South Africa captain Temba Bavuma believes his team can put their shocking record in knockout games behind them when they face defending champions Australia in next week's World Test Championship final.
The Proteas have won just one International Cricket Council trophy – the ICC Knockout – a forerunner of the Champions Trophy, back in 1998, alongside a list of agonising near-misses.
By contrast, the top-ranked Australians, who beat India in the 2023 WTC final, have an enviable record at the sharp end of tournaments in the white-ball game. They have won the one-day World Cup a record six times, lifted the Champions Trophy twice and have also triumphed at the T20 World Cup.
"It is different," Bavuma said ahead of the WTC final at Lord's starting on Wednesday. “Australia have had success. They know what they need to do." But the 35-year-old batsman is adamant South Africa will not be overawed when facing Pat Cummins' team.
"For us it is about being confident in our ability," said Bavuma. "We haven't been handed this opportunity to play in the final, we have performed accordingly. We respect them (Australia), but it is still a 50-50 chance in our eyes."
Bavuma has an impressive record of eight wins and a draw in the nine Tests in which he has captained. However, he didn’t forget to applaud coach Shukri Conrad for helping create a strong team spirit, saying: "We don't boast legendary names. For us to achieve what we have is a tribute to him."
Conrad has spent time with Springbok (South African men’s Rugby side) coach Rassie Erasmus in a bid to sharpen his side's winning edge. Erasmus has guided South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, with the Springboks showing extraordinary mental strength in winning three successive knockout matches by a single point on the way to their 2023 triumph in Paris.
"Obviously they are doing a lot of things right," said Conrad, who was clear about the key lesson he had learned from Erasmus.
"Playing for the Springboks has got to be the biggest thing -- playing for the Proteas has got to be the biggest thing for our players," he explained. "That is what we have to hone in on."
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