Day three showdown: Proteas batters eye historic ICC trophy amid intense rivalry

As the sun began to set over Lord’s Cricket Ground (after 9pm) on day two, the general workers hired by the International Cricket Council (ICC) practised setting up the stage and a Champions board where either South Africa’s Temba Bavuma or Australia’s Pat Cummins will lift the Test mace.

The ICC evidently expect the match to end on day three. It’s hardly a surprise as 28 wickets fell on the first two days – 14 on each day – and only 12 more need to fall for the match to be completed.

If those 12 do tumble, it would mean that South Africa has lost another ICC knockout match. That would be four in the last three years and in every format: the semi-final of the 2023 50-over World Cup, the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup and the semi-final of the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Australia were on 144 for eight overnight with a lead of 218 after South Africa were bowled out for 138. Batters have found the pitch at Lord’s tough to fathom, and two sets of world-class bowlers have made their job even more difficult.

Target

The Proteas will look to take the last two Australian wickets as quickly as possible and chase a target of about 230. Their batters — who over the last two-year WTC cycle have proven to be unpredictable — will then need to chase that score down for South Africa to seal their first ICC trophy since holding the mace more than a decade ago.

They will have the crowd in their corner throughout. South African supporters will be in full voice as they have been throughout the match, as several players have confirmed that despite the match being played about 13,000km away from South Africa, that it “feels like a home game”.

The UK, along with Australia, is home to the largest South African diaspora. Many supporters, though, also flew over to support their countrymen and have outcheered the smattering of Australian support.

More support

Every morning pre-match day, the St John’s Wood train station — which is a 10-minute walk from Lord’s — paints a picture of the crowd in attendance: South Africans in Springbok jerseys, others speaking Afrikaans, a group with thick Jozi accents unsure about directions and others sauntering along in some form of Proteas regalia.

Inside the cheers are in unison and rung out from the chest. After Kagiso Rabada claimed the scalps of Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green in the same over, just before tea on day two, as he had done on day one, he marched back to his position at fine leg to rapturous acclimation from the Mound Stand. He could be forgiven for thinking he was at Centurion at that moment.

“I think it’s just an amazing chance and I think we’re all very, very excited about the opportunity to win,” Proteas batter David Bedingham said after play on day two.

“It could go either way, but I think we as a team are very, very excited and there’s a lot of belief in the dressing room.”

At tea on day two, underneath the Compton Stand, to the right of the Pavilion End, a boy that couldn’t be older than 10, donning a green Proteas jersey, held a miniature wooden bat then raised it before walloping a tennis ball to an imaginary point boundary. He did it two more times, one bouncing away straight and the other flicked off his legs. No fear of consequences in the swing of the youngster. The ball was delivered by a child of the same age in Australian attire.

Bedingham believes South Africa’s batters should carry a similar attitude when inevitably chasing on day three.

“I think the main thing is just to 100% commit if you’re defending or attacking,” he said.

“As soon as you get caught in two minds against these attacks, you get found wanting… Just 100% commitment in defence or attack.”

Day for history

The Proteas’ top-order batters were tentative on the evening of day one, when they were rattled for 43 runs and losing four wickets in 22 overs before the close of play.

Despite this, and despite the team’s history of failure in knockout matches at ICC events, the team’s confidence in reaching whatever target Australia set is high.

“We’re very confident,” Bedingham said. “The batters will have their plans. It could be an amazing day.

“I think when they started batting in their third innings, I think we would have definitely had them or taken them 220 for eight. We’re very confident and I think there’s a massive belief in this team.”

Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, who claimed six South African scalps in the first innings and only conceded 28 runs in 18.1 overs, believes the match is currently in the balance.

“Going into day three it’s pretty close to 50-50, I think that’s a pretty good Test match,” he said. “Whenever there’s a pretty good balance between bat and ball, it’s always a pretty good match.”

Cummins’ fast bowling partners in crime, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, aren’t too bad either. Starc ripped through South Africa’s openers and the relentless Hazlewood only conceded 27 runs in his 15 overs.

So how do South Africa win the WTC against that attack?

“I don’t think the Australians gave us any bad balls,” Bedingham said. “The boundaries we hit were off decent balls. But that’s why they’re the best in the world.

“So hopefully going forward, we can just counteract that and win the World Test Championship.”

History beckons for the Proteas on day three at Lord’s, and they’ll have about three-quarters of the expected 25,000 in attendance celebrating their historic achievement if they pull it off. DM