WTC's imperfections laid bare by SA's late charge

MUMBAI: The screams and singing from the South Africa team celebrations echoed across St George's Park at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) after their series-clinching Test win against Sri Lanka on Monday.

- Rasesh Mandani

It was a pity there were no spectators to applaud Temba Bavuma's men, but the empty stands seemed to convey a message.

At least Cricket South Africa saw them as early signs. They truncated their Test roster and glammed up SA20, their new T20 league. With interest for Test cricket on the wane, South Africa went to New Zealand with a makeshift squad led by a makeshift captain. That's how Proteas began their World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, with three losses in four Tests (1-1 against India and 0-2 against NZ). Very few would have thought that they would be frontrunners to make the final on the home stretch of the cycle. But here they are, a solitary win in the remaining 2-Test home series against Pakistan from making their maiden WTC final.