Australia Faces Tough Challenge as South Africa Eyes Historic Win in WTC Final
A Challenging Day for Australia in the WTC Final
London [UK], June 14: After a demanding third day at the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori praised the remarkable partnership between Proteas captain Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram. He noted that taking the remaining wickets for just 69 runs would be a significant challenge.
Markram's impressive century, the first by a South African in an ICC tournament final, alongside his unbeaten 143-run partnership with Bavuma, has positioned South Africa just 69 runs away from their first world title in cricket, with eight wickets still in hand.
During the press conference, Vettori reflected on the difficulties faced by the team, particularly under sunny conditions that made bowling challenging.
“We started with optimism, especially with Starc and Hazlewood contributing to a 59-run partnership. It was a solid effort to set a challenging total, but under the circumstances, Markram and Bavuma excelled, navigating tricky situations and applying pressure back on us at crucial moments. The pitch was quite benign, and the conditions weren't favorable for the bowlers, but their partnership was outstanding,” he stated.
Vettori acknowledged the gravity of the situation, expressing hope that conditions would shift in their favor. “Given the state of the ball and the pitch, it’s a tough task ahead. However, our group has faced similar challenges over the past few years. The way Bavuma and Markram batted to apply pressure on us was commendable. If we can dismiss one of them tonight, it might boost our optimism. Tomorrow will be a real test,” he added.
Regarding Steve Smith's finger injury after dropping a catch from Temba, Vettori mentioned that they would wait for updates after Smith returns from the hospital.
When asked about his bowlers and their use of variations, Vettori noted that Mitchell Starc naturally adapts his bowling style. “He has the ability to change lengths and swing the ball both ways. The success on this surface has come from maintaining a six to eight-meter length, which South Africa executed well. We did the same in the first innings. While there’s a desire to vary our approach, we were also concerned about the score getting away from us,” he explained.
“At times, resorting to short balls can make it difficult to control the scoreboard. Our fear today was that if we could hold our lines long enough, something would eventually happen, as it has throughout the match, but that didn’t materialize,” he added.
South Africa has reached 213 runs in 56 overs, bolstered by a century partnership between Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma. Despite battling a hamstring injury, Bavuma managed to score a half-century.
Earlier in the day, a solid half-century partnership between Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder placed South Africa in a strong position at the end of the second session, with the score at 94/2, featuring Bavuma (11*) and Markram (49*) unbeaten.
Starc delivered one of his best innings, helping Australia recover to 207/10 from a precarious 152/9, leading by 281 at lunch. Starc remained not out at 58, setting the target for the Proteas at 282 to secure their first ICC title.
Brief Scores: Australia: 212 and 207 (Mitchell Starc 58*, Alex Carey 43, Kagiso Rabada 4/59) against South Africa: 138 and 213/2 (Aiden Markram 102*, Temba Bavuma 65*, Mitchell Starc 2/37).