The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently named their Test Team of the Year.
There was not a single South African in the XI, despite the Proteas topping the ICC World Test Championship table and being the first team to qualify for the final at Lord’s later this year.
While the Proteas’ march to the ‘Home of Cricket’ has been built on the collective rather than the individual, the omission of Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada left me flabbergasted.
The judging process involves an independent global voting panel – which incidentally I am a part of – and fans from around the world.
My feeling is that the minimal Test cricket which the Proteas play, which of course is none of the players’ fault, has once again played a pivotal role in this outcome.
For example, Bavuma’s greatest competitor for the middle-order role is England’s Harry Brook, who was selected in the ICC Test XI.
There’s no doubt Brook’s had an outstanding year, amassing 1 100 runs at 55, but he’s had the opportunity to play in 12 Tests compared to Bavuma’s five.
Bavuma’s average is slightly higher than Brook’s at 55.12, but more importantly for me, though, is that Bavuma has been an exceptional skipper over the last 12 months, leading the Proteas’ Test renaissance. This far outweighs any numerical advantage.
The same theory would have been used to justify Australian captain Pat Cummins’ selection.
Cummins claimed 37 wickets at 24.02 and also contributed crucial runs down the order, but more importantly, he also led the Aussies with aplomb, which included a pulsating 3-1 win over India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that sealed the Aussies’ place in the WTC Final alongside the Proteas.
Rabada’s 34 wickets at 19.94 is far superior to Cummins’, but that’s not who he should’ve been competing with.
India’s talisman Jasprit Bumrah is an automatic choice to lead the ICC Test XI attack, which leaves New Zealander Matt Henry.
The Black Caps seam bowler claimed 48 wickets at 18.58, which is exceptional, but Rabada’s case for inclusion is much more compelling.
Not only did the Proteas’ spearhead become the fastest bowler in Test history – in terms of balls bowled – to take 300 Test wickets this past year, but his match-winning 31 not out in the Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park was sensational.
Here was a South African, with a place in the WTC final on the line, holding his nerve under immense pressure to get his team over the line.
Chokers? Not KG Rabada!
It is for all the above reasons why Shukri Conrad’s election as ‘Coach of the Year’ in the latest Wisden Cricket Monthly is the justice South African cricket deserves.
Widsen – publisher of the little yellow book that is regarded as cricket’s holy grail – is the most respected voice in the game and holds far more gravitas than any ICC award.
And Conrad deserves all the recognition that should come with this substantial achievement.
In his own unique manner and with all the chutzpah of the maverick that he is, the 57-year-old has breathed fresh life into a format that was on the brink of extinction in South Africa.
South African cricket owes ‘Shuks’ a great deal for the way he’s not only transformed the Test side’s fortunes, but invigorated the careers of captain Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder, while launching the new ones of Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen.
The Proteas may not win the WTC final later this year, but they are deserving of far greater respect than is coming their way at the moment.