FIRST OF MANY?

SOUTH Africa captain Temba Bavuma wants his team’s triumph in the World Test Championship final at the weekend to be the first of many trophies for the country’s cricketers.

In 18 previous attempts in ODI and T20 World Cups, SA had only reached a solitary final.

That was in last year’s T20 World Cup in Barbados, when they lost to India despite needing just 30 runs from their last 30 balls, with six wickets left.

There was no such heartache at Lord’s, with Aiden Markram making 136 and Bavuma 66 as South Africa chased down a target of 282 for a five-wicket win over defending champions Australia before lunch on Saturday’s fourth morning.

Bavuma says his side had been inspired by South Africas Springboks, who have won four Rugby World Cups - including the two most recent tournaments.

He says: “This is special for this group, special for myself, for the country.

“I have watched the rugby guys and the biggest thing I admire about them is the way with their success they have embraced what being South African actually means…”

The 35-year-old says he now wants more, adding: “We hope this is the start of something. Hopefully this is the start of trophies for the team.”

Bavuma says he hopes winning the mace for best Test nation would lift the profile of Test cricket in South Africa, where no Test matches are scheduled for the upcoming 2025/26 home season.

He says: “We want to play more Test cricket. We want to play against the bigger nations. So I think this will go a long way in making us a lot more attractive, and also the so-called smaller nations.”