As South Africa navigated the unpredictable weather at Arundel, the team faced a warm-up match against Zimbabwe that was mostly washed out. With only one day left in the three-day fixture, bowlers are expected to make the most of whatever time remains on the field. The batters, meanwhile, must rely on their performance from the second day and future net sessions. Yet, batting coach Ashwell Prince remains confident in their preparations.
“We trust the things that we’ve been doing,” Prince assured the media. “It’s not as if you’ve got an exam coming up and all of a sudden, you’ve got to cram all these things in, or cram in some new things that you might not have thought of before. We trust what we’ve done in the past. It’s worked for us. We’ve deserved the opportunity to have a crack at it in this final.”
This confidence is evidenced by the team’s balanced performance throughout 12 Tests, where nine players collectively scored 14 hundreds, which included six debuting century-makers. The evolving strength of the batting line-up complements the team’s renowned seam attack, addressing previous concerns about over-dependence on pace.
Graeme Smith, former captain of South Africa, highlighted this development ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. “The part that they got right in the recent run was finding some performance from the batters,” Smith explained. “There’s always been options with the ball and now we’ve seen a little bit more consistency coming from the batting front. What you need to be successful in Tests is a top six that can perform consistently.”
With the final approaching, the South African squad faces decisions about their batting order, particularly at No. 3 and the lower middle order positions, No. 6 or 7. Coach Shukri Conrad has confirmed that Aiden Markram will partner Ryan Rickelton as openers. This leaves Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, and David Bedingham competing for the remaining spots. Observations from Arundel suggest that Mulder is slated for No. 3, with Stubbs possibly at five and Bedingham at six, meaning de Zorzi might not feature.
The decision involves not just batting form but also potential bowling responsibilities. Mulder, capable with the ball, could see an increased workload if the conditions favour swing, raising a question about his position in the line-up. Conrad might contemplate dropping Mulder lower in the order, and moving Stubbs to No. 3, a stance some like Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams support. Williams commented, “Stubbs looks like he should stay at No. 5 as he will score runs for them from there.”
The puzzle for South Africa is finding the optimal balance that maximises their depth, allowing them the best shot at succeeding in the WTC final.
