SA’s men’s cricket team have finally gotten their mojo back, and once and for all shaken that pesky “chokers” label. Under sunny skies at Lord’s on Saturday, South Africa won the ICC World Test Championship for the first time, beating Australia by five wickets. Aiden Markram’s sublime 136 anchored the chase of 282, breaking a decades-long silverware drought. Social media erupted— Rassie Erasmus and former players led the cheerleading.
This could finally be a glorious return to form after decades of letdown. “We’ve created history,” Captain Temba Bavuma said. “But as a group we’d like to emulate, if not do better than what Graeme (Smith) and his team did. They set the standard. I don’t think anyone has reached that standard as of yet.” Under Smith, South Africa twice lifted the Test Mace in 2012 and 2014 but did so before the WTC format was introduced in 2019, News24 reports.
With a team of superstars that included Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, and Hashim Amla, Smith’s group established itself as the world’s premier red-ball outfit. Bavuma said his team has drawn inspiration from the Springboks, praising their ability to embrace “what being South African actually means.” He said the Proteas also want to offer the nation “a chance to rejoice… to kind of forget about our issues and really come together.” We’ll toast to that.
While our sporting mantra, “No DNA, Just RSA”, flooded social media after the win, the question is whether these wins are enough to keep uniting the nation. We wrote about that here if you’re keen to ponder with us.
