South Africa became the first team to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The Proteas will meet one team between India, Australia and Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the world’s biggest Test event. This is the first time, the Temba Bavuma-led side have found a place in the final of the fight for the World Test Championship mace. The South African team defeated Pakistan by two wickets and they still have one match to play in their cycle. However, if we look at South Africa’s performance in the whole WTC cycle as of now, they haven’t faced many challenges throughout their journey. So, is South Africa’s WTC Final qualification really justified?
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Is South Africa’s WTC Final Qualification Really Justified?
South Africa have only played 11 matches in the whole World Test Championship and that too against low-ranked teams such as Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh. The Proteas ended up just winning one Test match against India, one against West Indies and two against Bangladesh, which helped them gain a lead in the WTC points table. Also, the Proteas ended up losing to New Zealand by 2-0 during which, all the main players were rested and a third-grade team was sent to New Zealand. The Proteas haven’t also played quality teams including Australia and England, which surely doesn’t make their WTC final place not justified.
On the other hand, India who have played two WTC finals, and Australia the defending champions are still struggling make a place in the final of the current cycle despite playing 17 to 18 matches. However, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen backed South Africa’s WTC final place by stating the FTC cycle is decided by the ICC and South Africa is nowhere at fault in this. Pietersen’s tweet read, “Cricket South Africa didn’t create the FTP for their WTF qualification, so criticising them for qualification isn’t fair. You play the cards you get dealt. The qualification process is the issue and I’m sure it’s something Jay Shah will fix.”
The World Test Championship 2023-25 final will be played from June 11 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
