad added that there hadn’t been any major team talks ahead of the final fourth day or even after the first innings, when the Proteas were behind by 74 runs.
“I’m going to disappoint you because we don’t talk a lot. I think people are looking for silver bullets flying all over the show. Unfortunately we’re not going to get it there because we don’t spend that level of time talking.
“At the end of day three, all I said to the guys was ‘this is the game right here. Let’s make sure that we don’t change anything.’
“I can’t say what I [actually told them], but basically it was ‘whatever you did the night before, do it again.’”
But sitting through the final night and the last day’s play had been an emotional ride, he admitted.
“I think everybody went through their own bit of emotion. You sit there and, you portray this really calm figure, but you journey inside, you know, because you’re playing all these scenarios that potentially can go wrong because things have gone wrong before.
“But while that broad bat of Aidan Markram was still out there, I think we knew that we had it.”
Even when they had their backs to wall at the end of the first innings, he had little to say.
“I think we knew we were behind. But again, the hallmark of this team is the ability to stand up.
“And different guys can stand up when the occasion demands, I spoke of Aidan’s broad bat — he doesn’t like me to refer to him as a superstar. But when you need your Rolls-Royce to come purring through down the street, and he does that, I’m talking about KG Rabada now.”
He also raved about Lungi Ngidi, whose nine-over spell in Australia’s second innings captured three wickets, including that of Steve Smith.
“That spell of Lungi pretty much turned the Test match in our favour. The world’s best batsman — he stood between us chasing 280 and maybe 380.”
Even though they won comfortably in the end, Conrad said he didn’t believe the team had played to their full potential.
“There’s so much else sitting in this changing room and it scares me and it excites me at the same time where we can go with this.
“I really look forward to the next couple of years.”
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