ICC title

Temba Bavuma shatters 100-year record with WTC win; no Ponting, Kohli or Dhoni close to his epic Test captaincy feat

Danijones9 hours ago04 mins

Temba Bavuma instantly elevated himself to one of the great sporting leaders in his country’s famous history, leading South Africa to a first major ICC title with a victory over Australia in the World Test Championship title. Beyond just going where no South African captain had gone before, Bavuma also made history by doing something no Test captain for any country in the history of the sport had done before, rising to the top of a historic list. Temba Bavuma raises the Test Mace, having created Test history with 9 wins and 1 draw in his first 10 matches as captain. Bavuma’s eighth Test win in a row was also his ninth win overall in his first 10 matches as Test captain. With a record of 9 wins and one draw, with no losses, Bavuma officially became the most successful captain in Test cricket in their first 10 matches. Bavuma broke a century-old record, taking over the mantle from English captain Percy Chapman, who had nine wins but also a solitary loss when he took over English captaincy in 1926. It has been a truly historic run from the South African skipper, putting all the doubters away and commandeering a truly historic feat for the Proteas. Beyond just his fabulous winning run, Bavuma also oversaw South Africa getting over the hump at an ICC tournament, by beating the mighty Australians. Bavuma well clear of Kohli, Dhoni records Bavuma also outdid Ricky Ponting, the most modern captain with a comparable record, who had 8 wins, and a draw and a loss each in his first 10 matches. While Ponting’s record came with what is widely considered the strongest and most dominant Test team of all time, Bavuma took over an unheralded South African team that was still a work in progress in late 2023, and has crafted a winning machine that will forever be remembered fondly in cricket’ history books. The batter also outdid India’s best performers, with Virat Kohli having won only six, drawing three and losing once in his early days as the skipper in red ball cricket. While MS Dhoni was unbeaten in his first 10 matches, it was with 5 wins and 5 draws. The Proteas beat Australia by 5 wickets at Lord’s, thanks to 136 scored by Aiden Markram, but also a determined and brave 66 by Bavuma during the 282-run chase, despite batting with a strained hamstring and clear pain. Leading from the front, Bavuma ensured that his team eliminated their long-time mental hurdle, and produced a win that could prove to be a remarkable flashpoint for South African cricket.

Aiden Markram cries, forgets to celebrate historic WTC century, AB de Villiers records it from Lord’s stands

Danijones2 days ago06 mins

There’s no perfect time in cricket to play a straight drive. It is as effective, attractive and assertive irrespective of the batter, the bowler, the venue and sometimes (only sometimes), even the match situation. But if you are Aiden Markram, you might argue. The straight drive that he played off Josh Hazlewood in the last ball of the 51st over on Day 3 of the WTC final against Australia, not only took him one shot away from a historic century but it sort of stamped South Africa’s grip on their maiden ICC title in nearly three decades. AB de Villiers record Aiden Markram’s emotional century It was a pitched-up delivery from Hazlewood and Markram, who was brilliant off the backfoot against Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, put a generous stride forward and just stroked it straight back past the bowler for a boundary. It was a hope killer for Australia. They had thrown everything at Markram and his batting partner, Temba Bavuma, but nothing worked for than two hours, and each of Markram’s boundaries just diminished the hopes bit by bit. Markram was in no hurry to get the remaining three runs to get to three figures. He patiently waited for the right opportunity; just a single came in his next eight balls. When it appeared like both South Africa’s victory and Markram’s century would have to wait for the sun to rise on Day 4, a tired Hazlewood drifted down the leg side in the penultimate over of the third day’s play. Markram’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. He got in line with the ball and just turned his wrists at the right moment to flick the ball through the vacant square leg area. As the ball hurried its way to the boundary like a rock in a landslide, Lord’s stood up and roared in unison. The cheer akin to a Premier League club’s injury-time winner. Makram quietly took his helmet off, looked upwards and wiped a tear from his cheeks. It had been stuck in his eyes for the past 20 minutes or so, or maybe longer than anyone could have ever imagined. It was his eighth Test century and it came after he was out for a duck in the first over of Mitchell Starc in the first innings. Markram’s celebrations, if you can term it that, were muted, knowing the job was not quite done. He and Bavuma have South Africa 69 runs from a momentous win. AB de Villiers records Aiden Markram’s century on his phone It was only destiny that South Africa had the best-ever lensman to capture the moment. Shining bright in a pale white cricket sweater (how do you do that?), the shades working overtime to cover his emotional eyes, AB de Villiers stood up, brought his phone out to record Markram’s historic. Perhaps he knew it was not just Markram’s moment. It was the entire South Africa – a country that has somehow not managed to win a single ICC world title in this century despite possessing one of the sides in each of the tournaments. The applause continued. De Villiers put his down and joined the thunderous applause. “De Villiers is standing. Lord’s is standing and Markram deserves every bit of it,” said another legendary South African cricketer, Shaun Pollock, in commentary. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma stood a few metres away. He didn’t want to steal Markram’s moment – You need more proof about his leadership? – When Markram was done soaking it all in, he hugged and patted the opener. Markram took guard and defended Hazlewood’s last ball with utmost conviction. With 69 runs still to get, there was unfinished business but Markram, unbeaten on 102 off 159 balls, knew he had only written one half of South Africa’s greatest moment in cricket.