The World Test Championship final is officially in the rear-view mirror, and attention will gradually turn to India’s tour of England beginning next week. However, maybe not quite at this moment, as broadcasters trying to balance the post-WTC analysis and presentation with a preview for the upcoming five-match series led to an awkward moment at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
After the trophy and medal presentations had been completed, and with the South African players soaking in an electric afternoon at a packed Lord’s, two members of the broadcast panel, Kevin Pietersen and Matthew Hayden were asked to provide a sneak preview at the upcoming series. While Pietersen shared his thoughts on the contest between the country he represented against one of the strongest teams in the world, his partner in the moment wasn’t too pleased at the distraction from celebrating the South African cricket team.
Hayden briefly exited the camera's field of vision and grabbed one of the heroes of the WTC Final and asked him to enter the frame. As a result, he invited Kagiso Rabada to join the pair and asked him to talk about his thoughts on the final, South Africa’s first ICC success at a senior level in 27 years. Thus, Hayden forced Pietersen to take a quick pivot from the topic being discussed and back to the remarkable Test match they had just witnessed.
“Why don’t we leave the India-England series because right now we have an absolute legend with us in Kagiso Rabada,” said the former England batter hastily, turning attention back towards the feats achieved by the South African players in winning this historic match.
{{/usCountry}}“Why don’t we leave the India-England series because right now we have an absolute legend with us in Kagiso Rabada,” said the former England batter hastily, turning attention back towards the feats achieved by the South African players in winning this historic match.
{{/usCountry}}Rabada had finished with match figures of 9/110 across two innings of work, which included a five-wicket-haul in the first innings to set up the match for the Proteas. This will be the second time that Rabada appears on the Honours Board at Lord’s, following in the wake of his five-fer at the venue in a series against England in 2022.
Ultimately, it was a set of heroic knocks from Aiden Markram (136) and Temba Bavuma (66), both experienced batters combining to take South Africa home in a victory that will be celebrated all across South Africa, and will long live in the sporting memory of a proud country. A first ICC win in 27 years, and once again the ICC Test Mace returns to the Proteas to commemorate a special group of players.
‘I lean towards Shubman Gill…’
Earlier, Pietersen provided his thoughts on the make-up of India's team for the Test series, and his thoughts on Shubman Gill's captaincy. “I know it would have been a toss-up between him and Bumrah, but I don't know if you can say Jasprit Bumrah will play all 5 Test matches. I lean towards Shubman Gill. He will be the guy who will bear the responsibility with KL Rahul in making sure they get to some scores they need to get to. We have seen in the last 3-4 days how difficult batting can be.”
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"He will need to make sure he makes some good decisions as a leader and a skipper. If at the end of the day, you look at what they’re up against themselves, you’ve got a very inexperienced bowling attack with England, but the batters are going to enjoy facing that attack, if the conditions are good,” said Pietersen about the series, before he pivoted to discussing the final itself with Rabada.