Victory in the World Test Championship final over Australia ended South Africa’s agonising 27-year wait for an ICC trophy, and coach Shukri Conrad believes more success is not far off following a rapturous welcome home in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
South Africa won by five wickets at Lord’s to end decades of heartache in major ICC competitions and were celebrated by several thousand supporters at OR Tambo International airport.
Conrad has been test coach for a little over two years but also recently took over the white ball teams. He believes the triumph can be a catalyst for success across all formats.
“If you have a test team that is strong and plays regularly, that has spin-offs for the other formats,” he told reporters. “When you have a good test team, you’ll have good teams in (white ball cricket) because a good player is a good player.”
The amount of test cricket South Africa play has been a major talking point with Conrad previously saying it was no secret they want more games.
But the new world champions are not scheduled to play a home test until October 2026, and will take a weakened squad on a two-test tour of Zimbabwe that starts on June 28.
Scheduling more games is a complex issue given the cost of hosting series for cash-strapped Cricket South Africa.
Conrad says while their financial muscle means they may not match the so-called ‘Big Three’ of India, Australia and England off the field of play, they can certainly do so on it.
“We don’t feel like underdogs and we believe we are one of the top teams in the world,” he said. “We may not have played Australia and England in the league phase (of the World Test Championship) but we played Australia in the final and would not have had it any other way.
“We feel we belong at the main table. (Being underdogs) was never a conversation in our team meetings. Everyone dubbed Australia as favourites, perhaps on the back of their experience more than anything else.
“But we create our own reality and are the test champions now.”
