A win for more than just South African cricket

Unadulterated joy. Administrators sharing hugs with players and coaches on the outfield at Lord’s. Ex-captains embraced players from the current generation. There were tears. Lot's of tears.

“This is so, so big. There’s been so much pain,” said Mohammed Moosajee, Cricket SA’s vice-president and for almost two decades the Proteas team manager. “All those World Cups, all that pain, this all worth it.” 

“We’ve got one, we’ve got it,” said the organisation’s CEO Pholetisi Moseki, who hugged everyone in sight. 

As Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham knocked off the last six runs, Graeme Smith, came down to the boundary edge and fist-pumped for a group of South Africa spectators. Shaun Pollock received a standing ovation from the vast swathes of green and gold clad supporters in the Mound Stand. 

Jerusalema blared from the speakers at Lord’s, followed by Nkalakatha. It felt like South Africa had finally taken over cricket. 

It’s been a long and painful road, littered with missteps. Some small, too many big — both on the field and especially off it. Cricket SA’s focus, which for too many administrators over the years, has been inward-looking, for now has tangible evidence of the work done — mainly by players and coaches — since the dark days of 2019. For the administrators on the Lord's outfield, it is again the players who have set the example. 

South Africa’s victory — clinching the World Test Championship title with a five-wicket win over Australia in the final — held huge importance for the international game too. Much was made of South Africa’s path to the final and that they didn’t face Australia or England. But with a calendar dominated by the Big Three, especially in Tests, this success offered a reminder of what the rest of the world has to offer. 

“I think this is inspiring from a lot of angles,” said Temba Bavuma. 

“I know that a lot of the other nations, the so-called smaller nations, would have been supporting us in our quest. As a team, our responsibility is always to be as competitive as possible.

“We want to play more, we want to play more Test cricket and we want to play against the bigger nations.” 

The 2027 World Cup is a major goal for the Proteas, and while this triumph was in a different format, it marks an important step on that journey.

“Hopefully this is the start of winning more trophies for the team,” Bavuma said. “Next year, the guys go to the T20 World Cup, so Aiden and his boys, we will be supporting them to follow suit. But that 2027 World Cup, a lot of us want to be there.”

“We need to be fit to be there first. I'll definitely be putting up my hand to be a part of that group.”

More than six hours after the winning runs were hit, the entire squad returned to the middle of Lord’s to sing the team song. “TO THE TEAM,” they screamed. “TO THE TEAM ... PROTEEEAAAS!”