As South Africa closed in on the World Test Championship title on Friday, former captain Graeme Smith praised his team’s batting against Australia at Lord’s. After two days of nail-biting cricket where 28 wickets fell, the South African bowlers wrapped up Australia’s innings when the conditions were perfect for batting. The Proteas’ batsmen then took over and are now 69 runs away from ending their 27-year wait for an ICC trophy.
They need 69 more runs with Aiden Markram (102 not out) and Temba Bavuma (65 not out) at the crease after adding 143 for the third wicket. Talking on ICC’s Digital Daily at the end of day three, Smith praised the South African team, especially Bavuma.
We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs in this Test match. It’s been a fight, South Africa came back from 75 runs behind in the first innings. Their bowling was good and they got back into the game. It’s been a good batting display. You would trust the Australian pace attack given how the pitch played in the first two days, but today the pitch really seemed to lose its edge, he said.
He was impressed by Aiden Markram and the partnership with Temba Bavuma. Bavuma, the captain, kept pushing to extend their partnership which has them 69 runs away from that championship. Throughout the game the two looked calm even when the stakes were high and Markram’s hundred was the highlight.
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Smith believes Markram will be key in the chase because of how he plays the game. At the start of this innings I said if South Africa is going to pull this off he’s the key player because he keeps the runs coming. He really stepped up today especially after a duck in the first innings. It was incredible to watch him from the start. He looked in control and looked ready to go. He and Temba must be exhausted tonight but it’s worth celebrating their great partnership and Markram’s hundred, he concluded.
