Cricket South Africa: How the Proteas scaled the heights but now face a wait for a home Test

This is most clearly achieved in the side balance. South Africa have long relied on fast bowlers of rare quality, but this attack has evolved beyond brute force.

A generational talent, Rabada remains the spearhead and is now complemented by the depth of skill and versatility that allows the Proteas to compete in all conditions.

Maharaj and Harmer provide control and the threat of taking wickets, while Marko Janssen – a two-metre left-armer who can swing both ways with pace – provides a real X-factor.

But what was most striking was the shift in batting.

Between January 2020 and February 2023, South Africa’s batsmen scored just six Test centuries, better than only Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. England scored 38 goals in the same period.

Since that poor spell, the South Africans have crossed triple figures on 23 occasions and now average over a hundred in every Test. This year alone there were 10 hundreds, including three first-time centurions, a first-time double centurion, and Mulder’s record-breaking hit.

Perhaps most pleasing is the amount of contributions at the bottom of the order. South Africa’s bottom order – from seven down – has averaged 29.51 this year, comfortably the best among Test sides. England and Ireland are the only other teams to average over 20.

“We all share the responsibility and take pride in what we do,” adds Muthusamy, whose 109 in Guwahati came from seventh place and included 97 stops with Janssen. “We are never defeated. This is the message the leadership group gave us.”

This flexibility was most evident in the World Trade Center final. At the end of the first day, South Africa were 43-4, 169 points behind Australia.

At lunch on the third day, they were set 282 to win, the second highest successful chase at Lord’s. On both occasions, they clawed their way to a historic victory that rewrote a long-standing narrative of teams rich in talent but fragile under pressure.

Along the way, Temba Bavuma, who has averaged 51.66 this year, became the first captain to win 11 Tests before tasting defeat.