Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON (AP) — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past.
An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's.
South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs.
Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad.
'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice.
'It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that.
'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.'
Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three.
'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. 'If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down ... kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay.
'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.'
Proteas batters look overmatched
South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36.
Conrad was unfazed.
'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. 'It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident.
'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.'
Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday.
'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.'
Broad advised about the Lord's slope, the Dukes ball, how to bowl to the Australians, and embracing the occasion.
'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.'
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New York Times
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'We didn't forget the football side,' says Foley. 'We made sure we had a very competitive team.' Former Northern Ireland international Terry McFlynn, who had a successful playing career in Australia with Sydney FC and was running Perth Glory's academy, was hired as their director of football. In turn, he recruited his former Sydney team-mate Steve Corica to become Auckland's first-team manager. The club's popularity has resulted in commercial interest, with 35 deals signed already, including two with ANZ and Anchor, the country's biggest names in banking and commercial dairy, respectively. An embedded TV crew have followed their first season for a documentary out later this year. There is a boardroom star factor too. As with Bournemouth, where Foley brought Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan on board as an investor, he has compiled a who's who of famous Kiwis: former All Black Ali Williams, AllBirds footwear billionaire Tim Brown, Zuru Toys founder Anna Mowbray, and ex-West Ham defender Winston Reid. Advertisement There is even an NBA star onboard: Houston Rockets centre Steven Adams, who is from New Zealand. And the 31-year-old is not just lending his famous name to the club; he is invested in its success on both levels. 'I was attracted by the group itself,' he says. 'And by the Kiwi sportsmen who are successful, who know how to win, and have had winning experiences. I would say I am a football fan — not necessarily knowledgeable about all the tactics and whatnot, but I appreciate any form of physical expression.' Adams has been pleased to see his homeland respond so enthusiastically. 'It's been great to see the strong support,' he says. 'There is the sports side, obviously, but there's the whole experience: seeing families and kids out there, enjoying themselves. 'My hope is to win championships and also, the grassroots piece is really important. To create pathways for kids that give them more opportunities for school and their career.' Curiously, there is an Auckland football team competing back in the U.S. at the moment — but it isn't the one Adams has bought into. Auckland City, who made headlines by losing 10-0 to Bayern Munich on Sunday, are a semi-professional side who are there by virtue of being the champions of Oceania, or winners of the OFC Champions League. Because they compete in Australia, and Football Australia is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot take part in the OFC Champions League. So no limelight in his homeland this summer then, but Foley's focus is increasingly laser-like on the sporting part of his business. 'I'm at the stage now of basically limiting most of my public company positions,' he explains. 'I have resigned as chairman of Alight (a health and wealth management company). Then I stepped down as chairman and CEO of Cannae, which is one of the investors in Black Knight Football Club. 'Now I'm the vice chairman and just responsible for football operations. That's all I want to do.' But after such a remarkable rise, is there a risk Auckland's second season might not live up to the first? 'Now the players have been to the semi-finals, and the group has stayed together, they know what it is like to be there and lose at that stage,' says Becker. 'They won't want that feeling again. The next step is to win it, and that's our motivation for next season. Advertisement 'The bigger risk might have been to go through and win it all. Then the motivation for next season would have been a different challenge, but now we have unfinished business.' The last word goes to Foley, with a smile but also a dash of that old military steel behind his eyes: 'If anyone sits on their laurels, they won't be playing for Auckland FC,' he says. 'Period.'
