The Proteas’ victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final over Australia has been seen as a breakthrough, and legendary SA fast bowler Allan Donald has echoed that sentiment.
As Donald was seen, quite unfairly, as one of the main scapegoats for South Africa’s exit in the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final, it came as welcome relief when Temba Bavuma and his charges finally got one over the old foe in a major final at Lord’s.
South Africa famously tied their 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final in England, with Donald involved in a mix-up with Lance Klusener with one run needed for the win when the fateful run-out occurred. With the teams ending in a tie, Australia advanced to the final and went on to lift the title.
It still ranks as one of the biggest heartbreaks in SA cricketing history, and Donald said those demons can finally be vanquished.
South Africa’s Journey to the WTC Final: Overcoming Criticism and Proving Their Critics Wrong
“It really is a day for the past players who were involved in the ’99 World Cup and the guys who followed them, will know how close it was to be in the final, but I think we can safely say now that gate is now shut,” Donald told CricBlog.
South Africa were also criticised about their path to the final since they had not played two of the big three in the WTC cycle – Australia and England. The Proteas did begin the cycle with a series draw against India in South Africa.
“Well done to this group. They deserve it. They worked so hard. And to have done what they have done… you can say a lot of other teams will say they haven’t played against the very best and all this other stuff.
“I don’t care. They got into the final and when it needed them to produce, they did. That’s all that matters. They did. And they needed to front up with their backs against the wall. They showed again what ‘refuse to lose’ means to these guys. They are going to come and they’re going to come hard, come again, bounce back strong, which they did.”
@Michael_Sherman
Sport
