'Star of Sandpapergate, compound dislocation of WTC mace': How foreign media reacted to South Africa's 'greatest moment'

South Africa ended their 27-year wait for an ICC trophy as the long-standing drought came to an end at Lord's on Saturday. The Temba Bavuma-led side beat Australia by five wickets to claim the World Test Championship mace for the first time in history — their first men's senior ICC trophy since 1998.
The Proteas made light work of the remaining 69 runs they needed on the fourth morning in London, with Kyle Verreynne hitting the winning run. Player of the Match Aiden Markram, who scored a match-defining 136, fell late in the innings with just six runs left to win.
South Africa faced just two hiccups on the penultimate day — when Australia dismissed injured captain Temba Bavuma (66) in the third over, followed shortly by the dismissal of Tristan Stubbs (8). But even as Australia sniffed a shot at a miraculous comeback, Markram stood firm with his composed knock to deny the former champions.
The Sydney Morning Herald recalled the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal involving Australia and South Africa in Cape Town. Its headline read: "Star of Sandpapergate gives Australia a batting lesson." The article made Markram the protagonist — the man who had scored a brilliant 84 in that 2018 Test, which South Africa won emphatically thanks to a nine-wicket haul from Morne Morkel.
"One man with much fonder memories of that encounter is Aiden Markram, then early in his Test career. Markram was actually in the middle when the sandpaper incident unfolded in Cape Town. His security at the crease, amounting to 480 runs at 60 for the series, had helped drive Australia to ugly extremes..."
Mike Atherton, writing in The Times (UK), focused on the quiet but resolute leadership of the Proteas captain. His piece, titled "Quiet man Temba Bavuma leading South Africa to their greatest moment", praised Bavuma's understated presence and ability to rise above adversity:
"When Temba Bavuma announced his team the day before the game, you had to lean in eagerly to catch his words, so quietly did he speak. Yet this whispering, unassuming, diminutive cricketer retains a glorious chance to do what other giants of the South African game have not done..."
The Roar in Australia offered a comprehensive review of the final — from Kagiso Rabada's five-wicket haul on return from suspension to Australia's top-order failures. Their witty headline read: "Well played to South Africa. Their new C-word is champions", a clever jab at the long-standing 'chokers' label attached to the Proteas.
The piece also referred to Steve Smith's injury while attempting a catch from Bavuma:
"Disappointingly for Bavuma, Smith was in sufficient agony and whisked off the field so quickly that the South African captain didn't even get an opportunity to drop a sly, 'You've just compound dislocated the World Test Championship mace' at him."
The Times of India ran a headline titled "Curse lifted as South Africa can afford to forget the history of near misses", drawing a parallel between Bavuma and rugby icon Siya Kolisi:
"Remember, Bavuma probably wasn't everyone's No. 1 choice as South Africa captain — just as Siya Kolisi wasn't when the Springboks, once the pride of white South Africa during Apartheid, won the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Kolisi didn't stop there. He went on to win back-to-back titles in 2023..."
The Indian Express, meanwhile, paid tribute to Markram's hundred in its article titled "A ton worth the tonne for Aiden Markram and South Africa". It captured the gravitas of his innings with elegant prose:
"Under grim skies, Aiden Markram celebrated a hundred that would define his career. He waited patiently for the moment... This was the day he had dreamt all his life. To score one of the most significant knocks for his country. The fulfilment of a promise. The pinnacle of a schizophrenic career."

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