South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has sent a stern warning to Australia ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, scheduled to be played from June 11 to 15 at Lord’s, London. Rabada’s comments come after the Proteas completed a 2-0 series whitewash over Pakistan at Newlands, Capetown on Monday.
Interestingly, the opening fixture of the series saw South Africa secure a thrilling two-wicket victory, which helped them to become the first team to qualify for the WTC Final. With a clean sweep, their point percentage increased to 69.44 and they are likely to remain the top team in the 2023-25 cycle after all the games get concluded in February.
Meanwhile, Australia delivered an impressive performance in the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy test against India last week in Sydney. With a 3-1 series victory, they regained BGT after 10 years and also qualified for the WTC Final. The Australian side is now scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for the two-match test series, which will be their final assignment in this cycle. Irrespective of the result, they are guaranteed to clash with the Proteas for the biggest prize of the longest format.
After South Africa’s series win, Rabada shared his thoughts on the WTC Final clash against Australia in an interview with SuperSport. The veteran pacer claimed that the Proteas have the cheat code to prevail over the Australian team, while also terming tests as the “best format”. He said (via India Today):
“South Africa versus Australia has always been an intense rivalry because we play cricket quite similarly. We play hard – and they’re going to come hard at us, and we know that. But we also know how to beat them. One hundred per cent, Test cricket is still alive. It’s our best format that we’ve been playing right now.”
Moreover, Kagiso Rabada thinks the test series between South Africa and Pakistan was a terrific advertisement to keep the longest format alive.
“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.”
Rabada emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker for South Africa with eight wickets in two games in the series.
Temba Bavuma elated for opportunity to achieve something special for South Africa in WTC Final
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma expressed his thoughts on qualifying for the WTC Final with SuperSport. Bavuma thinks something special has been brewing within the team, and expects a dominating performance when they fire on all cylinders.
The 34-year-old hopes to adjust to conditions in England and produce an impressive performance against Australia later this year. He said:
“We’ll prepare as well as we can, probably more mentally than anything,” Bavuma said. “We will stay true to what we have been doing as a team. We will have to adjust to the conditions in England and the opposition, but we will go out and fight.”
Moreover, Bavuma opined that the competition among the players will bring out the best of their abilities, and could help them clinch the WTC crown.
“There is a lot of competition within the (squad), which has brought out the best in individuals. We are motivated by winning. We have an opportunity to do something special for the country,” he added.
The bilateral series against Pakistan saw Temba Bavuma accumulate 177 runs at an average of 59, while also scoring a century.
FAQs
What is Kagiso Rabada’s test record in England?
30 wickets in 6 games
How has Temba Bavuma fared in tests in England?
257 runs in 4 games @32.12
