Temba Bavuma lifting the trophy would exorcise Proteas ghosts of 1992, 1999

Proteas coach Shukri Conrad wears his heart on his sleeve, even though you might not think it after watching him sit quietly in the left-hand corner of the Lord’s balcony.

- 

Conrad spoke during the World Test Championship final against Australia about how the coaches like to keep a “poker face” of sorts when addressing the players, in order to keep them calm and focused on the job at hand.

The management would have had to employ the best of those faces when South Africa were bundled out for 138 in the first innings, and were 70/2 in the second in the hunt for victory.

That is why one of Conrad’s many inspirational lines in the aftermath of the triumph hit home: “Obviously, a lot of teams in different formats have got close and not got over the line.

“I think in some perverse sort of way, guys like Aiden (Markram) and Temba (Bavuma), having experienced the heart-ache and the trauma of not getting over the line, they become more experienced at handling pressure situations like this.

“I’m just so thrilled that those guys will get us over the line. An amazing feeling.”