New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has conveyed his best wishes to Temba Bavuma and his team ahead of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia and hopes that the side can replicate their 2012 success at Lord’s, when Proteas became the No.1 Test side after beating host England.

South Africa and Australia will be playing for the ICC’s coveted mace, from June 11 at the Lord’s, a place that holds a special affinity for Smith.

South Africa are aiming for their first ICC trophy in over two decades while Pat Cummins-led Australia will be looking to retain the mace that they claimed after defeating India in the previous edition of the WTC final at the Oval in June 2023.

“We’re right behind Temba and the team. As the last man that held the mace at Lord’s in 2012, it would give me great pleasure to see Temba and this group of players lift it. All South Africans should unite and support the team on this important mission,” Smith said.

Smith famously led the Proteas to the No.1 Test ranking after an epic match against England at Lord’s back in 2012 – a memorable duel which went down to the final hour of the last day. The former left-handed batter also holds the record for the highest score by an overseas batter (259) and returns regularly as part of the MCC Cricket Committee.

“Lord’s is a special, special place. Right from when I watched South African teams play there as a youngster, there were always positive memories. There’s so much that comes with it and getting that out the way as you build into playing your games there is important. There’s nothing like walking down the stairs through those Member stands and out to a packed Lord’s,” Smith explained.

“It’s an incredible feeling, one of those goosebump moments in your career. It’s something that I really cherish. For me personally, in 2003, going there, getting a double hundred, winning the Test match and Makhaya getting 10 wickets is the most incredible first experience of Lord’s,” he recalled.

“In 2012 we were a team that was in its prime. We had so many incredible players, we were a great unit with a good coaching staff. We were tight, we were a family, and we had a lot of really outstanding players that had come in and been hugely successful,” Smith added.

The Proteas have enjoyed a golden run of ICC event form over the past two years. They reached the ICC Men’s World Cup semi-final, ICC Champions Trophy semi-final, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final and now the ICC WTC final.

Smith, who is the League Commissioner of SA20, said a strength of the SA20 since its inception in 2023 has been to provide a platform for South African cricketers to grow and develop their talents that will ultimately benefit the national team.

“Betway SA20 has certainly helped to create a platform that gives players that exposure and then it’s up to the players to go and perform and to use that platform and take the opportunity,” Smith said.

“Someone like Ryan Rickelton had been on the fringes for a while and seeing him use the platform at SA20 to go and elevate his game and almost put himself into a position across formats where he cannot be left out is incredible. He’s got to be one of the first names on every team sheet.

“Hopefully by us exposing our best domestic players to full houses, an international broadcast, global exposure and franchises that are the most professional in the world and bring the best coaches and medical fitness, it’s an opportunity to lift the standard and the gravitas of South African cricket. That has always been crucial to us at SA20,” he concluded.

–IANS

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