London [UK], June 14 : South Africa captured their first-ever world title across all forms of international cricket, beating Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's, with several stars stepping up for the rainbow nation throughout the cycle.
Be it experienced campaigners like skipper Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram or Kagiso Rabada or the generation next of Proteas cricket, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen, several players made notable contributions for Proteas throughout the two years of this cycle. Let us look at several stars from the team throughout the competition:
-Temba Bavuma
The skipper led from the front, topping the run-charts for his country. In eight matches, he made 711 runs in 13 innings at an average of 59.25, with two centuries and five half-centuries. His best score is 113. However, his most cherished knock will be the 66 made during the final. Among batters with at least 500 runs, only Kamindu Mendis of Sri Lanka (62.38) finished with a better average, as per Wisden.
-David Bedingham
The 31-year-old, who played plenty of County Cricket for Durham, was the second-highest run-getter, scoring 711 runs in 13 matches and 23 innings at an average of 35.55, with a century and five fifties. For him, this cycle was marked by several wasted starts; however, his stability and assured presence at his crease were a plus. During the final, he played useful knocks of 45 and 21*. His best score was 110, coming against the much-talked-about New Zealand tour, where Proteas sent a second-string squad in the absence of their mainstays who played in the SA20 league at home.
-Aiden Markram
This stylish right-hander started the cycle with a brilliant 106 against India on a minefield of a pitch at Cape Town, scoring 708 runs in 11 Tests and 20 innings at an average of 37.26, with two centuries and three fifties. Markram upped his consistency towards the end of the cycle, with a career-defining century at Lord's during the final, making him the first SA player to score a ton in an ICC tournament final.
-Kagiso Rabada
The man who took over Allan Donald as the fourth-highest Test wicket-taker for his nation had a dream outing in the final with a fifer and nine wickets. He was heading into the match after serving a month-long ban for recreational drug use and delivered a performance of a lifetime amid the controversy. He emerged as the eighth-highest wicket-taker in the cycle, with 64 scalps in 11 matches at an average of 18.73, with best figures of 6/46. He took four five-wicket hauls in the cycle.
-Keshav Maharaj
Maharaj was left one wicket short of becoming the first spinner to take 200 Test wickets during the WTC final, but it does not make his WTC run any less memorable, having got 41 scalps in nine matches at an average of 20.95, with best figures of 5/59. He also took two five-wicket hauls. He was among the leading spinners in the cycle.
-Marco Jansen
This lanky pacer is all but set to be a future all-round superstar for Proteas. Jansen took 32 wickets in seven matches at an average of 21.54, with best figures of 7/13 coming against Sri Lanka. He also scored 200 runs in 10 innings at an average of 25.00, with two half-centuries and a best score of 84*. He struck at a solid strike rate of 68.96.