South Africa coach wants Proteas to ‘grow as a team’ and get closer to WTC final

Coach Shukri Conrad said that South Africa have the belief of making their way through to the final of the World Test Championship 2023-25 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. On Saturday.

The Proteas won their Test series 1-0 against the West Indies after winning the second Test by 40 runs at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Placed fifth in the table, South Africa still have some distance to travel if they are to challenge India and Australia in the top two. Conrad also said that they will be looking to ‘grow as a team’ and gain more experience as they go through the transition period.

“We’ve got a big couple of months ahead of us to grow as a Test team. At the end of that, if we do very well and we win enough games, we can end up in the World Test Championship final. But that’s not the only goal of the team. It’s also to grow as a team,” Conrad said after the match.

“With young and inexperienced batters, you almost factor in that every now and again you’re going to have a few aberrations with the bat. But the vital signs are there that we can go and become a really good test unit,” he said.

‘Just experience we need’
Apart from Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj, the other players do not have a whole lot of experience. Conrad said that the South African batters will learn the art of holding their ground in challenging conditions as they gain more experience.

“The skillsets are there. It’s really just experience we need. With experience, you’ll find fewer soft dismissals and less of the falling over when bowlers bowl well and we’ll be able to put up more of a fight with the bat,” Conrad added.

On Day 3 after setting the opposition a target of 263, South Africa bowled West Indies out for 222 in 66.2 overs. Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj picked up three wickets apiece.