"They've got some potent bowlers who will be able to perform their skill with the Dukes, and so do we." ©Getty
South Africa play with the Kookaburra ball. Australia play with the Kookaburra ball. But when those two men's teams meet in the WTC final at Lord's next week the ball will be a Dukes. Why?
Because the ICC said so. Probably because the ball used in England is the Dukes - which has a more pronounced seam than the Kookaburra, which makes it move more off the pitch, and is coated in lacquer that makes it swing more. How did that make South Africa's batting coach feel?
"It's going to be the same for both teams, so it's not going to be a particular advantage," Ashwell Prince said. "They've got some potent bowlers who will be able to perform their skill with the Dukes, and so do we. We have some of the world's best bowlers in our line-up who can do some serious damage."
Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are in the top 10 bowling rankings along with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. That half the leading 10 bowlers in the game - with Keshav Maharaj and Mitchell Starc in the top 20 - come from only two teams goes a long way to explaining why those sides are in the final.
About that. Prince is a staunch supporter of Liverpool FC, who won the English Premier League this year. What would he have made of the Reds being made to play a decider despite finishing on top of the standings, as South Africa have done in the WTC?
"I think a final is probably the best way to do it, because unfortunately every team doesn't get to play against all the other opposition an equal number of times," Prince said. "We're pretty comfortable with that."
South Africa were granted only a dozen Tests in the 2023/25 WTC cycle. England had 22, and Australia and India 19 each. The Aussies won 13, England 11 and India nine. South Africa? Eight. But because the standings are determined by a percentage of points won, they finished in first place. Cue outrage in other countries, who have no room for complaint because their boards declined to arrange series against the South Africans.
Temba Bavuma's team have neither the time, the inclination nor the need to respond to the crybabies with their noses pushed against the Lord's windows. They are rounding off their preparation for the final with a four-day match against Zimbabwe at Arundel.
The game was to have started on Tuesday, but rain prevented that happening. Wednesday was sunny although chilly, and in the 79 overs the South Africans faced before declaring they scored 313/2. Zimbabwe were 48/1 at stumps.
Ryan Rickelton made 62, and Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs each scored 58. All three retired from the crease. Rickelton stuck to his attacking game, hitting 11 fours, while Stubbs showed discipline - 86 of the 120 balls he faced were dots. Bavuma was notably punchy, also hitting 11 fours and recording a strike rate of 68.24; higher than Rickelton's Stubbs'.
Perhaps the standout feature of South Africa's innings was that Wiaan Mulder took guard at No. 3. He's done that before, in the second innings against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in November - when a hand injury precluded him from playing cross-bat strokes he was accustomed to as a middle order merchant - and in his only innings against Pakistan at Newlands in January. He scored 15 and five. Did Wednesday's tactic mean Mulder would take guard at the fall of the first wicket at Lord's?
Prince played the last of his 66 Tests more than 13 years ago, but his answer showed he has lost none of his ability to offer a dead bat when required: "The best way to prepare is to keep all possibilities open. We don't know what the surface is going to look like when we get to Lord's. Should it be the case that he's required to do that job, we want to make sure he's at least had some sort of preparation."
South Africa's bowlers sniped threateningly in the 11 overs they bowled at the Zimbabweans. A delivery from Kagiso Rabada rose sharply and hit Ben Curran on the side of his right hand. He retired hurt and sought medical treatment, and was taken for x-rays. If his hand is broken, his chances of playing in the two Tests against South Africa in Bulawayo later this month and the next could be in danger. Lungi Ngidi did his bit by breaking Nick Welch's bat with a similar effort.
Zimbabwe's batters might be quietly chuffed that an 83% chance of rain has been forecast for Thursday.
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